The next day, I drove Conner to the bookstore in the old car I'd rented. As I parked, I studied the store from outside. Kade didn't know it, but this wasn't my first time here. I'd come here the Thanksgiving after my brother's wedding, too. For what felt like an hour, I'd stared at the lettering on the window. Tall Tales.

I'd wondered whether Zander was inside, and how much the place might have changed since I'd last been here as a child... I’d tried to visit when I was in town for Thanksgiving about two years ago, but the store was closed for the holiday. I doubted that I would have entered even if it wasn't.

I had so many memories of this place. Zander always hung out here when we were little. I remember his grandmother bringing us cookies and telling us not to get the crumbs on the books. Zander took that to heart. He loved books.

I only liked books when Zander read them to me.

He had a knack for it, even as a child. He'd tell the stories to me, and if they were good, we'd act them out—with sticks that turned into swords in our imagination. Before I could stop myself, I sighed, wishing life could be that simple, that magical again.

“Is something wrong?” Conner asked from the passenger seat.

“No, nothing.”

“Okay. Let's go in.” The boy gave me an excited grin, the money Kade gave him in his hand.

“I'll wait in the car.”

“Really? I might be a long time.”

“That's okay.” So long as I didn't have to face Zander.

“All right.” Conner climbed out of the car and vanished into the store. I heard the soft chiming of the bells even in the car. Or maybe, I heard them in my memory. I used to run through that door a lot, no matter how often I was chided for it. One day I ran into a bookshelf and the whole thing toppled over with me on top of it. I still remembered how Zander's grandmother fished me out of the pile of books with a look of matronly resignation on her kind face.

“You're a wild one, aren't you? But maybe that's what he needs.”

I never quite understood what she meant by that.

While waiting for Conner to come back, I drummed my fingers on the stirring wheel. He sure was taking his time. I glanced at the time on the dash. Had it really only been five minutes?

What was Conner's research project anyway? I should have asked.

Blowing some hair out of my face, I looked at the time again. Then I groaned and got out of the car. Who was I kidding? I really wasn't good at waiting at all.

Glancing up and down the quiet street, I wondered if I should go for a walk. But then my eyes caught on the bookstore again. The outer wall was in bad need of a paint job. Someone should go in and tell them.

Someone who wasn't scared to run into an old friend.

I took a deep breath. This was stupid. I was being stupid.

Besides, if I didn't go in, Kade would hear from Conner later and he'd never stop trying to set me up. Maybe after I did this he would leave me alone.

Okay, Nick. Be a big boy. It's just a bookstore.

Before I could change my mind again or think too much about it, I put my hand on the door and stepped inside, accompanied by the familiar sound of jingling bells.

At first, nobody noticed me. Conner stood by a shelf near the back, and Zander... Zander sat behind the register, completely absorbed in a book. I’d seen him like this too many times to count—lost in whatever world he was reading about. He didn't even look up at the sound of the bells.

This gave me a moment to study him. He hadn't changed much from that time I'd spotted him at Dean’s wedding, although he wasn't wearing a tux now. Not that he needed to be wearing a tux. He'd always pulled off the 'effortless' look very well, though I knew that nothing about it truly was. His brown hair was messy—he probably hadn't shaken the habit of running his hands through it all the time—but there wasn't a wrinkle in his button-down shirt, the blue color of it nicely complementing his eyes.

When I took a step forward, he finally looked up. His eyes widened in instant recognition.

A smile found its way on my lips. I couldn't say why, but I always smiled the widest when I was the most nervous. “Hi,” I made myself say. “I'm looking for a book.”

“A book.”

“Yes, I've heard you sell those here?”

That comment snapped Zander out of his stupor. Rising from his chair, he laid the book he'd been reading aside before I could take note of the title.

“What about that book?” I asked, pointing to where he'd put it beneath the desk. “Is that any good?”

Zander licked his lips. “You wouldn't want to read that. Boring drivel, I assure you.”

“Really? You seemed fascinated by it.” I walked forward until there was nothing but the desk with the register separating Zander and me.

Flustered, he ran a hand into his hair.

I had to laugh.

He bristled, as if I was insulting him. “Why are you laughing?”

“It's just... I can't believe you still do that.”

“Do what?”

“Every time you're thinking really hard about something, you mess up your hair.” It was kind of adorable. Sometimes, my fingers wanted to follow his. His hair was just slightly curly and soft to the touch. Or it had been. Did it still feel like that today?

Zander put his hands on his hips. “I don't do that,” he insisted, but the set of his lips told me he was well aware.

“Your features haven't really changed,” I muttered. It was a bad habit of mine to say things as I thought them. Which is why the next sentence escaped me. “You've become more handsome, though.”

Zander's Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “I didn't know you were in town,” he said as if to distract from the topic.

“I'm staying with my cousin.”

His eyes flickered between me and Conner. “Oh right. You're related.”

“Yeah, no red hair on me, but still.”

