“You’re right,” she said. “Anyway, I was just dropping by to see if you wanted to go out to dinner with Aaliyah and me. We’re heading to Tippy’s Table.”
Gianna followed me as I walked around the store, making sure the number of Ryan Warren books stocked matched the inventory list.
“Umm, I can’t. There’s still so much to do.”
“Girl, you need to de-stress before the signing tomorrow.”
“I’m not stressed. Besides, I always go out with you and the ladies.”
“Once or twice a month and the rest of the time, you’re stuck in the bookstore or at home.”
I thought about what she said and knew that she was right. Maybe a night out with the girls would help me to relax.
“Okay, Gianna, I’ll go. I just need to close up around here first,” I said.
“Cool! Anything I can do?”
“Nope, it’ll take just a few moments.”
I quickly hurried around the shop, attending to last-minute details before I popped back up at the front.
“Come on,” I said, setting the alarm, flipping the sign to “Closed,” and then closing and locking the door behind us.
“Ready for a night of adventure?” she asked.
“Hmph, I doubt that’s coming my way,” I sighed, feeling dejected as I thought about the night that lay ahead of me.
A night of listening to my two friends talk about how amazing and romantic their men were.
ALL HANDS WERE ON DECK the next morning as we prepared for the signing that was scheduled to start at one that afternoon. My two part-time staffers, Anita and Claire, were on hand, along with Maggie, Ronnie, who was there to move any heavy items, and Gianna.
“What time is Karina scheduled to arrive?” Maggie asked, coming to the front with a concoction that I thought was supposed to be a cake.
“Uh...in a couple of hours. What. Is. That?” I asked, pointing at the object.
Maggie’s bottom lip poked out. “It was supposed to be a cake. But Sam bought the kids over early this morning, and you know how my grandkids are. They ran through the house, bumping and jumping, and the cake fell.”
“She thought she could save it, but there’s no hope for that thing. I told her not to bother bringing it. We could’ve picked up a cake from the store on the way over,” Ronnie interjected.
Maggie turned on him in a huff with glistening eyes. “A store-bought cake? Are you kidding me? You sound as horrible as your daughter. Samantha said the same thing!”
Maggie stormed off in a huff with the offending object, hopefully, to toss it into the trash can.
“Reminder, never mention a store-bought baked good in my wife’s presence again,” Ronnie said with a finger in the air.
He turned on his heels to go after his wife.
“What was that all about?” Gianna asked, popping up from the back storage room with a box of Ryan Warren memorabilia.
“Umm, a cake didn’t turn out right, and a store-bought cake isn’t allowed, and there were some kids and some tears, and uh...your guess is as good as mine. I just know that I need to figure out something for the dessert,” I said, throwing my hands up in the air.
“I thought Karina was catering,” Gianna input.
“She is, but I only ordered cookies and brownies for the dessert. No cake because Maggie volunteered to make it.”
“Uh-oh,” Gianna said, chewing on her bottom lip.
I sighed, pressing my palm against my forehead. “There are still so many last-minute details I need to attend to. I knew I shouldn’t have gone out last night.”
“Would you stop worrying? I’ll call Karina and see what I can work out. Worst case scenario, we’d need to buy a store cake, set it on a homemade cake platter, and pass it off as an imposter,” Gianna whispered.
Shaking my head, I laughed. “I don’t care at this point. I’m ready for this man to get in and out of town so I can get back to my life.”
Gianna patted my hand and said, “Honey, you’re going to be just fine. Trust me. Oh, by the way, my mom and sisters are coming later.”
“To help out?”
“No, to get an autographed copy of Ryan’s latest book and just to see what the man looks like,” Gianna said, giggling.
“Oh, no! They’re fans, too?”
“Yep!” she said, smiling at me. “They are ‘The Drip,’” Gianna said, rolling her eyes, referencing the name followers of Ryan Warren adopted.
