8. Chapter 8
Chapter 8
Emily
A fter Ryan paid for the planter I picked out for him, we left Trudy’s and headed toward The Book Nook, the bookstore owned by Ruby Jones. Trudy stared after us as we left, and I tried to ignore the sinking feeling we’d be the town's new hot topic.
Looking up at Ryan, did I really care? Being near him felt right. I was only concerned he might get weirded out by the potential rumors - especially if he only considered us to be friends.
He wore a polo shirt and jeans today, which seemed to be his normal attire, but the polo fit him perfectly. He was lean but not skinny, like he worked out a couple times a week but didn’t take it seriously, and his stomach had a slight outward curve to it.
“So, what are you looking to pick up at Ruby’s?” Ryan asked.
“Nothing in particular. I wanted to browse the romance section. I’m sure she got a new shipment this week.”
“So you not only write romance, but you read it?”
“Of course I do. Market research or something like that,” I half joked, and he thankfully laughed.
“I would imagine your research would be more hands-on than simply reading books.”
My jaw dropped and I turned to look up at him, he smiled down at me rolling his lips.
“Did you just make a sex joke?”
“Oh, the …” he paused and checked around us before whispering, “Sex book author is offended by a racy remark?”
“Not offended. I’m surprised we reached that part of our friendship.”
He laughed, “I’m pretty sure we reached that part of our friendship when I started a conversation asking about penis enlargement.”
“Did you ever figure out if it was a real thing? I know you were awfully curious about it,” I teased.
“I’m never going to live that down,” he muttered with a laugh.
We entered the bookstore and were immediately greeted by Ruby, who practically dragged me over to the romance section to show the new arrivals. I was a regular customer and Ruby often catered her purchasing decisions of romance to me. It worked out well for her, because many people in the town liked the books she stocked.
Ruby had remodeled the bookstore several years ago, and it even inspired some of the decor in my own home. She painted the walls white but color was splashed everywhere else. It was a beautiful eclectic mix making the store a must stop on any tourist’s itinerary.
“I got a bunch of new titles this week,” Ruby started, and in a horrible segue added, “And are you and Ryan together?”
“Ruby,” I admonished, “We are friends. He’s best friends with Trey, I’m best friends with Meghan, we ran into each other at Trudy’s and are simply doing our weekend shopping together.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean anything by it, sweetie. You know I adore Ryan, he’s such a great man. I think you two would make a wonderful fit.”
I gave Ruby a slightly annoyed look, and she waved me off before she turned and walked toward Ryan. No doubt to see if he’d spill any information, but Ryan peered over her head toward me and gave me an expression that told me he’d respond much like I had.
I truly didn’t know what gave old women the courage to pry into another person’s life the way they did. Was this unique to small towns, or were they all like this?
They’re all like this. My aunt used to pry me for information too. Tabitha said in my brain and I chuckled.
It goes beyond earth too. Raldek muttered.
You’re not real.
That hurts. Raldek responded, and I chuckled to myself.
But an image of a large feminine alien potentially adding some tension to their relationship entered my brain. As the scene started coming together, I reached into my bag and pulled out my phone. Typing up the scene quickly in a notes app, my heart skipped in my chest as exhilaration filled me. I was giddy, it’d been so long since my characters spoke so freely to me.
A presence at my back had me spinning around to see Ryan peeking over my shoulder.
“You are just as bad as they are,” I hissed out in a whisper.
Ryan chuckled and shrugged, “I’m invested, I need to know how it’ll turn out.”
“I’ll make sure to get you an advanced reader copy,” I whispered with a smile before closing out of the app and shoving my phone in the back pocket of my jeans.
“So,” he started as he turned to the bookshelf, “What do you recommend?”
“You want me to give you a romance book recommendation?”
“Yeah, well, in case you need a brainstorm buddy, I should probably do some research of my own,” Ryan said with a shrug before he glanced at me and clarified, “Reading research of course.”
Raising my eyebrows, I smiled and nodded. “Of course. Well, since you’re also into Sci-Fi, I’ll throw you into the deep end here.”
