Chapter 8
EIGHT
Two long weeks had gone by since I’d left Zane standing in the middle of the street in Briarwood, and Bookstore Wren was back with a vengeance—well, kind of.
I’d hardly cracked a book in all that time.
How could I when all I did was compare every male lead to Zane?
And for the record, according to my diary, they didn’t measure up.
I hadn’t smiled as much lately, either. I tried to blame it on all the extra hours I’d put in at work, preparing for the book signing today.
But that wasn’t the reason, and I knew it.
Not even the smell of a brand-new book could bring a smile to my face when the only scent I was interested in was Zane’s special blend of cedar and citrus. Strong and fresh. Woody yet sweet.
I tugged at the hem of my shirt, threw my shoulders back, and squeezed my eyes shut, trying to clear thoughts of Zane from my mind for the millionth time since I’d last seen him.
After fourteen days of keeping my nose to the grindstone, hardly even coming up to eat, this was it.
Months of planning and preparation all came down to today, and I had to focus.
I glanced at the huge clock on the back wall of the bookstore.
The queen of romance, Daphne Rose Love, would grace our humble shop in about an hour, and everything was ready.
The atmosphere buzzed. Customers lined up around the store in a long zig-zagging queue that went clear out the door. Each of them clutched a book to their chest, hoping to go home with a signature from one of the most prolific authors of our time.
I was particularly proud of the towering book displays I’d created out of her latest hardbacks.
They stood on each end of a long table I’d draped in classy black fabric.
Besides the life-sized signage I’d placed around the table, the cherry on top of it all was the custom banner I’d hung across a huge PVC frame draped in slinky black fabric.
It was a fantastic backdrop to the book signing area.
Which would be even more fantastic if it would stop falling over!
It had fallen down twice already, but I was out of time to come up with another solution.
The best and only plan I had was to make sure nobody touched it because it was way too gorgeous to take down entirely.
Even in my glum mood, every time I looked at the reflective golden calligraphy that spelled out D.R.
Love across the top of the banner, I was tempted to perform an exaggerated chef’s kiss in the air.
Yep, it was that stunning.
This was my Stanley Cup, yet my excitement was gone. Why wasn’t I happier? Better yet, when had I started using hockey references in my life? Since I’d met Zane. Sadness poked another hole in my heart, like it always did whenever I thought of his name.
I hadn’t known what it really felt like to experience a thrill until the night Zane had taken me in his arms and kissed me. I’d never felt it before, and I feared I’d never feel it again. Work used to be enough for me.
But not anymore.
At least I still had Percy. The furry, unofficial store mascot was sleeping in the breakroom. As nice as it was to have him nearby all day, life felt like a novel missing its final chapter without Zane around.
Holding my phone up to snap a picture of the event for our social media page, I took a step backward to get the angle right.
My heart pinched when I bumped into a life-sized cardboard cutout of Zane lookalike Dash Rapture.
His blue eyes were beautiful in a manly kind of way, but they didn’t hold a candle to the spark that Zane’s crystal-blue eyes carried.
I refocused my attention and my camera on the task at hand but walked back to the table without taking a picture. “Who left this here?” I muttered, annoyed at a small white box that totally threw off the book-ish aesthetic I was going for. I read the note on top of it.
You didn’t just steal my cupcake. You stole my heart.
I opened the box and found half a dozen cupcakes slathered in icing and decorated with glittering hearts. “Zane,” I whispered his name, running my fingertips across the handwriting.
“Too cheesy?” A deep voice I recognized rumbled from behind me.
I spun around and came face to face with the man I hadn’t been able to get out of my head for the past two weeks. My breath caught in my chest at the hungry way he looked down at me. I tucked my hair behind my flaming-hot ears, willing my pulse to slow down enough to let me catch my breath.
I shook my head in reply to his question. “We’re in Wisconsin—the cheese capital of the world. I don’t think you can get too cheesy for around here.”
He closed the distance between us, his gaze searching mine as one side of his mouth curled into a grin that made me weak in the knees. “That’s a relief.” Glancing around us, he said, “I knew you’d be busy at work, but I didn’t know you’d be this busy.”
The hum of conversation in the store was louder than ever as our interaction caught the eyes of the women attending the event.
