Chapter Five – Aurora
Aurora
The bell above the door rang, and I looked up to see Gary walking in. He glanced around the bookstore and made his way over to the new release table.
“Who is that?” Lou asked.
“That is the new city finance director,” I replied.
My younger sister straightened her posture, which caused her boobs to lift and then she spat out her gum. “Yummy!”
I laughed. “Down, girl.”
She turned to me and pursed her lips. “I see. You’ve got dibs.”
“Dibs?” I asked with a humorless laugh.
“Yeah, you saw him first, so you’re calling dibs. I respect that.”
I shook my head. “I am not calling dibs.”
Her brow rose.
I folded my arms over my chest. “Fine, I’m calling dibs.”
She grinned. “I hope he’s got a big–”
“Hi, Aurora!”
I jumped and spun around to see Gary standing there. Thank God he hadn’t walked up two seconds later.
“Gary, what a pleasure to see you again. This is my sister, Lou, Lou, this is Gary…I’m so sorry. I forgot your last name.”
He laughed as he reached for Lou’s hand to shake it. “Gary Harris.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Gary Harris,” Lou practically purred. “Are you looking for a certain book?”
His gaze moved back to me. “No, just looking around.”
Lou cleared her throat. “Right, okay. Well, I’ve got some inventory to count in the back. Let me know if you need any help, Aurora.”
Looking at her, I frowned. There wasn’t any inventory in the back. When she winked, I rolled my eyes.
I focused back on Gary. “What brings you in today?”
He smiled again, and I was taken by those same kind eyes that I’d noticed the first time we met. “Well, I could lie and come up with some excuse about needing a new book, but I actually came in to see if you’re free for dinner this evening.”
I waited for my stomach to dip or my heart to flutter.
Nothing. I wasn’t sure what in the world was wrong with me.
It wasn’t like I didn’t want to date. I did.
I wanted what all of my friends had. Love.
Someone to spend my mornings and nights with.
Someone to talk to about our day and to hold me while we fell asleep.
I wanted to wake up and see a man looking at me like Declan looked at Harper.
Or Gavin looked at Brystol. Kian, the way he hung on to everything Cadie did. I wanted that kind of love.
Gary was handsome. Kind. And from our little interaction, he seemed like a nice guy. So why did I feel nothing? Not even a spark.
“Dinner would be nice,” I heard myself saying.
His smile grew to a full-blown grin. “Wonderful. A new Chinese restaurant has opened near Lake Placid. It’s about a twenty-minute drive, if that’s okay with you.”
I nodded. “Sure! I haven’t had Chinese food in forever.”
“Should I pick you up at your place after you close the bookstore?”
“Lou is closing tonight, so I’m free any time after three.”
Gary nodded. “How about I pick you up around five? I can slip out of work a bit early.”
I raised my brows. “New to the job and slacking off already, huh?”
He laughed, and I liked the sound of it. It was warm. “Something like that. Then it’s a date?”
I bit down on my lip and nodded. “It’s a date.”
Gary lifted his hand and said goodbye as he walked backward, turned, and headed out of the bookstore. A moment later, Lou was by my side.
“Holy hotness, Aurora.”
I chuckled. “He’s cute.”
“He’s blond. I didn’t think you liked guys with blond hair.”
Facing my sister, I frowned. “I’ve dated guys with blond hair before.”
Her brows rose in question. “Who? Name one guy you have dated who has blond hair.”
I thought for a moment. “Let’s see.”
When I couldn’t come up with anyone, she laughed. “Like I said, you don’t go for guys with blond hair.”
“Huh,” I said, folding my arms over my chest. “You’re right. How crazy is that? I never noticed.”
She shrugged. “I have.”
The bell above the bookstore’s door rang again, and I smiled when I saw Nathan walk in.
“Nate!” Lou said, making a beeline straight to him. “What brings you in?”
He kissed Lou on the cheek. “Just stopped by to say hello to my two favorite sisters.”
Lou huffed. “We’re your only sisters.”
He winked and looked at me. “I was actually hoping to speak with you, Aurora, in private, if you don’t mind.”
Curious, I nodded. “Sure. Let’s head to my office.”
Nathan followed me through the store to the back area. My office was tucked in the far right corner. He shut the door and motioned for me to sit at my desk while he sat in the chair opposite.
“What’s going on?” I asked. “Is everything okay?”
He nodded. “Yeah, yeah. I didn’t mean to worry you. I was at Liam’s last night, and Winnie asked for you at bedtime.”
My heart dropped. “She did?”
“Yeah, Opal and Jake had bathed her, and I put her to bed. She wanted you to put her to bed, I guess.”