Walking to a different section, I picked up a book with a big blue alien and a woman on the cover and handed it to him.
“This is a series?”
“Yes. There are twenty-one of them and there will be a quiz,” I teased.
His eyes widened as he stared at me, and I laughed. Reaching for the book in his hand, to put it back on the shelf, he pulled it out of my reach.
“Do you think I won’t read them?” Ryan questioned, the corners of his mouth tipping up into a grin.
“I’m saying you don’t have to,” I clarified.
“Well, I like a challenge.”
He walked toward the shelf and grabbed a copy of every single one in the series. It was clear he was a completionist, and he wasn’t going to walk out with one and have to come back every time he finished a book in the series.
“What else?” He asked.
He held the stack of books a bit awkwardly and I laughed a little, “After you finish those we’ll dive into fantasy, but those should keep you reading for a while.”
“Alright, but when I finish these, you need to promise to come back here for the next assignment.”
“Deal.”
As we walked through the store, we continued talking about different books, and I grabbed a few he recommended, as well as a couple of new releases I hadn’t yet added to my shelves.
After we paid for our books, I turned to Ryan, “I’m supposed to meet Meghan at the diner. Do you want to join us?”
His smile grew, and he nodded. “Sure.”
Preston’s Jeep sat outside of The Blue Plate diner and Ryan gestured to it as we approached. Inside, Preston was sitting with Meghan in a booth. Her eyes rose to us and widened slightly before she smiled and waved us over. After we approached, I slid in next to Meghan, and Ryan sat across from me.
“Slow again?” Ryan asked Preston.
“Yep,” Preston answered, then glanced at the bags we placed under the table. “Shopping?”
“Yep.” Ryan answered.
Turning to Meghan, I said, “I found some good frames for your office. Trudy is holding onto them for us.”
“Your office?” Preston asked Meghan.
“Yeah, I’m going to redecorate it and Em’s going to help. Her apartment is fantastic.”
“I didn’t know you had a knack for interior design,” Preston asked.
“I write a lot of home decor posts,” I said casually.
Ryan’s lips thinned as he tried to mask a smile. Meghan caught it and her head turned to me with widened eyes. I kept my face neutral as Preston’s gaze flicked between the three of us.
“What am I missing?” He asked, but then was distracted as Dylan Anderson and Rachel Mills passed the table. “Are those the cookies?”
“Yep, and you’ll have to wait until we give them to Sadie,” Dylan responded and Rachel glanced at Preston.
I was going to have to grab a few of those before they sold out. Rachel’s cookies were amazing, and they were the talk of the town when she started bringing them into the diner to be sold.
“She helped me pick out a planter, since I’m evidently going to propagate the one plant I have,” Ryan took advantage of the cookie distraction putting us back on track with our shopping trip.
“Oh the one you managed not to kill,” Preston teased.
“Pothos are hard to kill,” Emily stated.
“I love Pothos for that reason,” Meghan agreed.
The conversation moved on, but I could feel Meghan’s eyes pinballing between me and Ryan. She quickly figured out Ryan knew about my actual job, but because of Preston, she wouldn’t ask any additional questions until we were alone. Then, I’d get an earful and the possible pep talk about how I should go public.
Typically, anyone trying to tell an author they should go public with their pen name was a big no-no. Meghan was supportive either way. My books had reached a certain point of popularity that going public, and attending author signing events, could propel my career even further. Meghan wanted that for me, but I wasn’t so sure.
She wanted me to be as successful as I could be, but I was content with where I was in my success. I was able to maintain the privacy I so desperately needed in order to live under the radar here, but still made enough money that I could easily support myself.
After our meal, our little group went our separate ways. Back at my apartment, I was relieved all was quiet in the apartment above mine. After brewing a pot of coffee, I sat down at my desk and skimmed over the last chapter I wrote.
This was my happy place. This was where I was most at ease - in front of my laptop, writing. As long as I could continue to do this, I would be happy. Revealing my face to the public would complicate things. It could make my life here rather difficult. Writing in secret was more comfortable, even if it meant I wouldn’t go as far as I could.