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I looked away. I remembered a lot of what Cody said, but I didn’t need everyone knowing that. Especially not my sister-in-law. Whatever Kayla knew, Austin was bound to find out sooner or later.
For what seemed like forever, Austin had had ideas about me dating. Or even being interested in guys. He was a big part of why I hadn’t had a serious boyfriend in…too long to remember. Unless you counted Reuben, which I totally did not.
I glanced over to the door as the bell jingled above it and my stomach sank. It was as if I’d conjured him with my thoughts.
Whitney’s eyebrows lifted.
I shrugged. He hadn’t been in to the store for a while. Maybe he just needed a book. I stood and headed toward the register. “Hi, Reuben. Can I help you?”
“Nah. Just came to look around and see what’s new.” His gaze cut over to where the girls were sitting. “I see it’s time for your Friday night gossip fest.”
I bristled. “We’re not gossiping. We’re friends hanging out.”
“Uh-huh. And talking about what’s going on in everyone’s life. Kind of the definition of gossip, don’t you think?”
I clenched my teeth together and tried to stay polite. “Not when we’re all talking about our own lives. There are some new books in two of the fantasy series you like. And I saw that the final book in the long-running series has a release date now. I can place a pre-order for you so it’s here as soon as it’s available.”
“Oh, I ordered that online.” He waved away my words as if they were no big deal. “They have that pre-order price guarantee, and I’m pretty sure I got a discount. But thanks.”
“Sure.”
He looked at me and seemed confused. “Did I say something wrong?”
“No. No, of course not. It’s always great to hear about customers enjoying the perks of my competitors.” I couldn’t stop the words. I should have. It was unprofessional. And my tone had definitely crossed the line into snotty.
Reuben shook his head and gave me a look that would’ve been more appropriate if I was a small, misbehaving child. “Oh, Megan. Competition is how businesses thrive. If you can’t handle that, maybe you’re in the wrong career. It didn’t even occur to you to offer me a bigger discount to pre-order with you? I can cancel the online one, you know.”
I wasn’t going down this rabbit hole. I’d tried it once or twice in the past. The fact that he kept coming around was probably because of that. Well, that and I’d actually gone to coffee with him a couple of times in the spring. What had I been thinking? Mostly that I wanted him to keep buying books from me and not completely tick him off. I’d held out the ridiculous hope that he’d decide we weren’t a good match on his own and leave me be.
I didn’t know how to respond, so just offered a tight smile.
“Well?” He crossed his arms.
“Let me know if I can help you find anything.” I moved around the counter to stand by the register. I wanted to head back to the girls and reclaim my seat. They looked like they were having a good conversation that I was missing. But I also didn’t completely trust Reuben at this point and the best vantage for the store was by the register where I could physically see peopleandI had access to the monitor displaying cameras for the hidden areas.
Reuben frowned. “You’re not even going to try?”
“I’m not, no. It’s not my policy to offer individual discounts that aren’t part of a store-wide sale or publisher promotion.” At least I’d managed to keep my voice steady. I really wanted him to leave.
“But I bought you coffee.”
I studied his incredulous look a moment before responding. “I’d be happy to pay you back.”
“No.” He scowled at me. “But good luck staying in business. I know people who read, and I’m going to fill them in on how hostile you are.”
“Okay.” My stomach clenched into a tight knot. The store wasn’t going to survive a big campaign against it. I wasn’t sure Reuben actually had the kind of clout to do anything more than tell the basement dwellers he played D and D with every Saturday, but I also really didn’t want to find out.
He stabbed his finger in my face. “You’ll see.”
He jerked the door open and stormed out. I waited until he’d marched down the sidewalk as far as I could see before letting my shoulders sag.
The girls hurried over.
Kayla grabbed my hand. “Are you okay? We were debating calling the police.”
“I’m fine. I’m glad you didn’t.” I mustered a small smile. “I think I just lost a customer, though.”
“Ugh. Good riddance.” Whitney wrinkled her nose. “I still can’t believe you went out with him.”