Looking up at the banner hanging over the register, I noticed it was hanging crooked. I eyed Ryan Warren’s slogan, “Permission to Shower After Reading #slipperywhenwet.”
“I need to use your restroom,” Gianna said.
“Go on,” I said, climbing a ladder to make a slight adjustment to the banner.
I was just about finished with the sign when I heard the chimes tinkling over the door.
“I’ll be down in juuuusst a second...there!” I called out as I finished straightening the banner.
“Careful there, I don’t want you to make a hero out of me today,” came a somewhat familiar deep voice behind me as I slowly backed down the ladder.
When I reached the bottom rung, I turned around and screamed!
CHAPTER 3 – BRYCE
A LOUD, PIERCING SCREAM took over the bookstore, causing me to chuckle and shake my head. Some things never changed, and one of them was that voice that always cheered on the sidelines. When I played basketball in high school, she was one of the loudest ones cheering me along.
And she wasn’t a cheerleader.
“Peyton. Girl, look at you! You’re looking good,” I said, slowly taking her in.
“Bryce! Oh my gosh!” she said and ran into my open arms.
I swung Peyton around in a circle, laughing.
“I had no idea you were still here,” I said when I finally placed Peyton on her feet.
I last saw Peyton two years earlier at the hospital when my brother had a motorcycle accident. We’d chatted a little, reminiscing about our high school and college years. We’d made empty promises to keep in touch and then gone on with our lives once again.
“What did you expect that I’d get bored with small-town coastal living again?
“Well, stranger things have been known to happen.”
“No, I’m settled and here to stay. What about you? Traveling the world?”
“No, I’m still living out in L.A.”
“Still chasing your dreams?” Peyton asked.
“Something like that,” I said with a smirk. “You didn’t call a bruh.”
“You didn’t call me either, Bryce. We both promised to keep in touch.”
“And yet here we are.”
“Yeah, here we are,” she said softly.
It was funny running into her like this with as much as she’d been on my mind lately.
“How long are you here? I have to take you out to lunch,” Peyton said.
“At first, it was just for the weekend, but my brother’s trying to convince me to stay for a week. I’ll see,” Bryce said.
“Why are you here for the weekend?”
“Hey, Bryce,” Gianna popped up behind Peyton before I could respond to Peyton’s question.
“Hey, girl! What’s up?” I asked, opening my arms to hug my future sister-in-law.
“Nothing much. Bishop told me that you got in late last night. Did you get a good night’s sleep last night after you got in?” Gianna asked.
“Yeah, I did. Your soon to be husband had me up at the butt crack of dawn working out, though,” I quipped.
“Sounds like B,” Gianna said, smiling broadly.
I could only hope to meet a woman who was as crazy about me as Gianna was about my brother, Bishop. They were good for each other and brought balance into one another’s lives, and they loved being in love.
“We still have a lot of catching up to do, Peyton. Last time we talked about the past, but this time I gotta hear about what you’ve been up to.”
“I
still think it’s interesting that my future brother-in-law and my good friend have known each other all these years and I never knew,” Gianna said, still staring between us.
“Yeah. Interesting,” I murmured, my gaze still on Peyton’s and hers on me.
A slow blush crept up her face tinging her fawn-colored skin with a hint of rose. Those cornflower blue eyes swept away from me and turned to encompass an older redhead woman and a dark-haired man with a grey streak in both temples.
“Who do we have here?” the older woman asked.
“Maggie and Ronnie, this is—” Peyton began.
“Ryan Warren!” a brunette girl screeched from behind them. Her hazel eyes were wide with excitement, and her hands were plastered against her reddening cheeks, as her lips blossomed into the most beautiful smile.
“What? Claire, this isn’t Ryan. This is Bryce. Bryce Lexington, an old friend of mine,” Peyton said, turning to point at me as I stood smiling at the young girl who was still beaming at me.
