“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, sunshine,” I tell her truthfully, and her face softens.
“Hey, are you two coming?” Jade knocks on the window, and Cybil sighs while letting her hand fall away.
“My best friend is nuts.”
“I’m getting the feeling you both are.”
“No, she’s just a bad influence,” she says before looking over my shoulder when Jade knocks again. “We’re coming! Sheesh. Calm down.” She opens her door as I open mine, and I get out, meeting her at the hood to take her hand. As we reach the entrance to the bookstore, Jade holds open the door for us to enter before her, and once we’re inside, I look around, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. Books fill most of the space, with a couch and coffee table under the window in the front and shelves with odds and ends near the register.
“I’ll let you take him to the back room,” Jade says, heading for the counter, and Cybil leads me to a door with a DO NOT ENTER sign painted on it. She opens it, waiting for me to go in ahead of her.
As I step into the room, it takes a second for it to register that the small room, no bigger than my closet back at home, is filled with sex toys and other X-rated paraphernalia.
“Jade loves books as much as I do,” Cybil says, and I turn to face her. “Ever since we were little, she wanted to open a bookstore, but by the time she saved enough money to do it, she realized she wouldn’t be able to earn a living from selling paperbacks, so she came up with an idea in order to have her dream.”
“It’s smart. Does everyone know about this place, or is it a secret all the women in town keep to themselves?”
“Most people know about it,” Jade says, leaning against the doorjamb. “Even the mayor, who’s about seventy, has come in and bought a few things.”
“Don’t tell me that!” Cybil cries, shaking her head and following Jade out of the room.
“Hey, everyone needs to have a good time. You should have seen the—”
Jade doesn’t have a chance to finish, because Cybil attacks and tries to cover her mouth, causing the two of them to fall to the floor in a pile of laughter. Crossing my arms over my chest, I watch them, shaking my head.
“I missed you.” Cybil falls to her back next to Jade while reaching out to grab her hand.
“I missed you, too, but I’m glad you’re home.” Jade’s eyes meet mine and fill with sadness before she sits up and pulls Cybil up with her. “You should take Tanner down the block to Brew’s.”
“Should I take Tanner to Brew’s, or should we go to Brew’s and get you a chocolate chip iced latte?”
“I wouldn’t be opposed to a chocolate chip latte.” She moves behind the counter. “And I would come with you, but I need to call Erin and Jeff and work out a schedule for the rest of the week, since I want to be able to spend as much time as I can with Mom while she’s in the hospital.”
“All right, do you want anything else from Brew’s while we’re there?”
“A sandwich, whatever is on special today. Unless it’s tuna; then just choose something.”
“Got it.” Cybil looks at me. “Ready?”
“Yep, lead the way.” I place my hand against her lower back, then open the door for her. Once we’re outside, she leads me down the block to a small café that’s part coffee shop, part deli, and the moment we enter, the entire place grows quiet as everyone turns our way.
“How’s Maisie?” the older gentleman behind the register asks, and Cybil’s fingers tighten around mine as we step up to the counter.
“She’s going to be okay.”
“Good.” His eyes come to me, then drop to our hands. “Who’s your friend?”
“This is Tanner. Tanner, I’d like you to meet Mr. Brew. He owns this place now but used to teach tenth-grade English when I was in school.”
“Nice to meet you.” I lift my chin.
“You too.” His attention goes back to Cybil. “Galvin is in town.”
“I know.”
“He got married.”
“I know that too.” Her fingers tighten around mine as he looks between us once more, probably realizing that now is not the time to gossip or dig for information.
“Are you two eating or just getting coffee?”
“Jade wants her usual coffee and the special, as long as it’s not tuna. And I’ll have a grilled cheese and an iced coffee.” She tips her head back toward me. “Mr. Brew’s wife makes bread from scratch every day for the sandwiches. Jade always gets the special but swears Thanksgiving on Toast is the best thing here.”
“I’ll try that then, and a Coke if you’ve got it,” I say, and Mr. Brew jots down our order, saying it will be a few minutes. While our sandwiches are being made, we take our drinks to a small table in the back away from everyone and take a seat.
“Sorry about that.”
“About what?” I ask, watching her mix extra sugar into her coffee.
“Him bringing up Galvin.” She chews the inside of her cheek. “I think it’s weirder for everyone else than it is for me that we aren’t together anymore.”
“You were together a long time.”
“Yeah,” she agrees with a sigh, dropping her eyes to her drink.
“Are you going to talk to him?”
“I don’t know.” She lifts her head and locks her gaze on mine. “I don’t think we have anything to talk about, and I don’t need him to apologize again. Everything is done. I just want to move forward, you know?”
“I get that.” I reach across the table and tuck a piece of hair behind her ear.
“Do you have any advice on how to deal with an ex?”
“No, I’ve never had an ex to deal with,” I say, and she blinks at me, looking stunned.
“You’ve never had a girlfriend?”
“I never had the time or the inclination to pursue anyone until you showed up. You’re the first woman who’s made me want more.”
“You’re being serious.” Her eyes scan mine as she shakes her head. “Sorry, it’s just hard to believe, because you’re you.”
“Pardon?”
“You’re, like . . . the whole package. You’re sweet, considerate, super hot, and handy,” she says, listing my attributes, and I grin at the word hot, which makes her roll her eyes. “Okay, so maybe you’re also arrogant, which isn’t a great quality to have, but the fact that you could survive in the great outdoors would make up for that if zombies or aliens showed up or something.”
“Good to know I’d be useful.” I laugh and rub the area over my heart that feels funny hearing her talk about me, and she smiles.
“You’re more than just useful, and I’m seriously lucky,” she says quietly, and just like that, my decision to sell my part of Live Life Adventures is reinforced, because fuck me if there aren’t some things in life that are more important than making money, and one of those things is sitting across from me.
Chapter 20
CYBIL
As I blink my eyes open, it takes a moment for them to adjust to the dark and for my mind to remind me of where I am. Home, only for some reason, it doesn’t quite feel like home. I miss Tanner’s bed and his house. The only thing that makes being here feel right is that he’s here with me.