Chapter Forty-One
I take a step back and study my “book it to the beach” display in progress. I’m happy with it, except the left side is too blue. I pluck a book with a yellow cover from the top shelf and reposition it to the middle to break up the color scheme.
There’s a difference between running away from something and running toward something… or someone else .
I love you, Marcia, but STFU!
Since last night at dinner, I can’t get those words out of my head or stop thinking about Adam.
Am I giving up on him… on us too easily by assuming that his moving to Philadelphia means we can’t be together?
He had his reasons for going. But his deal with Jeffrey didn’t change things, and like Marcia said, he held up his end of the bargain.
He can come home now… to Marcia and to me.
Or he can stay in Philadelphia, and we can try a long-distance relationship.
I tap my lips. Would I even want that? Long distance is hard .
“Sabrina!”
I jolt and turn to face Gabe, whose expression is a cross between amused and pissed off. “You scared me. What’s up?”
“I should ask you the same question. I called your name twice.”
I clench my teeth. “Sorry. I was focusing on my work and didn’t hear you.”
Gabe runs his dark eyes up and down the four-sided wooden display in the center of the floor and presses his lips together. “Focusing, you say?” He turns back to me and raises an eyebrow. “Tell me, Sabrina… which book on here does not belong on a ‘beach’ display?”
Starting from the top shelf, I read the book titles out loud. “ The Five-Star Weekend , One Summer in Savannah , Summer Romance , Snow Road Station … Oh! Oops.” I smile wryly and remove that last one from the second shelf from the bottom. “Good catch.”
Gabe does a circle of my face with his eyes. “What’s with you today?”
I frown. “Nothing. It was an accident.”
“Was directing a patron to the employee bathroom earlier an accident too? And what was with sitting on my chair before? I was in it!” He waggles his eyebrows. “Are you trying to tell me something? Do you have feelings for me?”
I roll my lips. “You wish. I don’t have feelings for you. This is about Adam.”
“Of course it is. Spill.” He glances around the room, still crowded with patrons who lingered after the 11:45 knitting and crocheting club meeting. “Just make it fast and do it quietly.”
In a low voice, I summarize everything that happened with Adam, concluding with my conversation with Marcia the night before. “She seems to think Adam would be happier here and that I could convince him to move back. What do you think?”
Gabe sets his elbow on the edge of a shelf and presses a hand to his ear. “Damn. I don’t know. Do you want to show your cards like that?”
I scratch my head. “Not really, but if Marcia’s right, the only thing standing between me and Adam is me.
If he still lived here, I could torture him with my cleavage until he begged for it, but with him all the way in Philly, it’s either the direct route or accept that it’s over.
I can’t really afford to play it cool.” I’ve never had to put myself out there for a guy before.
I’ve always known where I stood. Adam wrote that his feelings were real, but never expressed any desire to resume things, which means it’s up to me to start the conversation.
Gabe stares at me blankly.
“Well? What do you think?”
He shakes his head. “Sorry. I was stuck on the ‘torture him with my cleavage’ part.”
I nudge him.
He throws his hands up in surrender with a cheek-splitting smile. “You walked right into it!”
I glare at him.
His expression softens. “You should go for it. What have you got to lose?”
“He has a stable job and a furnished apartment. What if he’s happy? I don’t want to ruin that for him.” I sigh dejectedly. “I need a sign telling me what to do!”
A patron approaches and clears his throat to get our attention. “Excuse me.”
I do a double take and break into a huge grin. It’s Chloe’s grandpa! And he looks so dapper in a gray pin-striped suit with a red-and-white gingham tie and matching pocket square. This time he left the umbrella at home. “Nice to see you again! How can I assist you?”
“You and that handsome fellow helped me with my granddaughter a few months ago. She’s visiting again and I was hoping for another recommendation. We really bonded over The Selection .” He beams.
“I’ll leave you to it then.” Gabe nods at the man, gives me a “to be continued” look, and walks off.
“I’d be happy to help you!” I walk him over to the YA section and search the shelves for more YA dystopian fiction.
The Divergent trilogy is out, so I recommend The Dividing Sky by Jill Tew, a more recent addition to the subgenre that I thoroughly enjoyed.
The entire time, I think about how during our first meeting with Chloe’s grandpa, he assumed Adam and I were a couple and Adam didn’t correct him.
It’s because of him that we buddy-read The Hunger Games .
For a moment I wonder if this is the sign I was asking for.
But I dismiss it. There’s no such thing as signs!
I check him out and wish him good luck with Chloe. Then I turn to Gabe sitting next to me… on a different chair… and grin. “Helping people bond through reading is one of the reasons I became a librarian.”
Gabe snorts. “When you’re done being cheesy, want to have lunch with me and Lane?”
“Sure!”
“We’re going to Citizens of Gramercy.”
My mouth opens and closes.
Worry lines appear on Gabe’s forehead. “What? Is it bad? I’ve never been, but my date this weekend recommended it.”
Under normal circumstances, I’d interrogate him about his date, but I’m too busy having a minor inner meltdown. Adam took me to Citizens of Gramercy to thank me for getting him the page job at the library. Could it be? I shake my head. Just a coincidence.
“I’ve lost you. Are you thinking about Adam again?”
“No.” Bold-faced lie. “I’m in. The food is great there.”
Lane joins us. “Ready?”
Gabe checks his watch. “As soon as my coverage gets here.”
While he waits for one of the other assistants to cover the desk, I use the bathroom.
On my way back, I toss the paper towel I used to open the bathroom door in the trash.
I’m about to walk away when my eyes lock on a small two-tone orange bag lying at the top of the heap.
I swallow hard. It can’t be. I take a closer look, and it can be, in fact it is, an empty bag of Cheetos, still dusted with crumbs.
My legs wobble. I breathe in and out with purpose to center myself.
I don’t have time to freak out about yet another “coincidental” Adam-adjacent occurrence less than an hour after asking the universe for a sign.
Gabe and Lane are waiting for me. Besides, Cheetos are a very popular snack.
I do a quick check with Google on my phone, delaying myself even further, where it is confirmed that Cheetos are the top-ranked cheese snack in the United States. I’m certain it’s a fluke.
I’m actually not certain at all, but a hangry Gabe is scary. My phone pings with a text message proving my point.
Gabe: Leaving in 5, 4, 3…
I quicken my step and meet them at the entrance with a second to spare. When we arrive at the restaurant a few minutes later, I hold my breath as we pass Adam’s and my stools at the counter and sit at a table underneath the S TAY GORGEOUS, G RAMERCY sign.
“I think I want a burger,” Lane says.
Gabe scrunches his face. “This place is known for its authentic Australian brekky and you’re gonna have a burger?”
“Don’t burger-shame me,” Lane says.
A waiter drops off the menus. “Hi, I’m Adam and I’ll be your server today.”
I gasp. My head falls back and I shake my palms in the air. “Message received, Universe. Message received!”
Lane and Gabe stop bickering to gawk at me.
“I’ll give you a few minutes,” the waiter says to Gabe and Lane while blatantly avoiding eye contact with the weirdo at the table.
“I’m worried about you, Sabrina,” Gabe says.
“Don’t be.” I click the app store on my phone and download Amtrak.
“What are you doing?” Lane asks.
I look up from my phone. “Going to Philadelphia.”