Back to September, page 4
“They here yet?” Kurt whispered, peeking his head out from the Intrigue section, where he was helping a gaggle of college kids find something “scary, but not really scary.”
“Not yet,” I said, after handing a friendly woman her bag of purchases. It had been a high-volume day in the store, as folks seemed to want to peruse the place in advance of lining up for the signing. Exactly what I was hoping for. It was just past one, and we’d already broken all sorts of sales records. I owed Luna big-time for this one.
An hour and a half later, two well-dressed women, who didn’t look like they were here for a signed copy, entered the shop. “Ms. Shephard?” the brunette asked. She wore a black suit, and yeah, that had to be designer. A week’s salary of mine, at least. I fought the urge to handle the fabric of the lapel.
“That’s me.” I extended my hand and she shook it firmly, as I’d been taught to do from a young age.
“So nice to meet you.” The brunette glanced around the shop while the other woman, a tiny blonde, began walking through the space, clearly in investigation mode. What they were searching for I was unsure. “I’m Bernadette Hall. You can call me Bernie, and we’re here to prep for the signing.”
“We’ll want to set up here, Bernie,” the blonde said, pointing at a spot not far from the cashier’s counter.
I half raised my hand to be polite before speaking. “Actually, I was thinking that over there near the display might work best because—”
“No, I think Pinky is right.” Pinky? Really? Okay. Pinky and Bernie, it was. “This is the spot. We can drag some of the promo art over, and we’ve brought some of our own for a photo backdrop.” She walked a few feet to the right. “We’ll need a table of books here.”
“On it!” Luna said, scurrying in from the break room, where she’d been on lunch. She’d informed me earlier that the streaks in her hair were red today in honor of romance, passion, and fire.
“What else can we do?” I asked. It turned out, a lot. They had us dragging shelves out of the way, and setting up “the most comfortable chair possible,” brewing coffee, prepping hot water for tea, opening the snacks, popping the popcorn, and handing out numbered cards to the masses waiting in line on the sidewalk. It was a whirlwind of a half hour, and at 3:00 on the dot, I heard a roar of applause. Sounded like the talent had arrived.
“All right, everyone. I think it’s go time,” Bernie announced.
And then there she was. The most beautiful woman I’d ever seen in my life.
I hadn’t expected that. My breath caught and released. Parker Bristow was attractive on television and in photos, but I now realized that they’d not done her justice. Not even in the realm of reality.
“Parker, we have you over here,” Bernie said, and gestured to the comfy chair we’d pulled in from the break room. I smiled but stayed out of the way. That didn’t deter her.
“Hi, there,” she said with a bright smile. She walked out of her way, in my direction. “I’m Parker.”
I took her offered hand. “Shephard. Hannah.” I made a circular gesture. “But the other way around. I don’t know why I said it that way.”
“Both are good names,” she said, with a laugh. Her long blond hair fell across her eye in the way it never seemed to on normal people, only characters in movies. Yet hers did. I swallowed and attempted to rebound.
“We’re so excited you’re here.” I gestured outside. “As you can see from the incredibly long line.”
“I just hope they like the book,” she said, and took a sharp inhale. She looked, dare I say, nervous? How was that possible when she was…her?
I pushed forward. “Well, my sister already read it and can’t stop gushing. She’ll be here soon.”
She turned around and faced me. “Well, please don’t make her wait in line. You’re lending out your store to us for the afternoon, so I’d be happy to sign her book without a delay.”
“Oh, that’s okay. You don’t have to—”
“I want to.”
I paused, feeling a heated blush inch in on my cheeks. Did I mention her hair was actually shiny? “Thank you so much. I’ll tell her.” I came around the table to where she’d settled. “Is there anything you’d like to drink? Or eat? I could pop some fresh popcorn.” God, that felt weird to say.
