13
After the evening’s lectures and before dinner, they had a minute to breathe at the literary society’s observation deck. It
offered a view of the city they otherwise would never have. The vista extended to the twinkling ocean, punctuated by the steeple
of the church with the haunted graveyard and, closer by, the octagonal shape of Aurora’s tower. Their tower, for now. All
of that to behold, but Leo only had eyes for Jules.
She’d stepped aside from the group to lean over the balustrade and offer her face to the waning sunshine. He approached her,
as always, heart lodged in his throat.
“I’d like to catch the sunset at Mallory Square before we leave,” she said, as if picking up a conversation they’d started
long ago. “It’d be criminal not to.”
“What’s criminal is that we haven’t been to Old Town Books,” Leo said, pointing to the corner store. A group signing was scheduled
tomorrow evening after the lectures, but it should have been their first stop.
“That’s where Emily works,” she said. “Wanna go?”
“Now?”
“Yes,” she said. “It’s right there. We’ll ditch the others.”
“Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for you to say that?”
“Settle down,” she said. “It’s just a bookstore.”
“You don’t know what a good bookstore can do to me.”
“I’ll meet you downstairs,” she said. “If we leave together, the others might follow.”
The others were taking photos of the view. Vicky was recording a video for TikTok. They’d likely not notice their departure,
but he wasn’t about to argue. “Good strategy. I’ll stay here and watch you go.”
She studied him, as if puzzling something out. He hoped she had all the information she needed. Leo’s mind was made up. His
feelings for her, as confusing and complicated as they were, were immutable. He could not go over or under or around, he had
to tackle it straight on. She walked away, leaving her floral scent behind.
Old Town Books operated as a nonprofit, but there was no way to know it. The small space was fitted with floor-to-ceiling
shelves crammed with new releases and special editions of the classics. The aroma of coffee and moody jazz music added to
the ambiance. The store manager, whom they’d met at the garden party, welcomed them from behind the register. His name was
Mike. “Hey, you two!” he said. “We’re setting up for tomorrow’s event. Look over there.”
Mike pointed to a display table with everything from Sweet Adelaide to Sebastien’s beautifully illustrated graphic novels. It moved Leo to see Jules’s works stacked next to his.
Mike approached and asked about Dick. “Any news on Carlisle? Is he doing alright?”
“He’ll survive,” Leo replied, “but his ego won’t. Not if I have anything to do with it. I’ll never let him live it down.”
“I guess that’s fair,” Mike said with a chuckle. He selected July’s debut novel off the pile. “Ms. Jones, would you sign this
for my daughter?”
“Of course. What’s her name?”
“Angela.”
At first glance, the bookstore appeared empty.
However, as soon as the Sharpie pen appeared, people came out of the stacks and lined up with books for Jules and Leo to sign.
For a few minutes, they chatted with their readers, answered their questions, and posed for selfies.
A fan asked July if she believed in time travel.
“No, of course not,” she said with an indulgent smile. “But it’s fun to dream.”
Leo pushed on, going through the motions, wondering if they would get a minute to wander the stacks on their own, select books
and discard them, grab coffee and find a quiet corner to talk until closing time.
A young shop employee tasked to manage the line, gazed at Jules admiringly. “Her aura is out of this world.”
Leo wasn’t sure what that meant, but he was inclined to agree.
“One per customer!” Mike announced, an eye on his dwindling stock. “Come back for tomorrow’s event. All five authors will
be here for an hour.”
They finished up and Jules made her way to him. “Vicky is blowing up my phone,” she said. “They’re ready to head out to dinner.
We have to go.”
“We don’t have to do anything,” he said stubbornly.
“In this case we do,” she said. “We have to earn that honorarium.”
“Want to keep on ditching the others and head over to Mallory Square?” Leo proposed instead. He wanted her to know that he’d
heard her earlier and took her wants, desires, and needs seriously.
“By the time we get there it’ll be way past sunset.”
“Ah,” he said. “Then I owe you a sunset.”