“Hey, Joe.” I closed the door to the bookstore as quickly as possible to stop the blast of cold air. It was freezing out there. “How’s it going?”

Joe leaned against a tall stool behind the front counter, an open book in his hands. “Quiet. Are you early?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I had an appointment and it was easier to come straight here, rather than go home. I’ll just go sit in the back for a few if you don’t mind.”

He nodded. “No problem.”

I went into the back and sat down at the little table, wondering if Joe would let me put a space heater back here. I huddled down in my thick coat and rubbed my hands together. Sebastian had warned me winter was going to be cold. As far as I was concerned, I was surprised it wasn’t snowing. And it was only October.

I was glad I had a little time before I had to be on the clock. My appointment had been with my new therapist, and even though we hadn’t delved too deeply into anything serious, it had been emotionally draining.

Although logically I could see the benefits of therapy, I wasn’t convinced it was right for me. Or maybe I just hadn’t found the right therapist. But I’d promised Sebastian I would give it a shot, and Olivia had backed him up. I’d complained about them ganging up on me, but they hadn’t backed down. So off to therapy I went, once a week on Wednesdays.

My phone dinged with a text. I fished it out of my handbag.

Seb: Hey, love. I have class tonight but can I come over later?

Me: You better. I miss you.

Seb: Miss you too. At work?

Me: Yep. It’s cold in here.

Seb: Don’t worry, I’ll warm you up.

Me: Can’t wait. Love you.

Seb: Love you too, chilly girl.

I smiled and touched his name on the screen. It felt so good to smile. I’d been doing a lot more of it since Sebastian and I had gotten together. It had been about a month since that unbelievable day when he’d kissed me… made love to me… then fucked me into oblivion. I was so in love with him, sometimes I didn’t know what to do with myself.

But I still carried a hint of fear. What if I wasn’t strong enough to love him the way he deserved? He was so big and powerful. So fierce and determined. I hoped my spirit had the strength to match his.

With a little time left to kill, I pulled out my notebook. I wrote down a few lines that had been bouncing around in my head all morning.

It was short, and simple. But I looked at my words and left them as they were—satisfied. For now, at least. Sometimes I needed pages and pages to express my thoughts. Other times a few lines felt right.

I closed the notebook and put it away. I’d filled the original one Sebastian had given me, and a few more since then. This one had a deep orange and blue paisley cover. It almost matched my sweater.

When it was time for my shift, I reluctantly left my coat on a hook and came out into the shop. Although now that I’d been inside for a little while, I wasn’t all that cold.

Joe glanced up from his book. He seemed a bit melancholy. “You can close up early tonight if it’s still a ghost town.”

“Okay,” I said. “Is everything all right?”

He closed his book and set it on the counter. “Yes, fine. Business has been so slow. There are always ups and downs, but I’m getting a little worried.”

I wasn’t surprised to hear that—it had been slow—but I hated seeing Joe look so stressed.

“Well, if you need to cut back my hours or anything, just let me know,” I said.

He smiled. “It’s not so bad as all that, yet. And things usually pick up around the holidays. It just seems like it gets slower and slower every year.”

Some days we had a lot of customers, but I often wondered how Joe managed to keep the place open. I glanced over at the curtained-off area on the far side of the store. There was a counter there that had once been a little café, serving coffee and tea. “Have you thought about reopening the café counter? It might give people more of a reason to come in if they could get something warm to drink. Especially with the weather getting colder.”

“It didn’t seem to make much of a difference when I had it open before,” he said.

I tilted my head and took a good look at the space. “Was it just like this? The layout, I mean. Did you have places to sit?”

“There were two tables,” he said.

I walked toward the curtained-off nook, thinking about the current placement of the bookshelves. There was a lot of wasted space. The building was sizable, and Joe had everything spread out. It did make it feel open and airy, but it wasn’t a very efficient use of the square footage.

“What if we had more seating?” I asked. “Not just a couple of tables, put there as an afterthought, but a whole section. There’s room if we move things around.” I gestured toward the rear of the store. “And we’re using that whole area for storage, but couldn’t we put that stuff in the back room? It would free up a ton of space.”

“Space for what?”

“For people.” I paused for a moment, thinking. “What if this wasn’t just a bookstore? What if it was like… a gathering place? We need ways to encourage people to come in and shop here, instead of ordering online or going to one of the big chain stores.”

“Well, sure,” he said. “That’s why we have our local authors section, and the staff recommendations. Those are popular with customers.”