“I first met you two years ago when you wrote Southern Heat, and I got to the signing too late. You and your manager were packing up, and I accidentally bumped the table, knocking over several copies. And you—”
“Stopped to sign a free copy of Southern Heat for you,” I finished, walking to Claire and shaking her hand, recalling the incident vividly.
“I’ve never forgotten that, Mr. Warren,” she said, giggling and staring at me with a wide-eyed gaze like a schoolgirl with a crush.
“Yeah, neither did I. Once we’d picked up the fallen books, you turned around and dropped your coffee on those same books and offered to buy all of them.”
Claire’s cheeks blushed, and she looked at me with sorrow filled eyes. “I’m so sorry about that again,” she apologized.
“No problem. We were able to clean the books up rather well, sign them, and donate them,” I said.
“I’m Anita. Anita Christoff,” a dark-haired, mahogany-colored beauty said. “You’re as hot as I imagined you would be, but please don’t tell my husband I said that.”
“I’m good at keeping secrets,” I said, winking at her and taking her hand to kiss the back of it.
“Oh, my god! My sisters won’t believe Ryan Warren has kissed me!” she squealed, shaking her hand and jumping up and down.
“Wait...Bryce, you’re Ryan Warren?” Peyton asked in disbelief as if things were just falling into place for her. She was frowning at me.
“Uh, yeah. The secret’s out of the bag,” I said with a mild shrug. “Although you were about to find out soon anyway.”
Peyton kept staring at me, blinking while everyone else happily chattered all around us.
“I can’t say that I’ve read any of your books, but I know this town is full of your fans. And I’m honored to have you here.”
“Well, thanks, Miss Maggie?”
“That would be Mrs. Maggie. Mrs. Maggie McDowell,” the man beside her said, stepping forward and offering his hand. “And I’m Ronald McDowell.”
I shook his hand, a smile creeping across my lips. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. McDowell, and a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Maggie McDowell,” I said, taking her hand and kissing the back of it.
She giggled and turned to say something to Ronnie, who wasn’t smiling as much.
Gianna and Peyton continued to stare at me.
“Your brother told me you were a writer, but he didn’t tell me...wow!” Gianna said.
“That’s not so surprising. B is a humble dude, and he respects my privacy. He doesn’t get all into it like that, honestly.”
“Bryce, this is like...soooo not cool to keep from me, though! I mean...you didn’t even tell me. Neither of you told me that you were a big deal. Mr. Erotic, ‘Mr. Slippery When Wet, Mr. Permission to Shower After Reading,’ himself!”
“I try to keep my professional, and personal lives separate,” I explained. “And I can see why my little brother wouldn’t share that with you. I think you’ve gotta bring that fangirling thing down from a fifteen, G, to a two before Bishop kills both of us,” I said, laughing.
Giggling, she said, “I guess you’re right. But it makes sense now why you keep the two separate.”
“Not too separate, I hope,” Anita said, causing the other ladies to giggle and Peyton to blush again.
“Girls, we need to get back to getting everything in order before our customers arrive,” Maggie said, shooing Claire and Anita away.
“Girl, he could get it,” Anita whispered to Peyton as she walked by. “And if I were you, he would be getting it.”
Peyton’s face turned a deep shade of red, and I turned my face away to hide my smile. If she knew that I overheard Anita’s comment, I’m sure she would be thoroughly embarrassed.
Ronnie followed behind them.
“Well, I guess I’d better get the tables set up before Karina arrives. Bishop has some explaining to do, though,” Gianna called out over her shoulder, walking away, and leaving Peyton and me alone.
“So, you didn’t think this was something I needed to know?” Peyton asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
Shrugging, I said, “Peyton, I just figured it would be a cool surprise. Besides, does it matter?”
She scoffed. “You think? You’re only one of the number one authors in the romance category and an old friend, and I’m hosting you at my book store, and you didn’t think that was a detail I needed to know?”
“You own Books B4 Boys?”
“Yes.”
