Page 21 of The Pumpkin Pie Book Nook

“Definitely.”

Robyn stood on the trail a beat longer than she should have, watching him walk away under the amber trees. For one breath, then two, she let herself imagine following him. Sitting beside him in the quiet stacks. Pretending to look for a history book while really just wanting to be near him.

The want of it startled her.

Not because it was new, exactly, but because it no longer felt harmless. It felt like a burning choice waiting to be made.

Soon, she thought. Soon she’d cash in that raincheck. But first, she had a bookstore to open and a story to write—though she wasn’t sure anymore whether she meant her characters’ or her own.

TEN

TYLER

Tyler stopped by the bookstore an hour before closing, seeing as Emma was still at the farm with Zoe. The afternoon sun cast long beams of light through the store, highlighting the fall must-reads.

Robyn was behind the counter, finishing up with a customer. Her hair was half-pinned up with that tortoiseshell clip, the rest of it falling in loose waves around her shoulders, and she’d pushed her glasses up onto her head the way she did when she’d been reading too long.

She glanced up as the register drawer slid shut, and her smile turned quick and private before she caught herself.

“I’m surprised to see you here,” she said, lowering her voice as the customer wandered out. “Not that I’m complaining.”

Tyler leaned his forearms on the counter, the old wood smooth and cool under his sweater. “Thought I’d update you on how the library went.”

“Oh? Was your mission a success?”

“It was. I was wondering if you wanted to stop over tonight to go over what I found?”

Robyn’s cheeks pinked in a way that made his own nerves kick up a notch.

“If you want,” he added, casually, but not really. “After Emma’s in bed.”

Robyn’s smile softened, turning warm around the edges. “Yeah, that could work.”

The quiet that followed was charged. Like the whole store had shifted and leaned closer to listen, including Mrs. C. and Mrs. Bishop, who walked by the front of the store, once, twice, a third time, as if angling for some behind-the-scenes gossip.

Tyler exhaled through his nose, then tipped his head toward the front windows. “Anyway, pretty sure half of Maple Falls already knows I’m into you, by the way. So much for taking it slow.”

“That would explain it,” Robyn said, eyes flicking toward the glass.

“Explain what?” Tyler asked, straightening.

“Mrs. C. walked past with Edith a little while ago.” Robyn’s voice went even lower, amused and exasperated at the same time. “They were staring at me through the window.”

Tyler winced. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine,” she said, and there was a brave little lift to her chin. “Gossip is impossible to escape here. Thankfully, we can trust that no one will say anything to Emma.”

Robyn scooped up a stack of books from a cart near the counter and started toward the back fantasy section, the one tucked behind tall shelves that created a narrow, shadowed corridor.

“Come on. Help me reshelve these.”

“Gladly.”

Tyler took the books from her arms, and they moved together down the aisle—Robyn scanning spines, him holding the stack while she slid each one neatly into place.

Every time she stretched up, her sweater lifted just enough to show a slim strip of skin above the waistband of her jeans, and Tyler had to grit his teeth to keep his hands to himself. The kiss yesterday had left him alive and overheated, and standing this close to her made everything in him tighten again.

God. It’d been too long.