“Isn’t it? I feel like it’s my own little piece of paradise.”
Before we walked out, Greer had flipped a switch that turned on the Edison light bulbs she’d strung across the entire rooftop. There were a few different sitting areas spread over the space. One featured an outdoor sofa and two rocking chairs, a coffee table, a grill, and a round table that seated four. On the other side of the roof was a round fire pit with large cushions placed around it. Throw pillows and blankets were laid out for whoever was sitting there. To the left of that was a bar area with four barstools.
“You could seriously throw an amazing party up on this rooftop.”
Greer looked around and smiled as she took a seat on the sofa. She folded her legs under her and laughed. “You probably could, but I never have.”
“What? With a space like this, you’ve never thrown a party?”
She shook her head and took a bite of her brownie, then followed it with a bite of ice cream. “I work nearly every day, and when I’m off, I usually volunteer around town or catch up on orders for the bookstore, things like that.”
I lifted a brow. “You really are a workaholic, aren’t you?”
With the sweetest laugh, she replied, “I am. It’s just, I’ve worked so hard for this place and I…” Her voice trailed off.
“You what?” I took a bite of the brownie and let out a long moan.
“Is it good?” Greer asked with a giggle. “Or is this your normal reaction to dessert?”
I held up my finger as I took another bite and savored it. “It’s that good,” I finally answered.
“Do you mind opening the wine?” she asked.
I set my plate down. “Not at all.”
As I worked on opening the wine, Greer walked over to the bar, bent, and took two wine glasses out of a cabinet.
She handed them to me and then sat back down and got to work on her brownie.
“Before you became a workaholic, what did you like to do for fun?” I asked, pouring the wine and handing her a glass.
With a sigh, she looked up as if thinking hard about her answer. “Let’s see, what was life like before the bookstore?” She chuckled, then sipped her wine. “I love to hike. Honestly, being outdoors has always been one of my favorite things in the world. My father used to take me and my brother fishing all the time.” Greer looked down at her wine and smiled. “I loved doing that. Spending time with them. We would go for hours and no one would utter a word, but there was something so special about just being there with them, in the moment. If that makes any sense at all.”
I nodded. “It does. Besides hiking and fishing and your love of outdoors, what else do you like?”
Her gaze met mine. I loved those hazel eyes of hers. It felt like if you looked closely enough, she’d let you see into her soul. “Besides reading, I love old movies, dancing, being with friends and laughing about nothing. I’d like to go back to Italy someday. I loved it there. Maybe Australia.”
I finished off my brownie and ice cream and had to force myself not to lick the plate. Setting it down on the table, I focused back on Greer. “I love Italy, and I’ve been to Australia.”
She smiled. “Looks like I found my tour guide, then.”
If she asked me to take her to Australia, I would do it right now. To hell with the book. “What kind of dancing?”
Her brows lifted. “What kind?” She shrugged. “Any, I guess. I’ve always been a fan of two-stepping, probably because my brother Kyle asked me to practice it with him once back in high school. Our school was having a dance, and it had a country music theme.” She laughed and shook her head. “We practiced two-stepping for weeks in the formal dining room of my folks’ house. We pushed the table to the side, so we had more space, and would keep our shoes off so we could slide on the wood floor.”
“I have to admit, I’ve only ever two-stepped twice in my entire life. Both times I was drunk out of my mind and in Texas at the time, so I don’t know if I was any good.”
Greer grinned, and I could tell she was trying to hold back a laugh. “I could teach you, if you want.”
“Now?” I asked.
With a casual shrug, she said, “I’ve got speakers up here.”
I placed my hand over my heart. “And she has an outdoor sound system. All you need is a large screen and a projector, and you could have some serious football game parties out here.”
Greer stood and made her way over to another area of the roof I hadn’t seen yet. It was covered. After a few minutes of her messing around with something, music came on over speakers that were placed around the rooftop.