I laughed. “I thought old Mrs. Simpson still owned this store.”
“Mrs. Simpson hasn’t owned this store since I purchased it from her a while back. She moved to Texas with her daughter and grandchildren.”
“You’re looking good, girl. Taking real good care of yourself,” I said as I did a casual sweep of her.
If I wasn’t careful, Peyton was going to turn into a strawberry before my visit was over. She seemed to blush over almost every word I spoke.
Pushing her hair back from her face, she released a sigh. I noticed she still had those streaks of gold-threaded throughout her hair that were most prominent during the summer.
“Thanks.”
“I missed you, girl.”
Biting down on her bottom lip, she looked around before turning to me again. Pushing a lock of hair behind her ear, she said softly, “I missed you, too.”
Then as if thinking better about it, she clarified her statement.
“It would have been nice to keep up with an old friend after all these years. That’s all. I mean, it was you who got me through a lot of tough days in middle and high school. When I was the subject of ridicule because of my braces and thick glasses, you always came to my rescue. And when I struggled with statistics in college, it was you who tutored me and helped me get that A. When Jackie broke your heart in college; it was me who hung out with you after classes while you ranted and raved. So, yeah...I miss you,” she said softly.
“Hey, let’s go grab a cup of coffee at the diner across the street. They got good coffee?”
Her eyes widened. “They do, but I don’t have time for coffee, Bryce. I have to...I have to host...you!”
I chuckled. “Trust me; it’s not as hard as you think it’s going to be. These things mostly manage themselves. You’ve already got the décor in place,” I said, waving my arms around. “My manager said you were having the event catered, and yesterday she confirmed that all the memorabilia and books arrived. I can see those in place. So, come on. Just for twenty minutes. Trust me; you might need it before this long day is over.”
She huffed out a long breath. “Okay,” she said. “Let me tell the others.”
I waited until she returned. We walked across the street, placed our orders, and grabbed a chair.
“How is it that I didn’t know you were rich and famous?”
Shrugging, I said, “I follow all the lessons my Pops taught us growing up. When people learned who he was, it was hard for us to go anywhere and have pr
ivacy or just enjoy ourselves as a family without constant interruption,” I explained.
“Aww, now your brother makes sense to me. I never could understand how he could be turning into this businessman building a fitness empire, and people didn’t know him.”
I laughed. “Yeah, seems he was doing a pretty good job until...”
“Well, what do you expect to happen when you hook up with someone who’s a social media influencer, and their life revolves around being seen,” Peyton said with a large smile. “But my friend, she’s a good girl.”
“Yeah, I’ve come to learn that myself. But what about you? How’s life been treating you?” I asked.
A sad smile touched her dusky pink lips that didn’t light up her eyes. “Well, I’ve got this bookstore and some amazing friends,” she said, expanding her arms wide.
“Your family?”
Peyton gave me a brief overview of her siblings before I asked about her parents, whom she’d skipped over.
“Your parents?”
“They’re around.”
I lifted an eyebrow. Peyton had never had a close relationship with her parents. As the oldest child, they often pushed their responsibilities onto her for taking care of the two younger kids. As time grew on, she resented it because if the two younger kids got out of line, they took it out on Peyton. They hadn’t wanted her to go off to college but stay at home and go to a community college at the next town over, but Peyton had run as fast as she could when the opportunity came.
“Still not close, huh?”
“No. And marrying Jacob didn’t help.”
My eyes instantly went to her hand. I didn’t notice a wedding ring.
“Jacob?”
“The guy I was dating during our senior year? Oh, my last name is Taylor now, by the way. Well, you wouldn’t remember him. You’d become too busy with...other things. Namely, Jackie.”
“Yeah, she did a number on me. There’s not too much I remember about that year,” I said.
“I guess not. You were too busy partying and drinking and chasing women,” she said.
Undeniable: A Friends To Lovers Romance (Love Desired Book 4) Page 2