He ran his fingertips down the length of my arm, taking my hand in his when he reached the end. “But I couldn’t wait another day to see you—busy or not.” Tilting his head to the side, he drank me in with his eyes. “I hope that’s okay?”
“Sure,” my voice cracked. “I guess it’s best you see the real me.” I tapped the reading glasses perched on top of my head and fanned the lapels of my sweater as if to say, “Warning. Warning. You’d get bored with me in a week.”
His eyes narrowed, confusion swirling in their depths. “You talk about the real you as if that’s something bad.”
“Well…” All I could do was shrug. He wasn’t wrong, and neither was I.
“That’s what you don’t understand. I’ve seen the real you ever since the moment we met. Your flirty side. Your book-loving side. Your dog-mom side. They’re all different sides of one woman. You. And I can’t get enough.”
“But we’re from two different worlds,” I protested.
“Not for long.” A wide smile stretched across his face. “I signed with the expansion team in Apple Grove.”
I blinked so rapidly that the lights around me looked more like strobe lights than reading lamps.
“You what? Apple Grove? As in, the city that’s just twenty minutes away?
You picked the team that’s going to have you warming the bench over the starting position on a better team? What about your chance to win the Cup?”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll earn my spot.
And as for the cup…” His face inched closer to mine.
“Isn’t it obvious that there’s only one prize I’m interested in right now?
” He took my upper arms in his hands and rested his forehead against mine.
“I can’t get you out of my system, Wren, and I don’t even want to try.
I’ve wanted to meet you ever since Bri started telling stories about you back in college.
And even as good of a person as she’s always said you were—in real life, you’re even better. ”
My throat tightened around the lump forming in it. “I flirted with you in Briarwood because I thought nothing would ever come of it. I’m still not sure you actually know the real me. I’m not the kind of woman who is okay with a ships-passing-in-the-night kind of relationship.”
“I think I get where this is coming from.” He sighed.
“Yes, I have a reputation in Briarwood, and to be fair, I earned it. But that was a long time ago. That’s not who I am anymore.
To be honest, guys with reputations make the news more often, so I was never in any hurry to repair my rep.
Never had a reason to until now. I’m ready for a change—a fresh start—with you.
I can’t go back to living a life that you’re not a part of. ”
His grip tightened around my arms when I rested my palms against his chest. He leaned in so close I could feel the warmth of his breath on my lips. His gaze bore a hole into mine. There was no lie in his eyes. Zane Hayes wasn’t a player. He was serious.
About me. And serious enough to put his career on the line to give us a chance.
I swallowed hard. “I don’t know what to say,” I whispered.
“Then don’t say anything at all.”
His lips met mine a moment later, soft and gentle.
Audible gasps came from the customers watching our real-life love story play out in front of them. My heart raced as a thick, honey-like warmth bubbled up from somewhere deep inside me and flooded my chest.
The moment he cupped my cheek with the palm of his hand, the bookstore and everyone in it besides Zane faded away. He slid his arms around my waist and cradled my body with a tenderness that threatened to bring tears to my eyes.
That’s when I knew that this wasn’t just a kiss. This was a promise. Our futures were sealed. There was no safer place in the world for me than in the arms of this man.
We were brought back down to earth by someone clearing their throat beside us. Zane’s grip on me loosened, and I stepped back, reminding myself of where I was. I was at work and surprisingly enough, a small group of women had formed around us.
“I hate to butt in,” one of them said, “but can you sign this?” She shoved her book and a pen at Zane.
He looked over at me, running his fingers through his hair, silently asking for permission.
I chuckled. “It’s like you said, gotta keep the fans happy.”
Zane took the book and signed it, unleashing a tidal wave of estrogen surging our way as women there for the signing left their place in line and surrounded us.
“Who knew so many hockey fans would show up to see this Doctor Love,” Zane said, pointing at the banner over his shoulder with the pen before signing the next book.
“Doctor Love?” I belly laughed when I realized for the first time that Daphne Rose Love’s initials literally spelled out Dr. Love.
“Wait a minute. Who’s Zane Hayes?” The first woman said, looking up from her book.
Zane laughed. “That’s a good one.”