Chapter 6
Tuesdays were book release day for publishers, which meant staying late on Mondays to stock the shelves. They were always
happy days at HEA Books.
But this day no longer felt so happy for Alice. It had started out great, but ever since Mom had finalized details for the
debate with Parker Black’s producer she’d felt under a cloud. Even though they would be ready, the shadow of the big verbal
battle hung over her.
She envied her mother’s confidence. Nola wasn’t concerned in the least. “Here are the Courtney Walsh books we ordered,” she
announced after she’d opened a small box.
“I love her,” said Bettina.
So did their customers.
“And look. We also have Melissa Ferguson’s latest release. Our closed-door girlies are going to be in seventh heaven,” Bettina
said.
In addition to tried-and-true authors, they also had a few novels by new and lesser-known writers.
They never ordered more than three by a new author.
Even though publishers reimbursed them for returned books, shipping costs still added up, so it paid to start out cautiously.
If the books sold, then they would bring in more.
They always did their best to help those books along, especially if they’d been written by local authors.
“This cover is so gorgeous,” Bettina said, holding a book with a cover featuring a bouquet of some sort of pink flowers. The
edges of the pages had been sprayed pink to match. “From Me to You. Nola, wasn’t this one you read?”
“Yes, that’s the one about the husband putting flowers on his wife’s grave every week,” Nola replied.
“That sounds cheery,” Bettina mocked. Bettina was not a fan of romance novels that required an entire box of tissues.
“It’s really sweet,” said Nola. “Her ghost is watching over him and leads him to a grieving single mother with three young
children.”
“Sounds like the ghost has a sick sense of humor,” said Bettina.
“He and his wife could never have children,” Nola elaborated. “I loved the ARC, which is why I reached out and invited the
author to come on the podcast.”
“Who are you two featuring on tomorrow’s podcast?” Bettina asked.
“We’re going to do the closed-door duo review, so save out one of each for us for props before you build the display,” Nola
told her.
Alice loved doing their podcast. It was where she felt happy and at home. Confident. She just wished they didn’t have to ruin
the evening by mentioning the upcoming debate, which was right around the corner, leering at them. They only had a few days
to get ready, and even though Alice knew they would be, she still didn’t feel well prepared.
The next day, they left Bettina to close the store, and come six o’clock she and her mother sat at Nola’s dining room table
in front of Alice’s laptop, reviewing books on the podcast. She was killing it with her reviews, judging from the comments.
We love you, Alice! . . . Keep the recommendations coming . . . So insightful.
“What do you think makes the heroine in So Over You so lovable?” Nola asked as they discussed the last book on their list for that evening.
“Besides the fact that she’s into chocolate? I mean, who’s not? I think it’s because she’s not afraid to be who she is because
she likes who she is,” Alice replied. Now, there was a true heroine.
“Do you want to elaborate?” Nola prompted.
Alice shrugged. “She’s not perfect. She’s not a size two or size ten, but she doesn’t care. She goes ahead and goes to that
Caribbean resort by herself and packs a bikini. And she doesn’t try to change herself for a man because she already did that
and wasn’t true to herself.”
“I think we need to be true to who we are,” said Nola. “We also need to not be afraid to be ourselves. Anyone out there struggle
with that?” she asked. “I think we women are often our own worst critics.”
Her question brought a flood of comments.
“I hear you, Jenni82,” Nola said after reading one woman’s lament that she’d lost seventy pounds to make her boyfriend happy
only to have him leave her because he thought her saggy skin was a turnoff.
“His saggy ego sounds like a turnoff to me,” said Alice. “That’s so . . . superficial.”
“Everyone, be proud of yourself and who you are and what you’re accomplishing,” Nola said, and Alice knew it was meant for
her.
She was proud of what she was accomplishing. She smiled back.
“And for sure read this book,” she said. “We just got in copies today and we are happy to mail anywhere in the US.”
“Now, one more thing before we sign off,” said Nola.
