Her eyes widened in surprise as her mouth fell open slightly. “I see. Well, clearly I misread the vibe you were giving me.”
“Vibe?” I asked.
“Yes, I thought I was picking up on something.”
With a shake of my head, I replied, “I’m sorry if I gave you that impression, but no. I’m not interested in you, Jean.”
She frowned, then forced a smile. “Yes, you’ve made that perfectly clear. I do hope you enjoy your time with Greer today. Good luck writing your book, Hudson.”
I nodded. “Thank you, Jean. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.”
She forced a smile before she spun on her heels and headed down the newly constructed porch steps.
I shut the door, locked it, and then quickly rushed upstairs to get ready for my day with Greer.
I parked on Maple Street and walked the short distance to the bookstore. A group of men stood on the corner of Maple and Main, pointing to the large building that used to be the town’s old gristmill. It took up the entire block between Maple Street and Clay Street, and now housed specialty shops, office space, and even a barber shop.
It was hard not to notice the men, since they all wore business suits and it was clear they weren’t from Boggy Creek. When they turned and pointed at the building where Turning Pages was located, I slowed down some. Why were they looking at Greer’s building?
As I grew closer, they noticed me and stopped talking.
“Gentlemen,” I said with a tip of my head. I crossed the street and made my way over to the bookstore, tapping on the window when I saw Candace. She waved me in.
“Hey, Candace,” I said as I entered the store.
With a wide smile, she replied, “Hey there, Hudson. How’s the book coming along?”
“Good—really good, as a matter of fact. I think that little cabin in the woods has a bit of magic in it.”
She chuckled. “Greer’s still here. She’s up on the second floor micromanaging things.”
I lifted a brow in question.
Candace motioned for me to follow her. “The romance section of the store has gotten too big for down here, so Greer is planning on moving it up to the second floor. And she hasn’t announced it yet, but she’s adding a coffee bar up there, as well as a bit more seating. So the second floor will be much more casual and inviting.”
“I love that idea. What’s she going to do with the space where romance is now?”
“Young adult will go there, and that gives us room to expand it. Greer is over-the-moon excited about it.”
Candace’s happiness was infectious, and I soon found myself smiling. “Wow, what great changes.”
She nodded. “Right now she’s making sure the carpenter is building the new bookshelves correctly. Don’t worry, she’s all ready for your day together. I made her go upstairs about an hour ago to get ready. I can’t even begin to tell you how great this is, Hudson. My girl doesn’t get much time off, and when she does, she walks right up those back stairs to her place and either reads or binge watches movies on Netflix. I couldn’t honestly tell you the last time she took a day off, so thank you for doing this. Its easy to see the changes in her after only a few days.”
“Trust me, Candace, it isn’t a hardship on my part to spend time with Greer.”
Candace waggled her brows and was about to say more—which I bet was something the couple walking up might not want to hear.
I cleared my throat and motioned toward them.
Candace spun around and cheerfully asked, “Did you need help finding anything?”
The young woman nodded. “Do you have Stephen King’s latest release?”
Candace winked at me and then led the couple away while I made my way up to the second floor of the bookstore. One whole section was closed off by large pieces of heavy plastic that hung from the ceiling. I walked over and slipped in and saw Greer looking at what appeared to be building plans with a guy dressed in jeans and a long-sleeve T-shirt. His blond hair was slightly longer than mine, and it hung around his face. Greer laughed at something the guy said, and when he looked up, I noticed he wasn’t that much older than me. He was maybe in his late thirties.
I also couldn’t help but notice how he looked at Greer. His gaze lingered a little too long, and when she looked back down at the drawings, he stared at her for another heartbeat.
“Greer,” I said as I walked up. “Candace said you’d be up here.”
Greer glanced up, her face lighting up like a Christmas tree, and suddenly my chest felt warm. I gave the guy standing next to her a look that silently said Back the fuck off, dude.