“Yeah, but is it enough?” I asked. “If you had places for people to sit, you could host some of those local authors. Invite them to do readings. Open it up to book clubs.” My mind spun with the possibilities. “You could have open mic nights for poets or even acoustic musicians. This is a college town. College kids love that stuff.”

He nodded slowly, his eyes moving around the space. “But I’ve never had much luck getting the college crowd in here.”

“They’d come if you gave them a cool place to hang out,” I said. “All we’d have to do is organize a few poetry nights or something, post fliers around campus, and I bet it would be packed.”

“I’d have to hire someone to run the café,” he said. “I tried before, but I don’t know anything about operating that sort of business. Books, I know. Overpriced coffee? Not so much.”

“Okay, but let’s say you could hire someone,” I said. “Or lease the space and let someone bring their own small business in here. What about the rest of it?”

“I’m open to it,” he said. “Although with my knee, I can’t do any of the rearranging. That’s why I’ve left it like this for so long. The bookshelves are too heavy for me to move around.”

I grinned. “Don’t worry. I have the muscle covered.”

He laughed. “That’s right, I’ve met your boyfriend.”

I felt a surge of excitement. “So, we can do this?”

He narrowed his eyes and his white mustache twitched.

“How about this,” I said. “I’ll see what I can find as far as seating and give you the costs. Rearranging the layout is no problem, Sebastian and our friend Charlie can help with that. And I’ll come up with some ideas for events. I’ll keep the costs down. And if you need help with getting the café going again, I can do that too.”

“It’s very hard to say no to all of that,” he said.

“I think this could be really great,” I said. “I won’t pretend like I know what I’m doing, exactly, but I’ll do my best.”

“All right,” he said. “But I need to approve the new layout first.”

“Of course,” I said.

“Thank you, Brooke. It’s good to have someone in here with a little enthusiasm,” he said, smiling again. “Well, it’s time for me to go home. Like I said, close up early. You don’t need to sit around if there aren’t any customers.”

“I will. Thanks, Joe.”

After Joe left, I started sketching layout ideas in my notebook. I had a few customers in the late afternoon, but after that, all was quiet. I closed the shop an hour early and went home.

The porch light was on, but the living room was dark when I got there. I wondered where Olivia was. She’d been here for weeks and I wasn’t sure how long she was planning to stay. At first, she’d said she could stay for a week. But a week had come and gone, and she was still here.

She’d asked if I minded, and I told her I didn’t. It was nice having her here. I got the feeling that she liked being away from Phoenix—and not living with her parents. Even though they were nice people, I didn’t blame Olivia for not wanting to live with them. She’d been on her own while she went to college, so moving home must have taken some adjusting.

Plus, we had fun together. Olivia had always been a spitfire, so we’d had our moments. Just a couple of small arguments, nothing serious. The longer she stayed, the more we fell back into the comfort of our old relationship. We loved each other like sisters, but we sometimes we fought like sisters too.

I shut the door behind me and flicked on the light. I was hungry, but I figured I’d wait for Sebastian. Maybe he’d want to grab dinner. Who was I kidding, Seb always wanted to grab food. His diet was the healthiest of anyone I’d ever known, but he was a big guy. It seemed like he was always hungry.

A bang coming from another room startled me. Maybe Olivia was home.

“Olivia?” I called.

She didn’t answer, so I got out my phone to text Seb.

I heard another sound and it made me pause, mid-text. Was that a moan? It sounded like a woman’s voice. I shook my head and grinned. Maybe Olivia was enjoying some alone time.

More noise, and another voice. Definitely not Olivia’s. It sounded like a man. Was she watching porn back there? I shrugged and finished my text. I was going to tease the crap out of her when she came out.

Then the noise kept going—a rhythmic banging. Like two objects hitting each other. Or more like… a bed knocking against a wall.

Oh, shit.

She was either watching porn and getting really into her special-me-time, or she had someone back there with her.

The moaning got louder. Two voices. This was getting a little bit mortifying. I wondered if I should leave. She obviously didn’t know I was home. If she did, she’d at least attempt to keep it down. As it was, they both kept getting louder. Who was she with?

The worst part was, it was kind of a turn-on. God, I was never going to tell her that. But listening to people having what was clearly some very amazing sex made my core tingle. Damn it, my panties were getting wet.

Well, at least Sebastian was coming over soon. Although maybe I’d suggest we hang out at his house tonight. There was slightly more privacy over there—at least the bedrooms were upstairs, instead of right next to the living room.

Sebastian hadn’t answered yet, so I curled up in the corner of the couch and waited for them to finish. And what a finish. They were either having one intense simultaneous orgasm, or Olivia was hard-core faking.

