Page 99 of The Tattered Gloves
I inwardly groaned as Sam approached.
“I heard through the grapevine that Page Turners is now open to clubs?”
I felt my spastic nerves calm as I instantly realized this wasn’t about me at all.
It was about the bookstore.
“Yes, that’s correct,” Sam replied.
“I’ve been hosting a book club, mostly reading historical fiction, for years now, and…well, quite frankly, I’m tired of cleaning and baking every week, especially now that I live alone. I was hoping you might allow us to hold our meeting at the bookstore. There are only six of us, and I’d be happy to order our books through you.”
“That would be great,” we both replied in unison.
“Wonderful!” she exclaimed. “And I don’t suppose you can provide refreshments?”
The was a moment of silence before I chimed in, “Of course. Whatever you need. Just send an email to the shop, and we’ll have everything set up.”
Mrs. Landers was beyond delighted when we left.
Sam… not so much.
“Refreshments?” he said as we both rushed to class. “Refreshments, Willow? How are we going to pull that off? Remember Addy telling us to take this one step at a time?”
My hands flew out. “I know, I know! But Mrs. Landers looked so hopeful. What was I supposed to do?”
“Say,No, sorry. Why don’t you try the bakery across town?”
“What about your sister?” I said out of the blue.
He stopped in the middle of the hallway, people rushing around us, as the bell rang. Now, we were officially late for class. He didn’t seem to care.
“My sister who burns everything? That doesn’t sound wise.”
“No, but maybe Addy could train her? You’re always saying she needs to grow up.” I gave a brief shrug, adjusting my heavy backpack in the process. “It’s just a thought. But it would definitely give us a leg up in hosting if we were able to provide more than just coffee.”
His eyes narrowed, and I could see he was thinking it over.
“Okay. I’ll think about it, and we can talk about it more this afternoon. But, in the meantime, do you think you could maybe not promise anything more without checking with your business partner first?”
I smiled as he stepped closer. “Business partner?”
“Sure, why not? I mean, I can’t give you an official title, but when it comes to decisions and how Page Turners is handled… I want you included. Always.”
“Your dad will be thrilled.” I laughed.
“My dad is convinced the place is going to shut down in a few weeks anyway. We are going to prove him wrong.”
“Yes, we are.”
He looked around, finally realizing how silent the halls were.
“But not right now. Right now, we’re going to get our butts to class before we find ourselves in detention instead of work.”
“There’s a pep rally last period. Everyone will be heading out to the gym at any minute.”
He nodded. “Right. Well then, perfect time to slide in without notice. I’ll see you after school.”
His hand squeezed mine before he dashed down the hall toward his classroom.
