His phone pings in his lap, so we slowly pull apart. After looking down, his features harden again. “He’s here,” he says as he stands.

“Want me to come with you?” I ask.

“Nah,” he answers as leans down to drop a kiss on the top of my head.

Then, he walks out of the bookstore to sell his beloved motorcycle to a complete stranger. The broken-hearted expression on his face breaks my heart. I want to fix all of this for him, tell him it will be a new beginning, a clean start, but he’s already out the front door.

“Can I take these for you?” the old woman asks, interrupting me from my daze.

“Oh, please let me,” I say as I pick up our cups and plates and take them to the counter. “May I?” I ask, gesturing to the sink. “I could really use something to occupy my mind.”

“Help yourself,” she says as she backs away toward the front of the store.

“Thank you.” Then, I walk behind the counter and start cleaning our dishes in the sink. The water is so hot it nearly burns my hands, but the burn feels good. It distracts me from the other insane thoughts in my head right now. Thoughts like how much I would love my life if I could work in this bookstore every day. Thoughts like hosting open mic nights and book readings by local authors. Thoughts like going home to Logan every night.

It doesn’t take me nearly long enough to wash our few dirty dishes. When I finish, I clean up the sink and help to tidy up a few other things in the kitchen.

“I wish I could afford to pay you. I could really use your help around here.” Mrs. Walker comes back with a few pieces of trash left around the store, and I can see by the way she holds her back that she’s getting far too old to handle this business by herself.

“I wish I could stay,” I answer. “If I could, I’d work for free.” Sending her a warm smile, I let my mind get dangerously close to that reality again. My original plan was to stay in the rental property and help my parents rent it out on a vacation rental site, but what if I could stay on Wickett to run this store? It would be far more permanent…if I was ready for that.

“If you could stay, I would give it to you, dear.” I look up at the woman, wondering how serious she is. I would never take the business for free, but I do have enough in my savings account to buy it. If she’s really serious about selling…

Just then, the front door opens. My eyes shoot up to the door, but it’s just a customer wanting to browse. Behind the woman, I see Logan through the slowly closing door. The frown on his face draws me out of the store.