Page 14 of With Stars in Her Eyes

Courtney

I was halfway through putting post–St. Patrick’s Day markdown labels on some seasonal children’s books, when a mass-market paperback smacked down on the counter in front of me.

When I saw the wielder of the paperback, my stomach did a backflip that probably could have achieved at least a bronze medal in Olympic high diving.

I had been feeling vaguely nauseated since my involuntary trip down memory lane last night, but the sleep had helped. I had gotten up early, determined to ignore the memories and move forward with my life.

With that goal in mind, I gave Thea a smirk.

“What is that ?” Thea’s brown eyes were wide.

“It seems like it’s a book, but I’ll have to verify.” I picked it up and sniffed the pages. “Definitely a book.”

“You”—Thea narrowed her eyes and quirked her soft lips at an angle—“are a smart-ass. But yes , I know that’s a book. I want to buy it because I already finished the one for June book club, and that’s the one for this month. I might not be able to attend but I can still read it.”

“You finished it in a day?”

Thea winked. “When the plot really got moving it was hard to put down.”

My guts were going for gold with another gastronomic tumble, but the flirting so far hadn’t been as much of a disaster as yesterday. Small victories.

“I meant what’s that .” She pointed at the cage behind me. “The electrified-looking stretched-out rat. People keep squirrels as pets? Or is that a mink? Is the weird bend in the tail a feature of its species or unique to this here creature?”

“It’s a ferret.”

“No way is it a ferret. Ferrets are sleek and soft and bigger.”

“I think Lady Fruitcakes is pretty old for a ferret. Guess she is a bit worse for wear these days.” I peered down at the animal in the cage.

Thea’s dark brown eyes angled with disbelief. “ No .”

I winced.

“You can’t be serious.”

“According to Sam, the name was the result of a contest at the Unitarian church Sunday school.”

Thea leaned closer to the cage. The movement of Thea’s hair sent a breeze of delicately scented perfume over the space between us.

Before it had been citrus and chocolate, but it was different today.

I was sensitive to smells in general, but this one didn’t trigger anything.

It was soft like fresh peaches and laundry without being overly cloying.

“Lady Fruitcakes is the name that won ? What were the other options? Duchess Donuts and Princess Pastrybuns?”

I snorted. “I guess the kiddo who suggested it was really adorable. It all happened over a decade ago, so it’s practically local lore by now. But I’ll let you know if I hear about any pet-naming contests in the future since you have a plethora of alternate name suggestions.”

“Why’s she here? What book club is she the mascot for?”

“She’s like Baxter and does better here. She likes humans, so you can pet her if you want.”

“Really?”

“She nips sometimes, but she’s cuddlier than a lot of ferrets according to Sam. I don’t personally have a lot of ferret experience, but I like this one.” I reached into the cage and picked Lady Fruitcakes up, stroking her head before holding her out to Thea.

Thea extended a tentative hand. Lady looked up at her and then hopped off my hand to land on Thea’s chest.

Impressively, Thea didn’t scream or shake her off. She looked down and spoke in a mostly calm voice. “This wasn’t really what I was signing up for.”

Unfortunately, Lady Fruitcakes seemed to take her words as encouragement. The slim ferret shimmied itself down into her cleavage and then rested its head on her sternum.

“Courtney Starling, do I have a rodent between my tits?”

“Technically, I think ferrets are weasels. Or in the raccoon family, maybe?” It was challenging to focus on the situation without it seeming like I was just ogling. Under her sweater, Thea wore a camisole tank that was quite low in the front.

“We can Wikipedia Lady Fruitcakes’s taxonomy later. Can you just—I mean, how am I supposed to get it—I mean, her out? Her teeth look sharper at this angle.” Thea’s arms were outstretched like she wasn’t sure what to do with them. “She’s licking me. Why is she licking me?”

“Um…” I reached toward her and then pulled back because extricating the ferret would require plunging my hand into her cleavage.

Thea seemed to realize my predicament at the same moment. “Time for an eviction from the paradise you’ve decided to squat in.” Thea lifted the ferret out so they were nearly nose-to-nose. “The F in my bra does not stand for ferret, you little hussy.” She gently placed the ferret back into the cage.

Before I could regain the power of speech, the shop door opened.