I poked around on my phone for a little while, looking at furniture ideas for the café. I was so excited to get started. I’d never had a job that I really cared about before, but I really wanted to see Booklover’s Corner succeed. It would be heartbreaking if it had to close—and not because I’d need to find a new job. It was a great store with so much potential. It just needed a little boost.

Olivia’s bedroom door opened and an imposing figure walked out. Tall. Thickly muscled. For a split second, his silhouette reminded me of Sebastian and a chill ran down my spine. But then he stepped closer to the light.

Oh my god, I should have known. Charlie. Of course it was Charlie.

He stopped in his tracks in front of the bathroom and looked at me. Dressed in nothing but boxer briefs, he had his shirt over his wrists like he was about to put it on.

“Oh, hey, Brooke,” he said. “You’re, um… you’re here.”

“Yep,” I said.

Olivia stumbled out of the bedroom, giggling. She was dressed in a fitted t-shirt that wasn’t long enough to hide her bright pink underwear. She wrapped her arms around Charlie from behind, then seemed to realize he was looking at something. Her eyes moved to me and they widened in surprise.

“Oh god,” she said. “You were supposed to be at work.”

“Sorry,” I said. “I came home early.”

“How long have you been here?” she asked.

“Long enough,” I said with a wink.

“Well, fuck,” she said.

Charlie just laughed and pulled his shirt over his head, then looked at me. “How was work?”

“Um, fine,” I said. “But maybe you should put on pants?”

He glanced down at his muscular legs and shrugged.

“Shit, I’m not wearing pants either,” Olivia said. “Charlie, get in here.”

He grinned, then followed Olivia back into the bedroom.

They came out a few minutes later, both fully dressed. I pretended to be very interested in something on my phone while they said goodbye. Or kissed goodbye, rather. It took a while.

Charlie finally left and Olivia closed the door. She came over to sit on the couch, her cheeks flushed, her eyes dreamy.

“So, Charlie?” I asked. “Did this just happen?”

She bit her lower lip. “Um, not exactly.”

“What?” I asked. “When?”

“Well…” She drew out the word, scrunching her nose. “Kind of the first night I was here.”

My mouth dropped open. “What? You slept with Charlie the first night you met?”

“Yeah, I know,” she said. “It was crazy. We went out to dinner so you and Seb could talk. But then we wound up talking for hours. We didn’t leave until the restaurant was closing. When we got back to his place, you were still in Sebastian’s room. I didn’t have a key to your house or anything, so he invited me to stay and hang out. So, we did. And then, well, we did.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

She sighed. “I almost did, but I felt weird. Like you were going to be mad, since I’d just met him and he was your friend. I don’t know, maybe that doesn’t make sense. And at first, I didn’t know if it would amount to anything. But then we started texting, and talking. And we got together again, and well…”

“Wow,” I said. “I’m not mad. Just surprised. Either you guys have been hiding it pretty well for the last few weeks, or I haven’t been paying attention.”

“Mostly the second one,” she said. “You’ve been a little wrapped up in Sebastian.”

“Yeah, I guess I have,” I said. “So, what is this between you guys? Are you just messing around?”

She shook her head. “No, that’s the really crazy part. I don’t think we are. At first, I wasn’t sure what was going on. That’s why I didn’t tell you. It was this whirlwind of insanity, like in a movie or something. He’s… god, Brooke, he’s amazing. I really, really like him. And it’s not just the sex. Although oh my god, the sex is incredible.”

“Yeah, so I gathered.”

“Consider it payback for the times I’ve had to listen to you and Seb.”

I cringed. “Touché.”

“It’s no big deal,” she said. “My roommate in college used to fuck her boyfriend under the covers with me in the same room. You get kind of desensitized after a while.”

“Ew,” I said. “Is this why you’ve been procrastinating on going back to Phoenix?”

“Pretty much,” she said. “Can I tell you something that’s probably going to make you think I’m insane?”

“Yeah…”

She bit her lower lip. “Charlie doesn’t want me to go back, and… I think I might stay.”

“Why are you worried I’d think you’re insane?”

“Well, because I just met him and I’m considering packing up my life and moving halfway across the country,” she said.

“Um, you do realize who you’re looking at, right?” I asked. “I was on the road with Sebastian after knowing him for less than twenty-four hours.”

“Good point,” she said. “I knew I liked you for a reason. I’m way less crazy compared to you. I’ll definitely use that argument on my mom when I tell her.”

I laughed. “I don’t think but Brooke did it is a very good argument.”

“You just said yourself, you did worse.” She smiled and tucked her legs up on the couch. “What is it about these big Iowa boys that makes us want to pack up and change our lives?”

