Page 8 of Cookie

My eyes widened with excitement and happiness, as I realized my dream of owning a bookstore was really going to happen. My mind raced with all the possibilities. “I have so many ideas,” I finally blurted out. “I’d really like to change the reading area and make it a little more cozy and definitely more modern. Maybe we could have a little coffee counter, to go with the cookies, or maybe just tea.” I rambled long enough that I lost track of time and when I looked over at Charlie, that sweet grin was still on his face.

“I thought you just wanted to add a few shelves,” he asked.

I took a bite of my toasted sandwich and looked up at the ceiling, while I gathered my thoughts. “I do, but now that I know for sure it’ll be mine, I can think of about a million more things I want to do.”

“Will you change the name?” Charlie asked and picked up his half turkey sandwich that had come with his soup.

“No, I like the name. Plus, I want to keep a part of my aunt there. Even though she’s ready to get out of the business she really did love it. I might have a new sign made though.” There was somuch to consider. For everything I thought of keeping the same there were five things I thought could use a fresh start.

“Do you know if Millie will be moving from Grace?” Charlie asked.

“I’m not sure. She has her house, and it’s paid for. But I know she talks to my mom about traveling all the time. So maybe she’ll keep her house but not live here full-time. She loves it here and I don’t think she’s ready to move back to Sacramento anytime soon. But a year ago I didn’t think she’d be selling the store.” Once Millie had moved from the city her life had changed. She’d always been very driven, but in the city that energy led to her being stressed out and overworked. Mostly from her own doing. Moving to Grace and owning her own store allowed her slow down and do things the way she wanted.

“I’m so happy to hear you’re staying. I hope Millie stays too but I can’t blame her for wanting to see more of the world than just this little town.” His brow furrowed and he looked down at his sandwich with a scowl.

“What did your sandwich do to piss you off so bad?” I asked and settled my foot next to his under the table.

“I’ve never gone anywhere. I was born here, and I’ve lived here my whole life. I skipped college since I knew I wanted to work at the shop, so I didn’t even leave town for that.”

“Do you want to travel?” I asked. We still knew so little about each other, but I wanted to know everything about him.

“There is so much out there I want to see. Did you know there are pyramids in Mexico? And the sand on the Yucatan coast is from limestone, that’s why it’s so white, but it also doesn’t heat up like regular sand. Can you imagine that?” Now it was Charlie who was excited. It was obvious to me he had many more dreams outside of the auto shop and the small town he lived in.

“I’ve been to three different pyramids in Mexico,” I said, and his eyes lit up.

“No way. When was this?”

“A few years ago. We went to Cancun and there are a lot of ruins nearby. They’re all amazing, you’d love it all. The water is clear blue, the sand doesn’t get hot, and the food is amazing.” I smiled at him, and he smiled back as he hung on my every word.

“I watch a lot of travel shows,” he said and blushed.

“So, where else are we going,” I asked.

“Don’t tempt me, Ryan. I’ll be buying tickets as soon as I get back to work.” He reached across the table for my hand and squeezed it. “Your turn, where do you want to go?”

“Rome, I want to see the Colosseum and all the ruins around it. Not to mention Pompeii, I mean who doesn’t want to go there?” I asked, making him smile again.

“Do you think they have the best pizza in the world?” he asked.

“I’ve heard all the food is amazing. Everything is fresh and delicious. Oh, maybe we need to go there soon,” I said, making him laugh.

“We might need to save up for a while, and possibly plan some time off.”

“Now we have something to look forward to,” I said, and noticed just how handsome he was for the hundredth time.

“Oh, I think we have more than one thing to look forward to,” he whispered, and the fire in his eyes reminded me of the way he’d looked at me when we were alone in my bed.

“How much longer is your break?” I asked.

He checked the time, and his hand went up as he signaled we needed our bill. “Long enough.”

“Sorry, Sherry, we’re in a bit of a hurry. Ryan has something he wants to show me at the bookstore,” Charlie said as he handed her some money. “Keep the change.” He stood and held his hand out to me.

The second we were outside he smiled like he’d gotten away with something, but when we walked into the bookstore and I locked the door behind us, it only took a moment for me to kiss that smile off his face. “I love kissing you,” I said and reached up to hold his face in my hands.

“Good thing because I really love kissing you.” He hadn’t said how much time he had but for the next twenty minutes the two of us never moved from the other side of the locked door. A knock on the glass startled me and I spun around in his arms to the face of an older man who I hadn’t met yet.

“Hello,” he called with a big grin and a wave.

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