She laughed. “I’m so sorry that’s still on the rider.” She glanced at her people. “Bernie, can we get that updated, please?” She turned back in my direction, and her hair swung like a shampoo commercial. If I’d had a rewind button, I would have utilized it. “I had an ex who ate nothing but popcorn to lose weight. Crazy and unhealthy, I know. She used to come to these things with me, and as a courtesy, we added popcorn. I’m really sorry.” Her eyes carried sincerity.
“It’s not a problem. We have some spare popcorn now for the break room. Silver lining, right?”
“Well, there is that.” She held my gaze, and I held hers. It only lasted a few seconds, but they felt important. Everything about her did.
“Well,” Pinky said, snapping us back on course. “Here’s the pen you like to sign with, and here’s a backup. You’ve got your water, lip gloss. Anything else?”
Parker uncapped the pen with flourish. “Just the readers. I don’t like to keep them waiting, so let’s be sure we start on time.”
Bernie jumped to attention and I exchanged a thumbs-up sign with Kurt and Luna, who watched from some distance away with big grins on their faces. This was such a big day for all of us. I would be sure to introduce them later. Parker seemed approachable and kind, and I don’t know why, but I hadn’t expected that. At all. If anything, her team seemed higher on themselves than she did.
The afternoon flew by in a flurry of smiling readers, small talk, snapped photos, laughter, and the best of all? Lots and lots of sales. We had it set up where the readers entered through the main door of the shop to buy their copy of the book from me before being ushered to Parker for a few moments of conversation and a signature. Because they would exit through the back of the store, they’d pass through the many shelves of possible matches, which more often than not resulted in more sales, rung up by Kurt and Luna. I had to pinch myself. Today couldn’t have gone any better. From my spot behind my register, I watched as each reader, most of them women, were treated with the utmost respect and enthusiasm from someone they clearly admired so much. Parker made each one of them feel special, which, after hundreds had gone through, had to have exhausted her. Maybe I did need to read me a Parker Bristow novel. She’d won me over today.
“She’s amazing,” Bo whispered in my ear after having her copy signed. “She smells like baked goods and said my favorite book of hers, Willing to Fall, is also her favorite she’s written, and that I was right about there needing to be an additional book in the Angry Tears series.”
“Well, you’ve always had good taste, Bo-Bo.”
She scrunched her shoulders, which was Bo for “I’m so giddy right now.”
I laughed. “I’m glad you’ve had a good day.”
“Haven’t you?” she asked. “I’ve never seen more people between these four walls. You gotta have cash coming out of your ears by now.”
“Well, it is hard to hear you.” I laughed. “This has all been fantastic for the shop. You’re dead, aren’t you? Meeting her.”
“I’m talking to you from the grave.” Bo squeezed my arm. “Just so you know, there’s also a news crew out front covering the whole thing.”
My jaw dropped. “You’re making that up.”
“I’m happy to report I’m not.”
She wasn’t! As soon as the signing wrapped—and it ran over because Parker wanted to make sure she signed for everyone who came out to support her—Marta Jenkins, the very spunky reporter I watched every night at ten, appeared in my store and asked to interview Parker, who was nice enough to suggest they stand in front of my sign during the interview. Bernie and Pinky stood off to the side, nodding at everything Parker had to say.
“It’s been a fantastic day here in Providence, and I’m so blessed to have met so many readers,” Parker told the reporter, grinning broadly. “And this bookstore is one of the most awesome I’ve seen anywhere on the tour. Quaint and comfortable. Everyone should be sure to check out A Likely Story. I hope to be back someday. In the meantime, I’ll be buying a few books for my next flight.”
I closed my eyes in gratitude, hopeful that the unexpected plug would transfer to customer acquisition. I held a glimmer of hope that it just might.
“Well, I count today a big success,” Bernie said, as she helped me carry the signing table to the back of the store. “I wasn’t sure what to expect, but Providence sure showed up today for Parker. Just goes to show you that every city loves her.”
“Everyone was so sweet.”
I turned at the sound of Parker’s voice and found that she’d followed us, carrying the comfy chair I’d pulled from the break room. Apparently, she wasn’t above helping or physical labor. Strong, too. Kurt and Luna had moved it together.
