Page 31 of If I Didn’t Have You

“Normal guys? What does that mean?”

But she didn’t bother to answer. Instead, she continued to another aisle, pointing out more books. “Werewolves, dragons, vampires…basically all your shifter books.”

Shifter books? I mouthed, wondering what in the hell she was talking about.

“And down this aisle, we have your fantasy and your romantasy.”

“What the heck is romantasy?”

“Fantasy with romance elements.” She cocked her head, thinking it over. “Or romance with fantasy elements? I’m not sure. You’d have to ask Cassidy. But think of fae, mages, witches⁠—”

“Okay, this is all over my head. I officially have no clue what you’re talking about.”

Grinning, she picked up the nearest book and plopped it in my hands. “Read the synopsis, then search for whatever your heart desires.”

And with that, she left me alone to stand in the middle of the bookstore with no idea what I was looking for or where to start.

“Anything I can help you with?” Cassidy asked with a knowing grin plastered on her face.

I let out a humorless laugh. “Any chance you have a novel to do with kings?”

It was a joke, obviously, but she took my hand and pulled me down another aisle where she pulled a book off the shelf and placed it in my hands.

“Here Be Dragons.”

“However, if you’re looking for something a tad spicier, I would head over to the Highlander section with Mrs. Buttersworth.”

I found myself glancing around the store, checking to make sure no one was watching me before I ventured down one aisle after another, basing my choices purely on the covers that attracted me.

Hours went by, and when the shop was ready to close, I found myself in a corner with a stack of books, reading the first chapters of all of them to see which intrigued me. I had every single kind of genre stacked around me, each of them begging for someone to flip the pages and fall into their world.

“Mom?”

I peeled my eyes away from the page just long enough to find the sun had shifted around the room. “Is it that late?”

“I didn’t want to interrupt you, but Cassidy wants to go home.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize,” I said, scrambling to my feet.

My hair fell in my face as I rushed to pick up all the books I wanted, gathering them in my arms. By the time I got to the counter, I was a hot mess, and not because of the books I’d chosen, but because I hadn’t bothered to change before I came out, and my hair was still tossed up in a messy knot, falling chaotically around my shoulders.

“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting,” I apologized as Cassidy started ringing up my purchases.

“It’s no problem. I used to find myself lost in the pages as well.”

“Not anymore?”

“Well—” She bit her lip. It was clear that a certain someone kept her entertained and she no longer needed the novels to lose herself in.

“Sorry,” I rushed on. “I sometimes forget that Sam and you⁠—”

“Well, he’s out of town so much, it’s easy to forget.”

She must get so frustrated by his constant absence. “Doesn’t it bother you?”

“What? His job?” She shook her head with a smile. “Sometimes, but most of the time, I’m fine with it. He loves to box, and I know it won’t last forever. Eventually, he’ll come home and brood.”

I knew all too well about a brooding man. I didn’t envy the day it happened to her.