Gentry’s disapproving eye didn’t change the fact that Colby was most comfortable in simple, understated dresses.
“What’d you buy, Sara?” Gentry craned her head toward the bags like a heat-seeking missile.
“A hat and a moonstone necklace.” Sara shook her bags. “But, actually, I’ve got to be off already. Hunter and I have plans.”
“Vague.” Colby cocked her head, but Sara stayed mum. Colby guessed they’d planned a “date” of some sort. Her brother worked tremendously long hours, but today was Sunday. Those two made love and marriage look easy. She wished they could teach her, but deep down, she knew she’d have to learn for herself.
“What will you do now?” Sara asked Colby.
“Hit up Powell’s on my way home. I want to pick up 100 Days of Happiness.”
“Sounds like something we could all use. Pass it over to me when you’re done.” Sara kissed her cheek. “Sorry we didn’t get to spend much time together today.”
“No apologies, please. My new work schedule is killing what little social life I had.” Colby shrugged.
“Maybe you should lift that stupid ban and hook up with Alec.” Gentry’s oh-so-casual tone didn’t fool Colby. Her sister never said anything without some agenda. It only surprised her that Gentry now seemed to be pushing Colby toward Alec instead of nabbing him for herself.
Sara’s hot gaze homed in on Colby, too.
“You don’t actually expect a response, do you?” Colby asked them, brushing the suggestion aside as if she hadn’t been obsessing about it since she and Alec had kissed.
Sara and Gentry exchanged a quick glance, then Sara said, “No time to argue about this now, so I’ll see you both later.”
“Give our brother a kiss.” Colby and Gentry waved goodbye to Sara, then Colby turned to her sister. “Any news for me on the social media front?”
“It’s all good. I told you that article would help, and we’ve received a lot of great comments from people who dined over the weekend. We’ve got a dozen five-star reviews on Yelp so far, too.”
“Excellent.” She should tell Gentry about the family backlash Alec endured because of the article as a reminder not to be so careless, but Alec hadn’t shared it with her, so she stayed quiet. “Thank you for keeping on top of that.”
“No probs.” Gentry shifted her weight from one high-heeled boot to the other. Trendsetting looked painful. Selling hot dogs also looked painful—or, rather, painfully boring.
Jake’s impassive expression made Colby want to grab Gentry and head for the hills. “Come with me to Powell’s. We can grab a drink after.”
“Can’t. I promised Jake I’d hang.” Gentry shrugged. “I know everyone in our family thinks I’m a flake, but I’m not.”
“I don’t think you’re a flake.”
Gentry glanced away for a second. “Well, anyway, it’s more fun people-watching than going to a bookstore.” Gentry made a show of shuddering, as if books were akin to the tedium of ice fishing. On second thought, maybe for Gentry, reading was tedious, considering that it required hours of concentration unrelated to selfies.
“Fine. I’ll see you Wednesday morning at the restaurant.” Colby flashed a smile at Jake. “Enjoy the day. Hope it’s lucrative.”
He nodded and gave her a thumbs-up. Oh, boy. He’d better be excellent in bed to make up for his dull personality. Not that one really made up for the other. Obviously, Colby had sex on the brain. Something that hadn’t taken up much space there until recently.
She turned her back on her old neighborhood and strolled toward Powell’s, wishing it were that easy to turn away from her bad memories.
Minutes later, the massive brick bookstore beckoned like an old friend. Entering the venerable labyrinth could be overwhelming to a newcomer. Cement floors covered sixty-eight thousand square feet of space, crowded with endless rows of wooden bookcases containing roughly one million books. Its multiple rooms had color-coded names, like the Coffee Room, where the romance novels were shelved, or the Rose Room for children’s and YA books. Fortunately, Colby had spent enough hours here throughout the years to know her way around without the map.
She found her book and proceeded to the café to grab some tea. To her surprise, she spotted Alec at a table, his attention absorbed by a crossword puzzle.
Seeing him here temporarily disoriented her, as if her constant overthinking things had conjured him.
“Alec, what’re you doing here?” She lived only minutes away, in Eliot Tower, but Alec had driven over from Lake Sandy.