“Well, you were a hit, and we sold hundreds of your new one, and tons more from your backlist.” We set the table down gently and Bernie dashed off to the front to gather the promotional artwork they’d brought with them.
Parker relaxed into a smile. “That’s good to hear. The sales. You never know how these things are going to go. Is anyone going to show up? Will they be disappointed when they do?”
“Why would they be disappointed?” I asked, confused. I had no concept of what in the world she was talking about.
“Well, if they have an idea of what I’m going to be like and I don’t live up to it. That’s always a fear. Keeps me up at night sometimes. Insomnia has been an issue lately because of it.”
“Really?” I just couldn’t imagine someone like Parker Bristow being nervous about what a stranger thought of her. I pushed the table against the wall of the break room. It was usually where we kept the coffee supplies, but it felt infinitely more important now that it had fulfilled its celebrity signing destiny. I gave it a “good table” pat and straightened. “Well, everyone loved you, just like Bernie said. Even I was impressed.”
“Even you?”
I hesitated. “Well, you’re pretty famous, and—”
“It was the popcorn on the rider, wasn’t it? Set the bar kind of low.”
I smiled. “It made me wonder who’d be walking through that door.”
“Let’s have dinner.”
I stared at her. I had definitely heard wrong and replayed the sentence for its actual meaning. I came up empty-handed and glanced behind me to find we were alone in the room. “Why?”
She laughed. “Why?” She glanced at the ceiling and back to me. Her green eyes were so big and expressive. She had lashes for days. “Because I’m hungry. You might be, too, though one can’t be sure. Hence, the asking.”
I immediately came up with eighteen reasons why I wasn’t available. There was the shop to reassemble after the slight redesign for the signing. I’m a quieter person who’d been looking forward to heading home and curling up under a blanket to decompress. The cats probably missed me. I wanted to watch the news that night and see the story about the signing. Yet none of them toppled the insane offer that had just been extended to me to have dinner with Parker Bristow, who’d been so kind all day.
“Okay. I could eat.” Bo was gonna flip. So was Luna.
Parker smiled, this time bigger. “Where should we go?”
Chapter Three
There weren’t too many authors who had recognizable faces. Parker Bristow, due to her relationship with the media and insane Twitter following, was one of them. She wasn’t just an author, she was a personality, and the looks we got at Harry’s Bar & Burger, one of my favorite haunts, only proved my point.
“So many choices. What do you recommend?” Parker asked, flipping through the menu. She’d pulled her hair up as we’d walked the three blocks to the restaurant, and made it look gorgeous without so much as a mirror. I’d have failed that test miserably.
“I usually get the sliders without onions,” I said, wondering if those might be too basic for her. I wasn’t exactly clear on what people with tons of money liked to eat. Surely their taste buds were different, as ludicrous as that sounded.
“I love a good burger,” she said, holding her fingers together and shaking them for emphasis. “You have no idea. That’s why I was so jazzed when you suggested this place.”
Okay, so apparently Parker appreciated the simpler things in life and I hadn’t embarrassed myself with my restaurant choice. Harry’s was close to the shop and my apartment, making the place an easy go-to. “You think Bernadette and Pinky are okay?” I asked, noticing that she hadn’t invited them with us.
She waved off the question. “We spend way too much time together on the road, and sometimes I just need a little space.” She sipped her water. “I have no doubt that they’re stressing over hotel reservations for the next stop and working through logistics of travel. I just really need a break from that, you know?”
“I can imagine.”
“And you’re so nice to indulge me.”
“Hi, there.” We turned to see a woman standing at our table, smiling at us with a spark of excitement in her eyes. “I just want to say that I love your tweets, especially the one about Hallmark commercials sabotaging your right to emotional autonomy. That GIF still kills me.”
“Thank you,” Parker said, and extended her hand. “Nice to meet you. Parker.”
