Page 30 of Crazy in Love

The man’s confusion turned to doubt, and he narrowed his brows. “You’re not here for a coffee date?”

“Not with a stranger,” she said indignantly. “I’m an engaged woman. Right, honey?”

She looked at Nick, grabbed his hand and squeezed, begging him to play along. He cleared his throat and rolled his eyes. “Yes, dear.”

The man mumbled his apologies and left the shop in a huff.

“Whew,” Faith said. “That was close.”

“Mulligan?” Nick said, raising a judgmental eyebrow and shaking his head.

Faith shrugged. “Best I could come up with under duress. Remind me to give him a terrible rating on the website. His picture must be ten years old. And it was definitely taken twenty pounds and a head of hair ago. He also lied about his height. Did you see how I dwarfed him by about six inches?”

“You met him online?” Nick asked, still trying to calm his pulse from the kiss. Was she just going to pretend like that hadn’t happened?

“Where else would I meet men?” she asked.

Over the years, he’d heard this same complaint from Tess. Another drawback of a small town. No way to meet new people.

Over Faith’s shoulder, he noticed Hope burning a hole in the back of her head. “I think Hope’s looking to collect.”

Faith dug a twenty out of her wallet. “Yeah, well. Fair’s fair. Thanks for going along with me.”

“You didn’t give me much of a choice,” he said.

“Come to the bookstore, and I’ll give you one on the house.” She winked, passed Hope the money, and sashayed out the door.He blinked and shook his head. She was nuts, but damned if she didn’t leave him with a smile every time they met.

He looked down at his book, which only had a few more chapters. Perfect timing. He would take her up on that offer soon.

Hope shoved the cash into her pocket and yelled to ask if he wanted a refill. When he nodded, she came over with a carafe.

“Could you maybe put ‘Nick’ on my cup next time?” he asked, holding up the cup that read, “Agent Limps-a-Lot.”

“Names are boring,” she said, topping him off. “Don’t worry. You won’t have to deal with me much longer. I start school next week, so I’ll only work afternoons or weekends. Someone else will have the morning shift.”

“That’s too bad. I’ve grown to love our little chats.”

She rolled her eyes at his sarcasm. “Hey, you wanna go driving later?”

No was on the tip of his tongue, but then he had an idea. “Actually, if you’re willing to drive me to my physical therapy appointment and wait a bit, I’ll let you drive around after.” That would save Tess from having to take off work.

“What time? I get off at two-thirty.”

“Perfect. My appointment’s at three. Meet you here?”

“I gotta make sure Faith’s okay with me taking her car.” She pulled out her phone. “What’s your number?”

He scanned the room to ensure no one overheard and thought he was picking up on an underage girl, then whispered the number. Within a second, his phone vibrated, and the word “test” flashed across the notifications.

“I’m sure it’s fine, but I’ll text you to confirm once I talk to Faith. Thanks, dude.” The bells on the door jingled, and she left to help the new customer.

In the last few days, Nick had fallen into a routine. In the morning, he’d walk to town, get coffee and breakfast, and then read in the park. At noon, he’d take laps around the plaza until the pain was unbearable, at which point he’d break down and pop a pill. He was excited to start physical therapy and hoped it would be the catalyst to really speed up his progress.

Thirty minutes into his “reading time,” he finished his book. Good thing he knew where to get another. Seeing Faith was not the main reason he got up and started toward Page Turners. It just happened to be a pretty blonde perk.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

After her disastrous coffee date, Faith returned to the bookstore. She worked for a bit but finally broke down and called her go-to, call-in psychic Amara.

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