I glanced at Wyatt, watching me carefully, waiting.
My dad wasn抰 here, though, was he? I was the one running the store every day. I was the one trying to keep the bookstore afloat. There were tons of people out today on the street, shopping and wandering around the town. We might even make a few sales.
I had to keep the store afloat, and what my dad didn抰 know for today wouldn抰 hurt him. I tapped in the store抯 banking info, and bang. We were set up for credit card payments.
Wyatt and Liya retrieved the rest of the books while customers milled around the table. Liya had brought out a small shelf that sat on top to display our favorites. We even brought the little Staff Picks! sign.
A woman with a straw hat picked up a copy of So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo and read the back cover while her friend browsed the titles on the table.
揑 loved that book,?I told her. 揝he blends data with personal stories about race in America, and it抯 eye opening. Her writing is beautiful.?
She nodded and pulled her wallet out of her tote bag. 揑抣l take it.?
Wyatt watched with a little smile on his face as I figured out how to use the square on my phone with her credit card.
The woman pulled out her phone. 揇o you have social media??
揥e do.?I rattled off our social media handles. 揥e抮e over there.?I pointed over my shoulder at the bookstore.
揊ound you,?she said, lighting up. 揋orgeous photos. I抦 so glad I found you.?
揙h.?My face warmed but I grinned at her. 揗e too.?
揇o you have anything like The Vampire Diaries??Straw Hat Woman抯 friend asked.
揌ere,?Wyatt said, taking the phone from me. 揑抣l do that. You do the books, bookworm.?
I found the title I was searching for and handed it to the woman. 揌ot vampires, a Southern waitress, a dangerous vampire king, and an unsolved murder. It抯 a long series so you can keep reading if you enjoy.?I shrugged. 揟he books are better than the TV show.?
While Liya was in an animated conversation with someone about a sci-fi romance series about blue aliens, I snapped a picture and posted it. I had caught Liya as she angled the book cover to the camera.
Pemberley Books is at the Queen抯 Cove farmer抯 market today. Come talk about books with us!
For the next hour, Liya and I helped customers find what they were searching for and Wyatt processed the sales.
揇o you have anything like Bridgerton??a woman in her early twenties asked.
My eyes lit up. 揧es.?I grabbed a historical romance off the table and thrust it in her hands.
A dad in cargo shorts and a baseball hat led his teenager up to the stand. 揗y kid is non-binary. Do you have any YA books with non-binary main characters??
揙r trans,?his teenager added.
I was already reaching for a couple books. 揇o you have a specific genre, like fantasy or rom-com??
They considered this. 揑 like fantasy stuff.?
揧ou抮e in luck.?I picked out two titles and handed them over. 揑 have more in the bookstore over there in case these aren抰 what you抮e looking for.?
They smiled big at me and the dad pulled out his wallet.
揑抣l help you over here, bud,?Wyatt said, beckoning them over.
From half a block away, I spotted Don hustling toward the table. 揙h, no.?
揥hat??Liya glanced where I was looking. 揙h, no.?
揌annah.?He crossed his arms and surveyed the book stand.
揌i, Don.?My voice was tentative. I shot Wyatt a glance. He was helping the dad pay but a little smile pulled at his mouth.
Don nodded and leaned in, lowering his voice. 揑抦 happy to see you outside. Glad my rejection didn抰 send you into a depression.?
My mouth flattened into a line. 揅an I help you with something today??Anything to move this conversation along.
He perked up. 揑 wanted to see if you had the second in that orc series.?
揙h. Um. Yeah, it抯 back at the shop. I抣l go grab it.?
When I returned to the stand with the second book in the series, Don had his camera up, snapping more pictures of Liya chatting with a customer.
He put his camera down when he spotted me and reached for the book. 揚erfect, thank you. I lent my copy to Miri and she is loving it.?
Miri Yang was Don抯 best friend. She also ran a popular social media account with town events. She had reposted one of my pictures the other day, an image of Liya in the window of the store as she placed a book up on the shelf.
And now she was reading orc erotica.
Okay.
After Wyatt put Don抯 book through, I was plugging my phone into a battery pack Liya had brought when Elizabeth, Wyatt抯 mom, strolled past.
I gave her a quick wave. 揌i, Elizabeth.?
She was in her sixties, always wore a bold necklace, and stopped in the bookstore to buy a book or say hello or ask how my dad was doing. She wore a curious smile was she glanced between Wyatt and I.