Page 52 of The Summer We Started Over

“They’re here to see you,” Eddie whispered.

“Of course,” Dinah said.

The women, glowing with expectation, went straight to Dinah, and she did not disappoint. As Eddie watched, it seemed that a light went on inside Dinah. If it was the readers’ dream to meet their favorite romance writer, it was Dinah’s dream to meet the women who read her books. They chatted and laughed and browsed through Dinah’s books, and Dinah bent her head over the table and signed books with a lavender flourish.

A white delivery van pulled up next to the cars. A man stepped out with an enormous bouquet of lilacs, iris, and pale purple tulips.

“Is Dinah Lavender here?” he asked.

“Right here,” Dinah said.

The man brought the bouquet, already thoughtfully placed in a vase of water, to Dinah’s table. The women sighed with delight and snapped photos on their phones.

“Thank you,” Dinah said. “Have a book for your wife.”

“Oh, I’m not married,” the deliveryman told her.

Dinah didn’t miss a beat. “Give this book to your girlfriend and you will be.” She handed the man a book. “I’ve included a special bookmark. Thank you so much for driving all the way out here.”

The man glanced at the book with a fifty-dollar bill tucked inside.

“Thank you,” he said. “Wow.”

Eddie left her post to help Dinah place the flowers on the low table between the two leather chairs. The bouquet was so huge, it would have hidden Dinah’s face.

“You didn’t have to give himfiftydollars,” Eddie whispered to Dinah.

“Publicity,” Dinah whispered back, and winked.

Dinah removed the gift card from the flowers. She opened it, glowed, and whispered, “Oh, my. Eddie, look who sent me flowers.”

Eddie leaned over Dinah’s shoulder. The card readLove, your secret admirer.

“Who is that?” Eddie asked, afraid it was Dinah’s stalker.

“It’s fine. I’ll tell you later,” Dinah told her. She tucked the card into her bosom and turned to smile at her readers.

By noon, the Book Barn was full of customers, mostly women and children, but a few men, too. Sales were brisk, but quarters and one-dollar bills didn’t add up to a fortune. Still, Eddie thought, as Dinah had reminded her, the important thing was that they were clearing out the towers of books.

By early afternoon, the rush was over. The summer people were at the beach. The year-rounders were working.

After twenty minutes of no customers, Eddie wandered over to Dinah.

“Could you stay here for ten more minutes while I run into the house and make a sandwich? Then I’ll take over for the next few hours and you can write or do whatever you want.”

“Of course.” Dinah rose. “Take your time. I’ll wander around and straighten the shelves.”

“Thanks. Want me to bring you a sandwich?”

“No, but a glass of iced tea would be lovely.”

“Before I go,” Eddie said, “who sent the flowers?”

Dinah twinkled. “I did.”

“You did? Okay, but how? If you’d used your phone or email, the florist would know you were the one ordering them.”

“I asked Paul if I could borrow his phone. He let me use his credit card, and I reimbursed him in cash.”

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