I always forget exactly how tall Marshall Greene is. Football players on TV seem normal until you see them next to a regular-sized human too. Thea’s height was above average for a woman, but she looked petite next to Marshall.

“ There you are.”

“Here I am. You’re back a lot sooner than you expected. I thought you were going to stay in Wichita a few days.” Thea smiled.

My sternum contracted as Marshall gathered Thea in a crushing hug. His nose hovered in her cascade of brown hair.

Was Sam right about their friendship being platonic? Was this hug longer than normal? Why was he looking at her like that? My brain twisted through scenarios, trying to assess every nuance of Marshall’s body language for any sign of something that hinted at a situationship.

He leaned close as if he wanted to drink her in. Oh my god… no .

Then he sniffed. “You… you smell weird.”

Okay, never mind. That’s some little-brother shit.

She smacked him. “I smell weird because an uninvited guest decided to crash in my bra and start licking me.”

“Samantha and I hoped you and Courtney would get to know each other, but sounds like things are moving a little fast.”

My cheeks might have actually blistered with how hot they burned.

“Not her, you douche-nozzle. Stop making her blush. That electrocuted tube sock there got to first base with me.”

Say something. Say something. Say something. My mouth fell open. “I… I—uh—Thea’s had some bad luck in the store with animals. Though I guess the pig was fine.” My brain was probably shaped like a face-palm emoji.

“Pig?” Marshall said.

“At least the dragon didn’t cop a feel,” Thea said in a mutter.

“Dragon…? Oh , is Billy Gibbons here? How do his wings look? The photos I’ve seen look badass.” He looked through the cages and tanks behind her.

“This neighborhood is completely insane. I feel like Alice except instead of tea parties, getting high with a caterpillar, and croquet with hedgehogs, I get orange lizards with bespoke wings and pheromone-happy geriatric ferrets.” She pointed to the book on the counter.

“So is that the one for this month? And you can just ignore Marshall. Jocks never grow out of their shit manners.”

“ Hey —” Marshall tried to interject but Thea ignored him and nodded at the book.

Still unsure if it would be rude to completely die laughing about the entire situation, I focused on her question.

“Yep. That’s the right book. It’s ten percent off for book club members too.

I forgot to give you that discount yesterday when you bought the other book, so I’ll give you that amount discount on top of the other one on this book.

And I can sign you up for our rewards program, if you want? ”

“Sure.”

“You joined the book club that meets at the pub?” His eyebrows shot up and he looked closer at the book. “Hmm… this looks pretty good. Maybe I will too. When’s the next meeting?”

“That’s the book for April. I can’t go to an actual meeting until June with all my dumb family stuff coming up, and won’t you be at that big tight end camp thing then…” Whatever Thea read in her friend’s face stopped her from whatever question she was going to ask him.

Without any other explanation, he grabbed the April book off the shelf and tossed it down on the counter with his credit card. “I’ll get that one for her too. Don’t worry about the discounts.”

Thea was still analyzing him, and her voice became more gentle when she spoke again. “Are you going home or to the pub now?”

“Home. Just stopped to check in with the pub. They said next door that you were done for the day.”

The energy had shifted, and I had no idea why. I had never been great at reading complex body language, but I think even Sam might not be able to decipher this moment without more context.

As I bagged Thea’s books, I slipped a sticker into the pages before passing it to her.

“Sorry again,” I said with a tight smile.

“Sorry for…?” Thea’s eyes searched my face. “ Oh —for the ferret’s illicit mountaineering expedition?”

“Yeah, that.”

“It’s okay. I think I’m going to keep my distance from the bookstore’s nonhuman guests in the future. Unless Baxter comes back. He was a gentleman.”

“Fair. I hope you like that book as much as the other.”

“I’m sure I will.” With another smile, which faltered when she looked at Marshall, Thea headed outside. “See you around, Courtney Starling.”

“See you, Thea.”

“Oh wait, what were you humming when I came in?”

“I was humming?”

“Yeah. You were humming while you were putting the discount stickers on those books. It sounded familiar, but I can’t place it. It’s going to drive me nuts all day.” Thea gave a lopsided, single-dimple smile.

I stifled a wince. “I don’t know. Wasn’t aware I was humming in the first place.”

“Ah. Okay. Let me know if you remember the song, okay?”

“Will do.”

“Goodbye for real this time.” With a little nod, Thea headed out to follow Marshall.