Another one of those soft smiles crosses his lips. I’m getting more and more of those lately. I wish they weren’t so addictive.
“What’s your favorite book?” Carter asks. “Your very favorite?”
“Oh, I could never choose,” I tell him, grinning at the very idea. “Every book’s so different. I love so many.”
He parks the car, turning to watch me. Under his gaze, I feel all hot and flustered. Outside the car, it’s started to snow, and it scares me how happily I could sit inside this little snow globe with him, for hours and hours.
“I expected something like Pride and Prejudice,” he says.
“It’s a great book,” I agree, “and I do love it. But there’s so many wonderful books, I really couldn’t limit my favorite to just one, you know?”
“Fair point,” he says, turning off the car. “Well, are you ready, snow bunny?”
“Snow bunny?” I scrunch up my nose. “You’re running out of good nicknames, Carter.”
“So you admit you liked a few of them?”
“I admit nothing,” I tell him. “Now let’s go. There are books to be fondled, and they hate to be kept waiting.”
Like everything in Reindeer Falls, Riverboat Books has been properly decked out with twinkly lights. The entire dock is wrapped with lights and a tree filled with book-themed ornaments greets us as soon as we board, or enter the shop, as it were. And, of course, there’s a table of Christmas-themed books near the front. This, coupled with the seemingly endless custom-built shelves that wrap around the store, makes my heart flutter.
Carter nods his approval as he stands next to me. “Definitely impressive.”
I don’t know why his approval makes me shiver with joy, but it does.
“I’m looking for a few Christmas presents,” I tell him. “How about you?”
“I’m going to check out the YA fantasy section,” he says. “I think I’ve run through everything available in your library.”
Impossible, but I nod. For some reason, I like that he’s not insisting on following me around the store. Maybe other girls would like that, but I like a little space when I’m choosing books. I don’t like to be pressured for time and hovered over. We part ways and before I know it, I’m five books deep into the new releases, struggling to choose between two brand-new Christmas romcoms for Maggie.
“Do I want the ‘just one bed’ trope or the ‘hidden secret’ trope?” I mumble out loud, holding up the two different options.
“Oh, definitely ‘just one bed,’” says someone from behind me.
I turn to look, finding Noel Winters standing behind me. Noel’s smile is wide, and she’s already got a full stack of books under her arm. A girl after my own heart.
“Noel!” I say ecstatically, wrapping her up in a hug. “Fancy running into you here!”
Noel and I sometimes collaborate on events together, and she’s one of my favorite people in town. A true compassionate heart and a love for Google Sheets? Can’t beat it.
“I had to pick up some books for our little library at the active adult center,” she says. “Plus, Christmas gifts. You know how it goes.”
“Absolutely,” I agree. “I’m deciding for Maggie now. So, you think ‘one bed?’”
“Can you beat it? There’s nothing better than a plot in which somehow, magically, there’s only one hotel room left for miles, with only one bed that the couple must share.” Noel sighs and fans herself with her hand, laughing.
“I dunno…” I reply, grinning. “The ‘accidental hookup with a hot Santa Claus’ trope might be even better.”
She laughs. “Speaking of, he’s around here somewhere. I better find him before he gets lost in this maze.”
“Merry Christmas,” I tell her. “Let’s talk events for January, okay?”
“Don’t work too hard, Lex,” she says. “You deserve a little magic yourself.”
I raise my eyebrow, but she just shrugs mysteriously. Does she know about Carter and me? Wait, she’s probably heard about our engagement and bought into the romance too. God, this is going to be such a mess for me to clean up in January once he’s gone.
I grab the book for Maggie and decide it’s time to find Carter. As I walk through the shop, I let the smell of leather and crisp pages fill my nose. Man, if only Sutton could turn this smell into a goat soap. I’ll have to put in a personal request. I’m thinking about how she could market it when I hear a high-pitched giggle coming from down one of the aisles. I pop my head around the corner and spy Carter, cashmere sweater and all.
Only, he’s not alone.
“Oooh, you’re even taller in person,” chirps the young woman standing next to him. “And so muscular!”
She’s in her own seasonal sweater, but it’s hanging off the side to reveal her tanned shoulder. Her expertly curled, platinum-blonde hair cascades over the exposed skin, and she bats extra-long eyelashes at him.