Page 69 of Just for the Plot

His lips slightly purse before he says, “So what is this idea?”

“Since books have taken over my life, I thought it would be fun to own my own little book truck where I can show up to different places and people can buy books from my truck, like a mini storefront that travels to different trade shows and has a social media following.”

“Like a food truck, but for books.”

“Yes, exactly,” I say. “And it would just be romance books, and I could sell all the bookish things as well and have an online storefront too. I don’t know, just seems like fun and I’ve saved up quite a lot working with Adalade. She pays me well and pays for a lot of my expenses. So I’ve stashed away money and, well…I don’t know…that’s the dream.”

“So why don’t you do it?”

“It’s not that easy. It will take a lot of work, and who knows if that’s something San Francisco wants, you know? I don’t want to put in all this time and fail.”

“Who’s to say you’ll fail?”

“There is a high likelihood that it would fail. Twenty percent of all small businesses fail after the first year.”

“Yeah, but that’s also an eighty percent success rate. Why aren’t you paying attention to that number?”

“Because my dad was part of the twenty percent,” I say softly. “I sawwhat he went through, all the time and energy he put into his idea, only for it to crumble at his fingertips. He had to work his ass off just to support his family.” I shake my head. “It’s terrifying. I don’t want to follow in his footsteps.”

“Just because your dad failed doesn’t mean you will. You can’t let his past dictate your future.”

I nod as I feel a bout of emotion hit me, so I turn away from him, avoiding those understanding and sincere eyes of his so I can calm my racing emotions.

“Hey, did I say something wrong?” He tugs on my hand, entwining our fingers.

“No,” I say as my eyes well up with tears and I beg myself to keep it together. “It’s just… I remember those days.” A tear drips down my cheek and I quickly wipe it away as I feel him move in even closer to me. “I remember the arguments between my parents, the yelling and uncertainty. They were stressed from my father’s failure. There wasn’t much joy, and well, I don’t want that for me.”

“There’s a difference, though, Bower.” He turns my head so I have to look at him. “You don’t have a family—you don’t have dependents relying on you—so if it’s something that doesn’t work out, it’s not going to have the same impact that it had with your family, right?”

I nod, because he’s right about that.

“And also, you don’t have to quit your job while you figure this out. You can still work for Adalade, start putting everything together, and on the weekends, you can work on your book stuff. That way you have the safety net in case something doesn’t work out.” He cups my cheek and speaks with such sincerity. “But I believe in you, I believe you can make this great, and we can use the book club as a platform to help raise awareness of your book truck.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t ask you to do that.”

“You’re not asking. I’m offering.”

I shake my head. “You’ve already helped me out with so much.”

“Because I want to,” he says, his hand still cupping my cheek. “I want you to succeed. I want to see you happy. I want you to accomplish your dreams. You were there for me and Gabby for so many years. You helped us, even if it was as simple as letting Gabby bring home soup from the restaurant. You were there for us. Let me be there for you.”

My lips lightly tilt up into a smile. “I guess that’s what friends do, right?”

He slowly nods, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallows. “Yup, that’s what friends do.”

I move in close and wrap my arms around him, pulling him into a hug. “Thank you, Bennett.”

His hands fall to my back as he holds me tight. “Anything for you, Bower. Anything.”

I pull away. “I’ll give it some thought. Not making any promises, but you drive a hard bargain.”

“I only have one requirement.”

“What’s that?” I ask.

“That you stay here in San Francisco. Can’t have you moving out to Almond Bay if you start a book truck.”

I chuckle and stand. “You might have to go into a bidding war with your sister.”