Page 22 of Howlin’ For You

“And hey, I’m sorry for bailing last night,” she says, shifting on her feet uncomfortably. “And for texting him. I just thought the two of you might need a push in the right direction.”

I can’t be mad at her. “Playing cupid?”

She wrinkles her nose. “Gross. No. I was just unwilling to suffer through you two making goo-goo eyes at each other in my café for one more day.”

A few more customers come in, so I wave goodbye with a promise to text her and make plans.

Drinks in one hand, bag of baked goodies in the other, I walk to the park, unable to stop thinking about how excited I am to see Nick. I’m leaning in.

I hear the hammering before I see him, the rhythmic boom-boom-boom that reverberates in my chest as I approach. I’ll pretend that’s why my heartbeat picks up speed; I’m just matching the beat of the hammer.

“Mmm,” he breathes in, closing his eyes when I’m close enough. “Did you bring me breakfast, Izzy?”

The way he opens his eyes and trails them along my skin makes me shiver. Does he mean me or the food?

“Couldn’t let you starve now, could I, boss?” I say with a half-smile, eyes caressing his skin.

He leans back where he sits on the ground surrounded by supplies, and his t-shirt stretches across his broad chest. “You sure you aren’t an angel? You’ve color-coded my schedule, filtered through endless appointment calls, and brought me breakfast.”

The last thing I want is for Nick to place me on a pedestal. I’ve been trying to climb the one my parents built for me my whole life, and I always fall short. “We’ll just say you owe me.”

“Dinner?”

“Hmm?”

“Can I owe you dinner? Tonight?”

I can’t hide the smile that breaks over my face at the invitation. “If I say yes, can I get away with not actually helping you build the stage? Manual labor isn’t my vibe.”

“Deal,” he chuckles. “And noted.”

“In that case…” I put down his croissant and coffee. “I’ll go shop a little at the bookstore.”

“I’ll pick you up at seven.”

Promise blazes in those blue eyes, so hot and intense I swear to God I’m on fire. I turn on my heel, practically fleeing toward One Page More before I do something ridiculous like maul him in the middle of town.

It’s the perfect time to explore the bookstore—Lord knows I’m not going to get any work done anytime after that.

I open the front door to One Page More and am immediately overwhelmed by shelves that reach to the ceiling and the scent of old books. They’re everywhere. Every single nook and cranny of this tiny store is crammed with books.

“Hi!” An auburn-haired woman about my age waves from behind the ancient counter. “You’re the new event planner, aren’t you?”

“Isabella,” I reply, running a hand through my hair. “That obvious, huh?”

She smiles kindly. “It’s a small town, honey. We all knew everything there was to know about you within forty-eight hours. The good news is that we didn’t uncover anything weird.”

I huff a nervous laugh. Oh God. They did research? As a town?

“Although if we did, I sure as heck wouldn’t tell ya!” she giggles, little mushroom earrings swaying back and forth. “What has you comin’ in today?”

I let out a nervous giggle. I’m not sure if I like all this attention. “I just haven’t been in here before. I wanted to check it out.”

“Lovely! Well, you just take your time and let me know if you have any questions. I’ll be here.” She dives back into the book she was reading—romance, by the looks of it—and leaves me to fend for myself.

I take a little while to peruse the shelves, but first date energy has me bouncing around without landing on anything specific.

“Do you want me to give you a recommendation?” she asks, pulling her nose out of her book.