“I am going to be debating the infamous Parker Black this coming Friday. This man loves to slam the books we read on his sports show, and with my daughter’s capable help, I’m going to educate him on the importance of romance novels.
So be sure to tune in and root for us. Also, for our Seattle book girlies we will be opening HEA Books early and providing coffee and muffins for all of you who would like to come in and listen to the debate.
We’ll also be offering a ten percent Show Romance Some Love discount that day. ”
“We could use the support,” put in Alice. Boy, could they.
“That’s it for this time,” Nola said. “We’re always happy to have you join us as we . . .”
“Book Binge,” they said together—a reminder of the name of their podcast.
“I wish we’d set the debate for next week,” Alice said as she shut the laptop. “It would have given us more time to prepare.”
“It will be fine,” said Nola. “We’ve got our facts. We just have to sit down and organize our thoughts.”
Her mother was right, of course. When it came to a battle of the minds, Nola Willoughby was born ready.
“And the morning coffee party will be good for business,” Nola finished with a confident smile.
She was relishing this. Alice had a hard time wrapping her mind around that, but there it was. Better her mother than her.
Parker had found the HEA Books website—pink and flowers everywhere, of course—and poked around. Dedicated to Happily-Ever-After for All, he read at the top of the page. Gag.
He clicked on the About Us option and shook his head as he read their mission statement.
We love our location in charming West Seattle, and our goal is to be a welcoming and inclusive place for all those readers who, like us, believe in the power of love. We are here to help our customers find the romance they’re looking for.
Oh, brother. He moved on to the Meet Our Staff section.
There he found a picture of his debate opponent. She was slim and fit looking with reddish-brown hair. Not a hint of gray,
which probably meant she dyed it. Dressed in a black top and sporting a scarf. Smiling happily. Maybe around his mom’s age?
He read her bio.
Nola Willoughby graduated from the University of Washington with a liberal arts degree. She was an avid reader even at a young
age, and her favorite place to shop has always been a bookstore. When she had the opportunity to open one, she happily grabbed
it because she knows books bring people together. While Nola reads in all genres, her favorite is romance, and she loves being
able to support all the wonderful writers and readers who make up the romance community. She always has two or three books
going at a time and especially enjoys historical romance and romantic suspense.
Below her was a younger woman who looked to be around Parker’s age. Light brown hair, brown eyes, kind of cute face with a
hint of freckles across the nose. Unlike all the women he’d ever dated she didn’t appear to be a fan of makeup. She was a
canvas waiting for paint. He studied that face. The smile looked . . . timid, like someone had dragged her in front of the
camera against her will. Shy little bookworm, probably.
Her name was Alice Willoughby. Probably the daughter of the owner. He read her bio. Yep.
Alice Willoughby has her degree in literature from Seattle Pacific University. Like her mother, she has always loved books.
She enjoyed working at HEA Books through high school and college, and it was a dream come true when her mother brought her
on as a partner. Alice has a sixth sense when it comes to knowing just what her customers need to read and loves matching
them up with the perfect romantic escape. She prefers historical romance but also enjoys contemporary and some romantasy.
Romantasy. What the heck was that? Who cared? HEA Books was the supplier that fed romance pablum to discontented women.
The third staff member, Bettina Cross (Book boyfriends are the best), had steel-gray hair and shoulders like a fullback, and her smile looked more like she was baring her teeth. This one could
eat dragons for lunch. He was glad he wouldn’t be debating her.
He finished off his beer and shut his laptop. And shoved away the question that kept trying to get into his mind. What’s Mom going to think about this?
Nothing. She’d never know. She didn’t listen to his show, and he didn’t read her books, so no problem.
Anyway, nothing personal, Mom. His beef wasn’t with her. It was with his ex and the women like her who were out to grind their high heels into a guy’s
gut.
The American male was an endangered species, and somebody had to stick up for him. It looked like that job had fallen to Parker.
He was ready, willing and able.