Page 76 of One Happy Summer

Does it hurt to see a picture of Presley with another guy? Not really. Not when it’s Declan Stone and I know there’s nothing going on there. It’s the picture of the game she told me she didn’t want to play anymore that bothers me the most. Was anythingPresley said to me true? Does she go around telling every guy she spends time with that she wants to “keep” them?

“Well, I think she looks terrible in that dress,” Scout says.

I give her a side hug, which she squirms out of. “Thanks for having my back.”

“Enjoy it. It’ll probably be the last time.” She gives me a teasing grin.

“Last time for what?” my mom asks as she walks toward us. She’d been in the back of the store, organizing shelves for a shipment of books arriving later today.

I shake my head. “Nothing. But … I do have some news.”

“Oh?” my mom asks, her eyebrows moving up her forehead.

I tell her and Scout about my old job, and Scout gets bored about two seconds in and begins pretend sword fighting with the feather duster.

“Briggs, that’s amazing news,” my mom says, giving me a hug.

“So, I’ll be here for a bit longer, if that’s okay with you,” I ask her when she pulls away, already knowing what her answer will be.

“Of course,” she says. “I love having both my babies near me.”

“Mom, I’m not a baby,” Scout says, sounding irritated.

“It’s a figure of speech,” my mom says. “And you’ll always be my baby.”

“Whatever,” she says.

“So . . . ,” I start. “I won’t be able to work at the bookshop as much. I can still help, but I need to devote some time to working on AssistGen.”

“Ass what?” Scout asks.

“Scout,” our mom says, her voice a reprimand.

“Sorry, I didn’t hear what he said.” She holds her hands out by her sides, the picture of innocence.

I chuckle. “It’s the name of the company I started with some friends.”

She crinkles her nose. “It’s a dumb name.”

“Thanks,” I say.

“Don’t listen to her—it’s a great name,” my mom says, patting me on the shoulder. “And of course, Briggsy. You need to work on your company, and I’ll keep things afloat here. To be honest, I’ve been a little bored, not having to work as much.”

“I’ll still help out as much as I can,” I say.

She waves my words away with her hand. “We were fine before you came back, and we’ll be just fine again.”

“Ouch,” I say, pretending to be hurt.

“You know what I mean.”

“Well, I won’t be starting until next week, so put me to work,” I tell her.

“Perfect,” she says. “We just need to make room for all the books I ordered.”

We get to work, and for the first time since Presley left, I feel lighter and happy to be here working at the bookshop.

Presley

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