Page 109 of Over & Out

A few minutes later, after Bob accepts a signed napkin—and the hundred bucks I thrust at him—I’m waving goodbye to the now mostly friendly crowd, reassuring them I’ll be back, since I’m still filming here. I hurriedly promise Diane I’m going to recommend we film at her inn for a scene coming up and sign a few more quick autographs. Then Miles and I are hustling down a concrete corridor behind the shops.

“There’s a door at the other end of the block that should be clear,” he tells me.

“I’m sorry about being an asshole,” I say as we walk at a clip. “Turns out I’m kind of a shit when I’m in love with someone I might not get to keep.”

“Better than someone who was never yours in the first place,” Miles says. He looks instantly embarrassed, like he didn’t mean to say that. Before I can ask what he means, he says, “Anyway, I thought you were a shit all the time.”

That stings, even though it’s nothing new. I’m hoping to deal with that soon, though. Tru and I have been talking. She thinks Mabel was milking my bad reputation, setting me up in ways that would ensure I looked disagreeable. “She might have thought she was insulating you from threats from your dad,” Tru said. “Can’t tarnish an already tarnished reputation. But I don’t think it’s the best approach.” I should have promoted her years ago.

“Yeah, well, don’t believe everything you read,” I tell Miles now.

“Or see?”

I narrow my eyes at him, and he lifts a corner of his mouth. “Takes one to know one,” he says.

Yeah, I think we might just be friends. When I get back.

But I grind to a halt as I see the door we’re passing. Over the top it saysPink Cheeks.“Is this a bookstore?”

“Yeah. Romance books.”

“This is Chris’s friend’s place, right?”

Miles frowns. “Lana’s, yeah.”

I push through the door, saluting the woman doing stock in the back. “Hello.”

She drops the book in her hand, her mouth gaping.

“Sally,” grunts Miles behind me as he follows me in. “I thought you were in a hurry?” he asks me.

“This’ll only take a sec. The plane will wait.” I grimace sheepishly as I realize what an asshole that makes me sound like. “Only so long. They still have a departure window.”

Miles looks at me like I should be called Prince von Wankerface the Third.

“Never mind,” I say. “Where are the Duke books, please?” I ask the woman at the counter once we get through to the store proper, which is surprisingly large. She points to a section near the front without looking up from her book. A Duke book, ironically. I grab what I’m looking for—the latest in the series—and head for the cash. “I’ll take this, please,” I say.

She takes her sweet time looking up.“Sorry, such agood part!” she says, holding her finger over the page, her eyes still moving fast. I guess most patrons are used to this. “Did you know Hopper Donnach is in town? He plays the Duke in the movies.”

“How the hell is she reading and talking at the same time?” I ask Miles.

“You’re gonna want to look up, Barb,” Miles says.

The woman looks up. When she sees me standing there, she shrieks, her book flying through the air. I catch it neatly and hand it back to her, giving her my best smile.“Sorry, I’m in a bit of a rush.”

Her hands flap around her, and Miles lets out a breath. “Hoo, boy.”

“You know what?” I say, pulling out my wallet. “Here. Keep the change.” I throw down a bill. “Actually,” I say, thinking out loud, “could you please also pack up a box of one of each of the other Duke books? No, three of each. You can send them to this address.”

I grab a pen and notepad off the counter and scribble the beach house address on it. Then I set both back and pull most of the rest of the bills out of my wallet. “I think this should cover it?”

“Dude, that’s like two thousand dollars,” Miles says. “Maybe five.”

“Use the rest for coffee breaks,” I tell the woman, who still hasn’t found her voice. “There’s a nice place next door. We good?”

She nods.

I tuck the single book under my arm and jerk my chin at Miles. At the back of the store, I say, “I thinkI can find my way from here. Maybe you can check to make sure she’s still standing?”

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