I smiled. “Did you read her a book?”
He chuckled. “No, I tucked her in and left the room.”
I sighed. “Things are just weird between me and Liam.”
“He told me what happened.”
Surprised by this revelation, I asked, “How he accused me of trying to move in and take Hope’s place?
I still can’t even believe he would say that to me.
I racked my brain to see if I had given Liam the wrong idea at any point in our friendship, and I never did.
I swear to you, Nathan. He was a friend of mine. Just like Hope was.”
Nathan rubbed at the back of his neck. “I know you didn’t. Hope planted that in his head a few months before she passed, and well…Liam’s reason for saying it is not my story to tell.”
I raised a brow. What did he mean by that? “I was her friend, Nathan. Why in the world would she even think that of me? All I wanted to do was help them because I cared about them.”
“Cared? Past tense?”
“Of course not. I thought Liam and I were friends, Nathan. Real friends. I enjoyed hanging out with him, and while I’m not blind to his good looks, I never once had any thoughts like that.”
“You are friends, Aurora. He lost his wife and was in a bad place.”
I jerked my head back. “I know that. She was my friend. I lost her too. And I saw him at the hotel the other morning and offered to help, and he hesitated. That tells me he still thinks I’m offering to help because I have a motive.”
“He doesn’t think that way. I promise you; he doesn’t think that way. I’m here because, Aurora, he needs help.”
Pressing my lips together tightly, I wanted to say he would have to find it from someone else, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Instead, I exhaled. “With what?”
“Jake and Opal are going to travel in their retirement, like they had planned before Hope got sick. They’ve put it off to help Liam, but they will be leaving soon.
I can only help at The Muddled Moose for so much longer, and Liam needs to get past the issue he has with a promise he made to Hope.
Harsh as that may sound. He needs to find a nanny for Winnie.
He promised Hope no daycare. Actually, she told him she didn’t want anyone other than family to watch Winnie. ”
My mouth fell open. “What?”
He nodded.
“Okay. Does he need help finding a nanny?”
He shrugged. “I think he does. He said he doesn’t, but will he really know what questions to ask? I know this is so sexist of me to say, but you’re a woman, and you’ve been with Winnie a while. I feel like you know what to look for.”
I sunk further into my seat. “Does he want my help?”
“He wants to make amends with you, that much I know. Do you think you can stop by tonight and talk to him? Offer to help in the search for a nanny.”
My first instinct was to say yes, for the sake of Winnie. Right before I answered, I remembered my date with Gary.
“I can’t tonight. I have a date.”
My brother’s eyes went wide. “You have a date? With who? James?”
“James? No, we’re just friends. I’ve told you that, Nate.”
He leaned forward. “I also know you left with him the same night Liam said all that shit to you. Plus, he was seen leaving the back alley behind the bookstore that next morning.”
If I thought it possible to do, my mouth would have fallen open onto my desk. “Do you have people spying on me?”
He laughed. “No! It’s a small town, Aurora. People see things and it happened to be Pete who was running that morning.”
“Pete!” I hissed. “I should have known!”
Nathan rolled his eyes. “If it’s not James, who is it?”
“Gary Harris. He’s the new finance director for the city. Cadie introduced us, and he stopped by right before you did and asked me out to dinner.”
For a moment, my brother looked disappointed. He quickly changed his expression and smiled. “I think that’s great; you’re going out on a date. Is he a nice guy?”
“I think so. I don’t know him that well.”
“Well,” he said, while he moved in his seat and cleared his throat. “Is there any way you can swing by and talk to Liam before your date?”
“Again, does he want me to?”
“He mentioned you haven’t called or stopped by, so I think he would really like for you to.”
I sighed. “I’ll text him and see if he is available for me to visit Winnie this afternoon. If he wants to discuss my help with finding a nanny, then that’s fine. But I’m going to leave it in his court.”
A wide smile broke out across my brother’s face. “Thank you, Aurora. I know he feels like an ass about what he said to you.”
“As he should.”
“Agreed. Give him a chance to make things right.”
I stood. “I will. I’d better get back out there.”
Nathan stood, and when I walked around the desk, he pulled me in for a hug. “I love you, sis.”
Hugging him tightly, I replied, “I love you, too.”
I walked with Nathan to the door and hugged him one last time. When I turned and headed back to the checkout counter, I pulled out my phone and texted Liam.
Me: Hi, Liam. I’m getting off early this afternoon and wondered if you and Winnie would be home around 3:15 for a visit.
Instantly, the dots started to bounce, and his reply came.
Liam: We are here and would love to see you. Stop by anytime.
Me: Great! See you after three.