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I breathed in. “Do you smell that?”
Hayden inhaled. “Smell what?”
“It’s books! The best smell in the world.”
Hayden sniffed again. “I don’t smell it?”
I looked at him aghast, grabbing a basket from where they were stashed inside the door. “We’re just going to have to stay here until you do.”
Hayden laughed, taking in the different sections, one room blending into another in the cozy and intimate space.
“I’m going to find their business section,” Hayden said, jerking his head in the direction of one of the other rooms.
“I’m going to start out here, take the whole space in,” I responded, not looking at him anymore as I took in the tables in the front room lined with new releases. I felt slightly out of touch, not having put out new releases at Ridge Reads for over three months. There was some standout I had missed in that gap. I’d need to peruse slowly.
I lost myself in the feeling of enjoying a bookstore that I had no personal stake in, other than being a book lover. Even as I leaned into the immersion of browsing, my brain couldn’t help take in the little details that seemed to stand out to make this store so successful. A busy events calendar, personal recommendations for books hanging from the shelves, friendly staff. My professional mind whirred with ideas about workshops for struggling independent bookstores across the country.
Eventually, even those thoughts faded into the background as I wandered the sections slowly, stopping to read recommendations of titles marked by staff as their favorites. I crossed into another room, looking around briefly for Hayden. When I didn’t see him, I lost myself in browsing a highly anticipated memoir I hadn’t had a chance to flip through yet. I added it to my basket. It was now so heavy, I set it down and pushed the basket with my foot to a new spot on the floor as I moved along.
I jumped slightly when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Turning, I saw Hayden standing there. “I believe I promised to hold your book stack for you. Sorry to make you lug it around. Duncan called after sending me a text ordering me to answer his call and I just finished putting out that fire.” Hayden lifted the basket with one hand, his other running through his hair.
Good to know those weren’t just show muscles, I mused.
“Must have been a small fire,” I said, checking my watch. “Orrrr not. Shit! It’s already been an hour? Okay, I’m done.” I moved to take the basket back from Hayden so I could head to the register and check out.
“No, you’re not. You haven’t even made it into the last room yet. I just wanted to grab your basket. I’m going to go sit at that table over there and look at that new Barefoot Contessa cookbook. I know Margaret wants it for Christmas, but she and my dad are trying to eat gluten-free, so I want to be sure the recipes are easily adaptable.” Hayden gestured toward said table with his head and turned to move in that direction. I grabbed his arm to stop him and raised up on my toes to plant a kiss on his cheek.
“Thank you,” I said.
Hayden’s eyes warmed at my sudden burst of affection.
“Anytime, my lady.” His eyes widened. “Not that you’re my lady… I mean, if you wanted…”
“Smooth,” I laughed. “Go look at your cookbook. I promise I won’t be too much longer.”
“Take all the time you need.” This time, when he turned toward the corner he had identified, I let him go.
This one’s got stamina, I thought, feeling myself heat at the thought of what all types of stamina he might have. I hurried toward the kids’ books, because few things were less horny than books aimed at tiny humans who were just learning to read.
After another thirty minutes or so, I really was ready to go, and I went to grab Hayden so we could get checked out and continue on with our day. I noticed he had moved on from the cookbook, which sat on top of my basket of books, and was now thirty pages deep in Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott.
“Going to write the great American novel, Brandt?”
Hayden jumped, making us even for jump scares this afternoon. He marked his page with a piece of paper from his pocket and added the book to the pile.
“I don’t think so. I remember Ted Lasso referencing the book, and I thought I’d check it out. I don’t think writing’s my path, but I wonder if I’m looking at my unhappiness with being CIO as too large a problem and I need to break it down bird by bird first. I’ll see Duncan in December and think maybe I should talk to him then.”
I smiled at Hayden, noticing how handsome he looked when he was feeling determined about something.
“Looks like we both got something out of this bookstore trip then,” I said, hoisting up the pile of gifts and other books I had added to my arms since Hayden relieved me of my basket.
Hayden’s eyes widened. “We’re going to need another boat to get all those back across the river.”
I shrugged. “I know it’s a lot, but we get a monthly reimbursement from work for purchases at an indie bookstore when we submit receipts and I haven’t submitted anything yet. Plus, a lot of these are gifts. It’s hard to surprise bookstore owners with books from their own inventory, ya know? Maybe we can leave them behind the counter until we’re ready to head back, so we don’t have to lug them around all afternoon. We’ll see what time they close.”
“I’ll help carry them, if not. It’s no trouble. I’m glad you found so much to buy. It’s a great store. We should support them.”
I winced. “Sorry, reflex. I’ve dated oth—I mean, had friends who didn’t understand why I would buy so much from another bookstore when I had access to any book I wanted at our store.”
