揥ow, cool.?He made an explosion noise in his mouth. 揃ooks, ya know??
揧ep, books.?She sighed. 揇o you want to go on a date with me??
Carter抯 mouth fell open. 揊or serious? Hell yeah!?
Hannah snapped to attention and blinked a few times. 揙h. Okay, then.?
揑抦 going to the bar tomorrow night. You want to come with? They have darts,?he told her. There were a few bars in Queen抯 Cove but only one that the locals frequented, a dingy old bar that had been standing since the sixties.
She glanced at me before nodding at him. 揙kay. Sunday night at the bar.?
Carter fist-pumped the air. 揜ight on. See you then, chica. Later, boss.?He made finger-guns at her before backing away. I heard him whoop as he bobbed down the street.
揘ice one, chica.?
揝hut up.?Her mouth twitched. 揟his was your stupid idea.?
From the way she was trying not to laugh, instead of trying to blend in with the wall outside the bookstore like before, my idea didn抰 seem stupid at all.
She winced. 揌e抯 way too young for me. What will people think??
I shrugged. 揥ho cares? They抣l probably think, 憌ow, Hannah can get it.挃
揙h my god.?Her buried her face in her hands and I grinned.
The bell on the door jingled and Liya stuck her head out. 揌an, do we have any copies of Pride and Prejudice??
Her fingers came to her hair, playing as she thought with a little frown on her face. 揝econd stack from the supply room. On the right.?
揋reat.?Liya grinned at us. 揟hanks.?
We turned back to the street to see my brother Holden staring at us with a frown on his face. 揥hat are you doing here??
揋ood morning, sunshine.?
He frowned deeper. 揧ou抮e wearing a shirt and you抮e standing outside a bookstore.?
Hannah crossed her arms over her chest. 揥e抮e doing a thing. Holden, do you want to go on a date with me??
Under the brim of his baseball hat, his eyes widened with alarm. He hadn抰 dated anyone in years. His frown deepened and he cleared his throat. 揟here抯 an art exhibit at the gallery next weekend I was going to go to.?
I tilted my head, studying him. Didn抰 expect that.
揙h.?Hannah抯 eyebrows rose in surprise. 揟he Emily Carr one.?
He grunted in acknowledgement and shot me a warning glance. My mouth quirked.
Hannah nodded with a small smile. 揙kay.?
揝aturday at two. I抣l buy you food after. Don抰 be late.?He turned and walked away, leaving Hannah and I standing on the sidewalks, me shaking with laughter and her with her mouth hanging open.
She stared after Holden before giving me a hesitant glance. 揑 don抰 like Holden like that. What if he gets the wrong idea??
揑抣l talk to him.?
She groaned. 揘o, that抯 worse. I抣l think of something.?
The bell behind us jangled again and Beck stepped out.
揌ey, Hannah.?He gave her a warm smile and held up a stack of books. 揑 got lucky today. I got that a book you ordered in for me about medical research.?
Hannah gave him a shy smile. 揑t抯 so funny. Mary Roach is so sharp and witty.?
揂nd, I抦 going to read this Pride and Prejudice you won抰 stop talking about.?
I turned to study Hannah. She hadn抰 mentioned this book to me.
She chewed her lip, biting back a smile. 揑抦 so happy you抳e decided to take your life in the right direction.?
I frowned, watching her smile up at him. Her eyes glowed. She was lit from within, talking about this book. Where was the shy, terrified Hannah? She seemed to melt away in Beck抯 presence.
揧ou love this book, huh??He beamed at her, and there was a spark in his gaze.
She nodded. 揑t抯 my favorite. It抯 so?It抯 the ultimate romantic comedy.?She gestured at the weathered store sign above us. 揟here抯 a reason the bookstore is named this.?She beamed again. 揧ou抣l see.?
I crossed my arms over my chest. My shoulders tightened.
Beck gave us a quick nod. 揑 look forward to it. See you later, you two.?
Hannah shot me a side-long glance but I held my hand up to Beck. 揌annah wants to ask you something.?
Her face went red. That made my shoulders even tighter. She didn抰 blush with Holden.
揢m厰 she started.
揋o on.?I tilted my chin at her, keeping my arms crossed.
Beck glanced between us with narrowed eyes. 揥hat is it??
Hannah winced at him. 揑抦 trying a thing. Do you want to go out with me??
Beck抯 gaze flared with interest. 揧es, I do. Is this because I抦 reading your favorite book??
She laughed and there was a weird stab in my stomach. 揘o, no. Wyatt抯 making me ask people out to embarrass me.?
Beck looked impressed. 揋ood for you.?He glanced at me and did a double take at me before shooting a quick smile at Hannah. 揑 have to get back to the clinic, but I抣l come chat with you tomorrow.?