This Book Made Me Think of You(81)

“Well, I have certainly worked with some challenging celebrities, so I think I could handle whatever your fiction authors have to throw at me.”

“I can see that. I have to say, I was impressed with you when we spoke in the past. But you seem even…more now. There’s a confidence to you that wasn’t there before. We really value that at Alphabet. You’d be working on novels right from the beginning—and for our high-profile authors, this can mean being heavily involved in brainstorming and story planning—all the way through to publication and publicity. It’s a busy team, but you’d be working with the best of the best.”

Like so many times in the last year, Tilly wishes she could tell Joe. That Alphabet in New York want her. She knows exactly how excited and proud he would be, though, and that brings her a sense of comfort. She pictures him sitting at the bar across from them, watching and smiling, a drink raised in congratulations.

“Wow. I don’t really know what to say.”

“I really think you’d like life in New York and at Alphabet,” says Liz. “We can help with finding accommodations and things like that. But I know it would require a big change for you, so how about you take a few weeks to think about it? Let me know your decision by Christmas?”

“Perfect, thank you. It’s an amazing opportunity. I’m really flattered you thought of me.”

“I think this could be an exciting next chapter—for both of us. Now, how about a toast, to…the future?”

They both raise their glasses. Tilly thinks back to Joe’s latest letter, where he asked her to think about what her future might look like. She pictures herself walking through the door of Alphabet Books in Midtown New York, a coffee in one hand (because in New York she will like coffee), her phone in the other, the buzz of activity and bookish conversation around her, the street thronging with taxis and traffic outside. It’s not something she could have imagined at the start of the year. But it’s a pretty good picture.

“To the future.”

Tilly clinks her glass against Liz’s, trying to keep her hand steady, her heart pounding beneath her shirt covered in books.



* * *



—

When Tilly arrives home, it’s to an email from Rachel.

Hi Tilly,

Hope the interview went well. So excited for you!

As promised, here is the first draft of my novel. Eek!! Please know there is no pressure at all to read it (or if you do, to like it!). I just really appreciate the offer, and I really appreciate you. I’m so glad we’re back in touch. See you soon.

Rachel xx

Tilly opens the document, pulling a blanket around her shoulders and sinking into the sofa cushions. She only intends to read the first few pages, but by the end of the second chapter she is hooked. By the third she has grabbed a notebook and pen and is scribbling away. As she works, she feels the warmth of something growing in her chest. Something Elizabeth Gilbert might even call big magic.





Fifty-One




For a business that is on its last legs, Book Lane is busy with customers getting ahead on their Christmas shopping. Alfie can hardly keep up with restocking the shop, serving customers, and shipping out online orders, even with Blue and Prudence helping.

He can’t quite believe that the crowd funder is at ten thousand pounds, or that both regular customers and complete strangers have donated to try to save the shop. Despite everyone’s generosity and how busy it is, Alfie knows deep down it isn’t enough. He has until the end of the month. Just two weeks to somehow magic up the price of a building in one of London’s most desirable neighborhoods.

“Um, Alfie,” comes Blue’s voice from the front of the shop, bent over her phone. “Have you seen Tilly’s latest post? Or checked our socials recently?”

Prudence has just finished up with a customer and joins Blue, pushing her reading glasses up her nose and leaning in to look at Blue’s phone. “Blimey!”

Alfie brings his own phone out of his pocket. It is alight with notifications. Since this morning, they seem to have acquired hundreds of new followers. There are more comments and messages than he can process. He scrolls through:

So sad about your shop, it looks amazing. I’m going to donate and order something online!

Love the idea of Tilly Nightingale’s year of books. How can we buy our own?

He clicks on Tilly’s page and notices that her follower count has shot up too. Over the past few weeks she has shared photos and videos from the last year. Her favorite quotes from Roald Dahl’s Matilda, photos of a completely blackened farmhouse loaf and an exquisite tarte tatin—her worst and best cooking attempts from Delia’s How to Cook—a picture of Beach Read lying on white sand in Bali, her smiling face with the medal from the half-marathon around her neck…Alfie tries not to focus too much on the images of her face or the feeling each one brings to his stomach. He clicks on her latest video, of her roller-skating in the park. It has hundreds of comments. Near the top there is one that makes him stop, reading the name of the commenter twice.

“A book made me do this,” I love that. Great video, Tilly. I’m going to repost it!

Aimee Rain. As in, the pop star Aimee Rain. But surely it can’t be the Aimee Rain? He clicks on the account to check. Three million followers. And there on her feed is Tilly’s roller-skating video, with Book Lane tagged front and center.