Annie shook her head. “I think we need to leave Beth Walsh out of this.” A silence. “I was not equipped to deal with that at all.” Annie suddenly didn’t sound like Annie any longer. “I was just better at hiding my feelings, because if I didn’t, I’m not sure we would have made it through.” Annie didn’t remove her hand from Jane’s knee. “But you always take the smallest things so hard, babe. And I’m not claiming this is a small thing, although I do believe it’s being blown way out of proportion. Try to think of it in another way. We could have lost the shop. If Kristin hadn’t come along, I would have been out of a job.”

“And this is the price we pay?” Jane asked.

“It’s just another way of looking at it. A way that still allows us to be grateful for how things turned out.”

Jane looked at Annie. “You really are too optimistic.” A tiny smile pulled at her lips.

“No, there’s no such thing as too optimistic. It’s just the belief that everything will work out in the end. I was this close to selling to Pages, and in swoop these women. How amazing is that? How amazing is life if something like that can happen?”

“So what you’re saying is that I should see you falling for Kristin as a mere side-effect of the book shop being saved?” Jane shifted on the bench. Annie’s hand was beginning to feel too hot and sweaty on her knee.

“It’s another way of looking at it. Her coming along as my lady-knight in shining armor might have had something to do with my feelings for her.” Annie slanted her head. “I’m just trying my best so you don’t get too hung-up on this tiny bump in our road. And yes, I let it build up in my head way too much. Perhaps I should have spoken about it sooner, but I didn’t want to hurt you. Perhaps I should have kept my behavior more in check. Perhaps I could have done many things differently, but really, nothing has changed. The shop is still saved. We’re still happily married.”

“And Kristin is banned from the shop, I’m not writing, and, well… other things.”

“Maybe it’s time we broached the other things subject.” Annie let go of Jane’s knee and angled her body so they could see more of each others’ faces.

“Yes, well, you know.” Jane was more than happy to let Annie take the lead on that.

“No, babe, I don’t know. You wanted me to listen. Here I am listening. Tell me.”