Page 167 of Will Bark for Pizza
“We better go before there’s ascene.”
Go!
Let’s go!
Where are we going, New Best Friend?
I see you, tiny dog.
I’ve got my eye on you.
“Don’t forget the coffee.”
“Thanks!”
“Beckett?”
“She’s going to love it.”
“I hope so.”
Let’s go!
FIFTY-THREE
KIRA
When the beepof the delivery truck backing up to the front door of Brenda’s Book Nook echoed, everyone inside the bookstore froze mid-conversation and stared at one another. After a few beats of excitedly charged silence, the group burst out in delighted squeals. Well, Thelma gave more of an enthusiastic grunt.
“They’re here!” Dylann announced, clapping her hands together. Maybe it was the reflection of the light on the lens of her readers, but I swore her eyes were shiny.
Everyone rushed to the front door.
Thanks to Carlos’ connections with the town council, we were given express permission to allow the first delivery truck to unload from the front of the building—something not typically allowed in Bluebell Springs’ downtown area.
Since the back room of the store was filled with building materials for the new bookshelves, and the backhalf of the store behind the massive curtain was a construction zone, the easiest option was to offload these boxes through the front door. Plus, Lotti suggested it might create a stir among locals and tourists alike if a delivery truck was in their way outside Brenda’s Book Nook, and impossible to miss.
“Are you ready for this?” Grandma Connie asked, meeting me behind the small mob that were all honorary Book Nook employees.
“I think so.”
She gave me a side hug. “Me too.”
Aside from our delivery driver and his dolly, only Carlos and I carried individual boxes inside—I did not need anyone injuring themselves before the soft relaunch tomorrow. It warmed a spot inside me to know Beckett would help if I asked, but it was more important to me that he take Husker for the day.
It still seemed surreal.
A man hanging out withmydog without me.
It made me want to believe this could work. Maybe after the craziness of the store’s grand re-opening subsided, I could consider something . . .morewith him.
Or maybe I was just fucking horny and needed another of his potent orgasms. I was more than a little sexually frustrated, considering Madeline just left this morning and I had yet to get Beckett alone since she showed up last week. I could also blame my characters, who were most definitely getting more action than me.
“This is going to be perfect!” Lotti cooed. “We’ll have so many new releases for tomorrow!”
We decided to do our soft opening on a Tuesday. Iforgot that publishers released on that day of the week. Being an indie author, I released on whatever day felt right. Which reminded me, I owed Lila a text.
“Look at the copyright page!” Carlos held a hardcover book out to Betty. “Isn’t that the most glorious thing you’ve seen all day?”