“No.” His gaze focused on me again. “No red hair on you.” The way he said it, I knew he wasn't disappointed. No, I got the feeling he liked what he saw. If anything, his gaze was a little too intense. It caught me off guard. We hadn't seen each other in so long, and we'd barely been teenagers when my family moved. After all this time, I figured he wouldn't be interested in me anymore.

Then why were you nervous to come in?

Because I knew I was still interested. That was the problem. I'd known it the moment I'd laid eyes on him again at my brother's wedding. So I'd avoided him. I didn't want a relationship or to get mated. I wasn't that kind of omega. Those hormone rushes other omegas talked about? I didn't get those.

But Zander was as close as I ever got to having a boyfriend and when he looked at me that way, eyes locked with mine, he still made my heart beat faster. That had to mean something, right? Only I wasn't at all sure what, or what to do about it. We were adults now. Puppy love wasn't going to cut it.

To break the moment, I took a step away from the desk and faced one of the shelves. “You're in charge of the store now? I can't believe the old lady is letting you handle her precious books all by yourself.”

“My grandmother passed away last year.”

I whirled around. Foot, meet mouth. I really needed to stop speaking without thinking. “I'm so sorry.”

“It's all right,” he said, even though I was pretty sure that it wasn't. For as long as I'd known him, Zander had always been closer to his grandmother than his actual parents. Losing her must have been hard. He didn't need me to rub salt in that wound.

But what could I say now? “It's good that you're continuing the store in her memory. I'm sure she's proud.”

Zander's lips were pressed into a thin line, but now they curved upward just the slightest bit. “I like books,” he said, obviously trying to sound nonchalant.

“I know you do.” I pulled a book from the shelf beside me, if only to give my hands something to do. If I didn't, I was likely to follow an impulse and give my old friend a hug that might or might not be welcome.

It was only bad luck, really, that this effort put the weirdest book ever in my hand. Before I could stop myself, I snorted. “The Mating Rituals of Homosexual Penguins?” I said out loud. “I had no idea you were selling books like that here.” To be honest, I had no idea books like that even existed.

“I... wasn't really aware either.”

“I don't believe you. You know everything about this store.” Even when we were children, his love for Tall Tales had bordered on obsession.

One of his hands ran through his hair again. “So what if I have books about penguins? Penguins are fascinating creatures. More people should read about them. You should read about them.”

“You want me to read this book?”

“No.” He stepped around the desk and snatched it from my hand. For the briefest of moments, our fingers brushed. The touch made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I wanted more of that, but Zander was already moving again. “There are other books you should read first, if you're asking for recommendations.”

“Other books about penguins?” I asked, trying to stop thinking about Zander's fingers on mine.

“Not necessarily.” Something about the way he said it made me wonder exactly what kind of books he wanted me to read. Would there be mating rituals involved in those too?

Zander put the penguin book on his desk and glanced toward the shelves.

That moment, Conner showed up by my side. I'd forgotten all about him. “I think I want these,” he said, clutching two books in his arms. I glanced at the spines, but couldn't quite make out the titles. They seemed to be fiction books, though.

“What's your school project on, anyway?” I asked him.

“Book reviews. I'm looking for books with strong omega characters.”

“Oh. How's it going?”

“Not too well, to be honest.” Conner gave a small sigh as he put the books on the desk to be rung up.

“These are excellent choices, though,” Zander said, scanning the barcodes on Conner's purchases.

“I just wish there were more books to choose from,” Conner said emphatically.

“There must be. I'll see if I can order more in.” Zander handed the books back to Conner. “That'll be $18.98, please.”

Conner gave him a twenty. “When would you get new books in?”

“Maybe next week.” Zander counted out the change and put it in Conner's outstretched hand. “You should just come by again.” He looked at me. “You too, if you'd like to.”

I smiled awkwardly. “You know, I'm not that into books.”

“Perhaps not.” His face took on a thoughtful expression. “Still... Wait a moment.” He disappeared into a back room and came back a minute later with another book in his hand. “I think you should try this.”

I took the book from him, reading the title. Between Books and Boxes. The cover had a kissing couple on it. “I didn't know you were into Romance.”

“All genres are worth perusing,” Zander said without missing a beat. “I don't believe in declaring a whole subset of novels unworthy. You never know what treasures you might be missing.”

“And this is a treasure?” I turned the book over in my hands. It wasn't thick, at least.

“It might be!” Zander's eyes lit up. The way they always did when he talked about his favorite stories. That alone was enough for me to want to give the book a shot.

“Okay, I'll try it.” Zander had picked this personally for me. There had to be something in it worth reading.

It wasn't until I was back in the car with Conner that I started to regret my decision. Reading this book also meant reporting back to Zander how I liked it. That meant coming back to the bookstore, more talking... maybe more accidental brushing of our fingers.

My hands tightened around the steering wheel.

Good thing I was only in Oceanport for a week, or I might just get in over my head.