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I mumbled a quiet, “Amen” and flipped open the lid on my food. The rich scent of tomato and cheese filled the air. It was almost enough to distract me from obsessing about Megan’s choice of words. Friends.
Not that she was wrong. We were friends. All of us.
But man, I wanted to be more than that to her.
10
MEGAN
“Thank so much. Have a great night.” I smiled at the customer as she hoisted a bag bulging with books off the counter.
“Oh, I will. The problem is going to be deciding what to read first.” The woman grinned. “I’ll be back, I promise!”
“I’ll look forward to it.” I watched her leave and blew out a breath when the door closed behind her with a cheery jingle. I could use two or three sales like that every day, but I sure wasn’t going to complain.
Wes’s words from Wednesday had been haunting me all week. Whatdidmake my bookstore better than the big chain at the strip mall?
For Old Town residents, I was right here. But I wasn’t even really competing with the chain store. The online giant was the real competition. I couldn’t beat overnight delivery to someone’s doorstep. Or e-books.
And the thing was? I loved e-books, too. So I got it. I did. They were convenient and didn’t take up space in the house. Sure, there were downsides. There was something relaxing about the weight of a physical book in my hands and the smell of the ink. The quiet whisper of a page turning.
I sighed.
I loved books in all their forms. It made running a bookstore the perfect career. Unless, of course, I couldn’t figure out how to get the bottom line up to a level that removed the challenges of keeping the lights on every day.
“Happy Friday!” Jenna called out as she pulled open the door.
“You’re cheerful.”
Jenna grinned. “It’s Friday and I’ve got a line on a renovation project. I’m going to see it tomorrow and, if it’s as perfect as it looks like it’s going to be, maybe I can get the purchasing ball rolling.”
“Congrats. Where is it?”
Her smile dimmed. “That’s the only slight issue. It’s in Georgetown.”
I winced.
“Yeah, I know. I never thought about moving into DC proper. But if I hate it, I can always look for something else and sell it.” Jenna shrugged. “Maybe I’ll get out there tomorrow and it won’t be what I’m looking for after all.”
I forced myself to be cheerful. “It could be perfect. And it’s not so far on the Metro. Or in a car, although that probably takes longer.”
“There you go.” Jenna nodded. “So I’ll see what happens. Either way, it’s nice to find something I’m actually interested in seeing in person. What about you? How’s your Friday been?”
“Good.” Ish. Apart from the one big sale, I’d had a few browsers walk in and leave with a book or a pack of gum. Everything counted, as far I was concerned. “Let me ask you something.”
“All right.”
“What makes my bookstore better than ordering online or heading to the mall?”
Jenna’s eyebrows winged up. “What brought this on?”
“Wes said something.” I waved it off. “It got me thinking. I need to do something to bring in business. And that means I need a hook, right? Something that makes me a destination more appealing than the convenience of never having to leave the house.”
“I guess I can see that.” Jenna turned to look out over the store. “You could expand your local interest section.”
I’d thought about that. “Those books only sell to tourists who happen by.”
“That’s surprising.” Jenna moved closer to the books featuring, primarily, the history of colonial America.