“I’m Vicki. I love your books, too. If I were more put together, I probably would have led with that.”
“That’s okay!” Parker said, and laughed. “They’re all me, regardless.”
“Would you mind taking a photo with me? I can be quick.”
Parker glanced over at me, perhaps asking permission.
I reached out for the phone. “I can take it. I don’t mind.”
“Thank you.” Parker pointed at me. “This is Hannah. She owns A Likely Story, the bookstore three blocks that way. Do you know it?”
Vicki slipped in next to Parker for the photo. “I don’t, but I promise to check it out.”
I snapped the photo, Vicki gushed a few moments more, and we were left on our own again to figure out our orders. Joe, the generally low-key server, had no idea who Parker was and it showed as he blandly took our order. Sliders for me and Harry’s Double Wide for Parker, which I found impressive. Double meat, double cheese, all the way. She had shown up for Harry’s. No phoning it in.
“I’m sorry we were interrupted earlier,” Parker said.
I smiled. “You don’t have to apologize to me. You have a public. I have cats.”
“You do? What are their names?”
“Well, there’s Bacon, who prefers his head to be scratched constantly, and Tomato, who pretends she hates me until Bacon is getting said head scratched. Then we replay it.”
“I’m jealous. I wish I had a pet. I’d take a Bacon or a Tomato. Maybe mine should be Lettuce.”
I smiled. “You should get one. Maybe a little dog you could carry around in a purse.”
She looked thoughtful. “Is that really the persona I give off?”
I smiled and placed my thumb and forefinger close together. “In a good way.”
She rested her chin on her hand. “I feel so bad for those dogs in the bags. Like little props carted around.”
I loved hearing that. “I was actually only joking when I suggested it, because I feel the same way. I always cringe a little bit and want to take them home with me and let them play in the yard. Well, if I had a yard.”
“Right?” A pause. “Have you always lived in Providence? It’s a beautiful city. I had no idea.”
“Yep. My stepsister, Bo, who you met today—”
“She was so sweet. Honestly, her enthusiasm made me smile.”
“I’ll be telling her that. Well, we were raised here by our parents before they fled south for warmer weather. Apparently, Tampa is the place to be when you retire. Where do you live?”
“New York mostly, but I have a house on the lake near Austin that I like to sneak away to when I need downtime. It’s my favorite spot of any spot.”
I imagined such a place. “That sounds really peaceful. The lake.”
“I love it.” She lit up and my stomach fluttered uncomfortably. I shifted in my chair. “One day I’d like to move down there permanently. I’m going to do it, too.” Her smile faltered. “At least I always tell myself that.”
Our food arrived, and for the next fifteen minutes, I had the pleasure of watching Parker Bristow, who’d only been a famous name and face to me in the past, grapple with a big old messy cheeseburger. It might have been the most glorious thing I’d witnessed to date. She attacked the thing both delicately and aggressively, depending on the moment. The dichotomy had me struck. With sauce running from the burger onto her wrist, she smiled at me gleefully, and I knew then and there, she was more than happy in this moment. That emotion was contagious and I wished I could bottle it.
“Hey, Hannah?”
“Yep.” I fought the urge to dab the bit of mustard from the corner of her mouth. God, I wanted to, though. I think I’d developed a very fast and unexpected crush, which caught me off guard, because that kind of thing didn’t happen to me. At least, not on the very first meeting with someone. My crushes had always been gradual, contemplated, analyzed, and accepted—the way most of my life was.
“Thanks for bringing me here. I know you don’t know my life or my stresses, but I needed this. In a big way.”
“No problem.” I took a risk and got personal. Why the hell not? We’d likely never see each other again. “Rough time lately, or…”
She set down the remainder of her burger and reached for a napkin to wipe her hands. I slid the whole dispenser to her side of the table, which earned a laugh. “Let’s see. I’ve been on the road for seven weeks now. A different hotel room every two days, with very little time to see any of the places we visit because my publishing company has a very tight budget.”