“I don’t know, but they’re very persuasive.”

“Are you sure you’re not mad?” she asked. “Not even that I didn’t tell you at first? We were going to. We talked about it today, actually. He hasn’t said anything to Sebastian either.”

“No, I’m not mad,” I said. “You guys are two of my favorite people. This is fantastic.”

“Thanks,” she said. “I keep using you as an excuse to my parents for why I haven’t come home, but I’m going to need to tell them the truth soon. I was hoping to find a job first, though. You know, so I could soften the blow and make it sound less like I’m stupidly moving for a guy I’ve known for like a month.”

I gasped, feeling as if a light bulb had just lit up above my head. “Oh my god, O. You have a degree in business, right?”

“Yeah, business management with a minor in new media. Why?”

“And you worked at a coffee shop?”

She nodded. “All through college.”

“Hear me out on this,” I said. “The bookstore has space for a café, but it’s been closed for a while. It’s not much, I think they used to serve coffee and tea, plus maybe a little case with muffins or something. But I’m trying to talk Joe into reopening it, and getting some more seating in there. Doing little events and stuff, like readings and open mic nights. He’s interested, but he needs someone to handle the café. What if…”

Her eyes widened as I spoke. “Brooke, I could do that.”

I sat up taller. “And you were doing all that social media management stuff at your last job, weren’t you? Joe is hopeless at that. He tries to pretend the Internet doesn’t exist. You could work with him on that side of things. I know it would help us get the word out about the store and the events and stuff.”

“I’m kind of freaking out right now,” she said. “Is this a real possibility?”

“I’d have to talk to Joe,” I said. “But yeah, I think so.”

“Oh, Brooke, this would be amazing,” she said. “That bookstore is so cute, but you’re right. It needs seating. And maybe some cool art. Oh, and better lighting. You know what would be adorable? I saw these hanging lamps shaped like stars in a store downtown. They had different patterns and colors, and they weren’t expensive.”

“That’s perfect,” I said. My phone dinged, so I picked it up. “I’ll see Joe tomorrow at work and I’ll ask him. I bet he’ll be relieved he doesn’t have to look for someone.”

Sebastian: On my way.

I smiled down at my phone.

“You know, you have the prettiest smile,” Olivia said.

“Thanks,” I said. “But where did that come from?”

“You just seem really happy lately,” she said. “I kind of forgot what happy Brooke looked like.”

I lowered my phone. Obviously, Olivia knew what had happened between me and Sebastian. We hadn’t been hiding our new relationship from her, or Charlie. But it was difficult to talk about with her, beyond a little comment here and there. Liam had been her brother. I wasn’t sure if she’d think I was disloyal for being with someone else.

Although the truth was, I was afraid I was being disloyal.

“Does me being with Sebastian bother you?” I asked.

“No. Like I said, it’s great to see you happy.”

“Yeah, but…” I glanced down again, not sure how to put this into words. “You know, if things had been different—”

“I know,” she said. “But things aren’t different. We lost him. That doesn’t mean you have to be alone forever. It’s okay to move on. You should. That’s healthy.”

I tucked my hair behind my ear and nodded. “I don’t know what I believe about what happens to us after we die. But I wonder if he can see me, you know? Sometimes I almost feel him. Like he’s here, in a way. Maybe it’s just my imagination.”

“No, I do too,” she said. “Not all the time. But once in a while, he pops into my head out of nowhere. I always wonder if that’s his way of saying he’s still with us.”

A sudden rush of emotion hit me and I blinked back tears. “But, if he can see me, what must he think? It’s one thing for me to move on. But O, Sebastian isn’t just some guy I met. He has…”

“Liam’s heart,” she said, her voice soft. “I know. I’m not gonna lie, it’s a little weird. And maybe kind of morbid if you think about it too hard. But it’s obvious you really care about him.”

I nodded. “I did love Liam, you know that. But this is different. I don’t know if I can explain it. Liam was comfortable. Like a cozy blanket. But Sebastian is…”

“Like a triple shot, don’t hold the whipped cream, melt your panties off orgasm?”

“Yes, exactly,” I said. “Everything with him is like life on steroids. I didn’t know it could be like this.”

She smiled. “Then let go of the guilt. Sebastian is good for you. Let yourself be happy.”

As if on cue, he knocked on the door. I got up to answer, my tummy filled with the sudden rush I always got when he was near. Sparks and tingles of excitement mingling with arousal. My body awakening to his presence. I opened the door and his smile warmed me like the sun.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hi, beautiful.”

He brushed the hair back from my face and kissed me. And there was nothing wrong with any of it.