Spotlight: Chapter 28

On the way home from the bar, I check in with Ruby who lets me know Greer is fine and that they had a blast. She sends me several pictures of their hang, including one of my sweet daughter asleep in Ruby’s bed.

Flynn and I get dropped off at my place, then decide we’re hungry so we walk to an all-night diner a block from the apartment.

“I really like your family,” I tell him as we walk, swinging our hands between us.

“They’re pretty great, huh?” His smile is infectious. I don’t think I’ve ever smiled more around another person.

“Just like you,” I cheese, reaching over and squishing his very square and hard jaw together to try to make him look young and cute. It doesn’t really work. His brothers might refer to him as Baby Holland, but he is all man.

Flynn laughs as my hand drops away. He opens the diner door for me, and I step inside. It smells like coffee and greasy food. My stomach growls. It’s nearly empty. A group of women, maybe a little younger than me, sit in the back talking and laughing loudly, and a couple of customers are at the counter.

I nuzzle into Flynn’s side as the hostess greets us.

“Have a seat anywhere you’d like,” she says.

As I’m taking another scan of the place, I spot a familiar face at the counter.

“Is that Walter?” I ask Flynn.

“Yeah, it is.” He sounds as surprised to see the bookstore owner as I am but then takes a step toward the front counter.

“Wait.” I latch on to Flynn’s arm to stop him.

“Come on. You can put your rivalry aside for one night.”

I don’t have the heart to tell Flynn it’s a one-sided rivalry. Walter is kicking my ass with little to no effort, at least that’s how it looks.

I hide behind Flynn as we approach him. Walter has a mug in front of him as well as a book. Half a sandwich and some fries are abandoned on his plate.

“Walter,” Flynn says in a cheery tone.

The older man looks up from his book and swivels to face us. His smile is slow to inch up but does eventually.

“Flynn.” He removes his glasses and holds them in one hand. “It’s good to see you.”

“You too.” Flynn opens his stance. “And you know my girlfriend, Olivia. Her family owns The Book Nook down the street from your store.”

I think it’s the first time I’ve heard Flynn call me his girlfriend. If he’s trying to distract me or butter me up so I’m nice to Walter, it’s working on both accounts. I can’t fight the smile that tugs at the corners of my mouth.

“Hi.” I lift a hand in a small wave.

“Of course. Nice to see you as well.”

“I’ve been meaning to stop by and sign your new stock of jerseys and merch,” Flynn says.

Walter makes a face that shows his indifference on the matter.

“Whenever you get a chance. No rush. Congrats on the game tonight. They had it on earlier.” He points his glasses toward a small box TV on the wall. It looks like it’s been there for several decades.

Flynn’s phone vibrates in his jeans pocket. We’re standing so close I can feel it. His brows pinch together as he pulls it out.

“Ah. It’s my agent,” he says to me.

“This late?”

“She’s traveling on the West Coast with her husband’s hockey team. I better get this. Grab us a table and I’ll be right back.” He kisses me quick on the cheek. “I’ll stop by this week, Walt.”

Flynn hurries off with his phone to his ear and leaves me with Walter… or Walt. Leave it to Flynn to have befriended the grumpy bookstore owner and have a nickname for him.

“I should…” I trail off, hitching a thumb over one shoulder to indicate I should find a table. I pause when I see the book in his hands.

“That’s one of my top five books of all time. Is that the original cover? I’ve never seen it in person before.” I nod toward the book. It’s an old historical romance published more than forty years ago. It’s about a farmer and a schoolteacher set in North Dakota in the early nineteen hundreds. I stumbled upon it in my high school library. It’s the book that made me fall in love with reading romance, or one of them anyway, and ever since, I’ve fallen in love over and over again. That’s one of the many great things about books.

“It was my wife’s favorite. I read it every year around this time. It reminds me of her.” He smiles in a way that transforms his whole face. “She passed away three years ago.”

“I’m so sorry.”

I find myself taking a seat at the counter beside him. “She loved books too?”

“Oh yes. Reading was her sport, that’s what she used to say. She read two or three novels a week, always had one with her anywhere she went.” Another smile tips the corners of his mouth as if he’s picturing it in his head. “It was her idea to start a bookstore once we both retired. Of course, it took longer than planned. I was a history professor with tenure and a cozy office. We thought we’d have plenty of time.”

It’s the saddest thing anyone has ever told me, but beautiful too.

“You opened the store for her?”

“And for me. I like being surrounded by books. They remind me of her.”

That makes sense, but it’s so sad.

“And the window art?”

“A hobby of mine.” He gives me a conspiratorial glance.

“You?”

“Don’t tell anyone.”

“Why not? They’re beautiful. People walk by just to see it.”

“I draw for me,” he says simply.

The diner door jingles as Flynn walks back inside. I stand from the seat next to Walter.

“Do you want to join us?” I ask him. Maybe Gigi was right and he’s just lonely.

He glances back at Flynn, then shakes his head. “Thanks for the offer. You two enjoy your night out.”

“Okay,” I say, then give him one last smile.

After dinner, Flynn and I head back out to make the walk to my place. It’s late, but neither of us is tired.

“What are the odds that his late wife and I share the same favorite book?” I ask, a little dumbfounded still.

Flynn chuckles. I’ve probably said the same thing a dozen times.

“I’m not sure, but that would make a great trivia question in your bookstore competition.”

I swat at him playfully and his grin widens. I shake off the weird encounter, at least for now.

“Tell me again what your agent said.”

Now it’s his turn to wear that happy, slightly dumbfounded grin.

“She said, and I quote, ‘If you keep it up, you’re going to have so many offers at the end of the season you’ll have to wade through them.’” He chuckles softly. “Everly has a flair for the dramatic.”

“She’s not wrong though. You played such a great game tonight. Everyone is finally seeing what I knew from the second I met you.”

“What’s that?” he asks.

“You’re a superstar.”

He takes a second like he’s soaking that in. Good. He should.

“Is everything ready for your big bookstore event?” he asks as we keep walking toward my apartment. It’s a novelty for me, being out this late, having him sleep over, and not worrying about Greer—or at least not as much. I want to soak it up. If Flynn does get traded at the end of the season, then I don’t want to miss out on a single second like this.

“Yes.” Excitement zips through me. I cannot wait. I read an early copy of a debut mystery book and when I reached out to the publisher to let them know how much I enjoyed it, they asked if I’d be interested in hosting a release party for the author. It’s turned into a whole event, and I am so excited for it all!

“I’m proud of you.” He kisses my knuckles. “Raising the coolest kid, managing a bookstore, bartending at night… it’s inspiring.”

“Thanks.” I laugh lightly. He’s the one getting national media attention and still somehow, he’s proud of me.

“Hey.” He stops.

I take another step but don’t get far when he pulls me back with our joined hands. Laughing, I rest a hand on his chest to keep from colliding into him. I look up into his eyes, expecting them to be playful but finding them serious instead.

“What?” I ask, searching his face.

“I love you.”

My chest expands and my pulse speeds up. “You do?”

He nods, throat working with a swallow as he keeps looking at me with that same expression.

I drape my arms over his shoulders and then lift onto my toes to lace my fingers behind his neck and pull his head down to mine. “I love you too, superstar.”