First Edition Romance
Page 8
“I think we’ve arrived at the right time,” Lauren said, then turned to Ainslon and crossed her arms. “Ready to lose?”
Oh, so that’s how she wanted to play this. “Lose. Look, lady, I don’t lose.”
Lauren snorted. “I’ll buy you an ice cream after I win.”
“That’s…that’s…” Ainslon spluttered. “Deal.” She held her hand out and Lauren clasped it. “I’ll buy you lunch when I win.”
“I can live with that.” Lauren rubbed her hands together. “I’ve never done this before. Should be fun. Let’s get in line.”
Forty minutes later, they’d paid their fee and had heard all the safety rules with a group of people. The system seemed efficient.
“I’m going to win, you know.” Ainslon bounced on the balls of her feet.
Lauren leaned forward and whispered in her ear. “We’ll see about that.”
“Ladies, over here.” Their attendant, Margo, was friendly and engaging.
Three minutes later, Lauren lost the coin toss, and handed Ainslon an axe. Its weight felt nice in her hand, and she grinned as she lifted her arms over her head, then let the axe fly. Her heart pounded as it flew toward the target.
“Bullseye,” Margo said. “Good job.” She held up her hand for a high-five and Ainslon obliged.
“Hey, Lauren,” Ainslon said, twirling an imaginary gun and holstering it.
Instead of watching Lauren throw, Ainslon did a slow appraisal from her feet to the top of her head.
“Earth to Ainslon,” Lauren said. “Tied you. Your turn.”
Fifteen minutes later they walked away, Lauren proudly displaying her winner’s ribbon around her neck. “I’m not saying it was luck,” Ainslon said. “But I’m pretty sure it was luck.”
“Don’t be a sore loser. Besides, I think your Irish luck rubbed off on me when you hugged me. So, this is partly your fault. I am buying you ice cream, after all,” Lauren slipped her arm through Ainslon’s. “I’ll even buy you a double scoop.”
“Who can say no to that?”
“Exactly. Two scoops are just too tempting.”
“Oh, I’m tempting you now?”
“You better believe it.”
Lauren’s laugh delighted her and Ainslon didn’t want to stop hearing it.
Once they had their ice cream, they settled back against a tree to people watch.
“I’ve enjoyed myself today,” Lauren said. “I say that a lot with you.”
Ainslon finished her ice cream. “I concur. It’s nice.”
“That it is.” Lauren shifted to rest her shoulders against the tree, then faced Ainslon, her expression and voice sincere. “I think we could be on to something.”
Ainslon took a deep breath. This wasn’t what she had expected for today, but she wasn’t about to deny the pull between them. “I think so as well. Lauren, I like you.”
Lauren groaned. “But?”
“No.” Ainslon grasped Lauren’s arm and had to stop herself from swooning when Lauren slipped her hand into Ainslon’s and squeezed. “No buts. I haven’t had a good track record with dating, and I don’t want to mess this up.” She swallowed. “You feel this too?”
“I do. I told my sister I wasn’t going to push for anything, but I don’t want to miss my chance either. I don’t want to jump into the deep end, but I would be more than willing to wade for a bit until we get our footing.”
“I would love that.” Ainslon beamed. “I really would. We take things slow and when we’re both ready, we can take the next step.”
“I agree.” Lauren squeezed her hand.
“I’m surprised you’re interested in me.”
“Don’t be silly.” Lauren pulled her a little closer. “What’s not to like?” She pushed the hair out of Ainslon’s eyes.
Ainslon looked from her lips to her eyes, then took a step backward when the urge to kiss Lauren was overwhelming. “Yes, I agree, but there is one other thing.”
“I’m listening.”
“I don’t even want to consider anything beyond friendship until our business is concluded.”
“Phew.” Lauren sighed dramatically and slumped back against the tree. “I really thought it was going to be something horrific.”
“Should I call you Ms. Dramatic?” Ainslon took a step closer and slipped her arms around Lauren’s waist. “I think I’m going to like this arrangement.”
“I am too.” Lauren kissed the tip of Ainslon’s nose. “Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?”
Ainslon shivered, groaned, and laid her head on Lauren’s shoulder. “I can’t. I’m having dinner with Nana tonight.”
Lauren pushed Ainslon up and cupped her cheeks. “It’s fine. How about coffee tomorrow morning at Brew and Bake?”
“Now that’s something I can do.”
“Good.” Lauren kissed her cheek, moved back a step, and slid her hand down Ainslon’s arm to clasp their hands together. “Do you have time for a walk?”
“I have time. Do you mind if we talk while we walk?”
“Nope.”
“Why chocolate and candy?”
“When Callie and I were young, our grandma would gather all her grandchildren together and bake with us. She was amazing. Could make something out of nothing. When I was younger, I would watch her in awe. The way her hands kneaded the dough, and the way she would work the chocolate. She would spend hours teaching us her techniques. Even today, I’ll see one of my employees working in the kitchens, and even knowing they were trained to work that way, it feels wrong, because it’s not the way Grandma taught us. She had the patience of a saint.”
Lauren took a deep breath. “As I grew older, I would still watch her in awe, but in a different light. By the time I was in my twenties, her hands were weathered, and arthritis had set in. She would watch and direct us, but I could see the longing in her eyes to get her hands dirty, so to speak, but the pain was too much for her.”
Lauren’s face took on a faraway look. “I was twenty-eight when she died. She’d been sick for months. The week I spent in the hospital with my family watching her breaths become shallower and shallower was the worst week of my life. Even worse than when my papa died. There was just something about Grandma that drew everyone to her.” Lauren squeezed Ainslon’s hand. “Don’t let a day slip by that you don’t tell Edna you love her. It’s over much too quickly. When she died, it felt like a piece of my heart went with her.” A soft sigh escaped Lauren. “Sorry, that took on a sadder note than I’d planned. Like I was saying, I started the store because her love of chocolate rubbed off on me. I wanted to succeed where my ancestors didn’t.” She went on to tell Ainslon about the previous incarnations of the store. “I wanted to carry on their legacy. My great-great-grandfather named the store after his granddaughters, Carmella, and Charlotte. You’ve never been in my office, but the original sign from his store hangs on the wall across from my desk.”
Warmth spread throughout Ainslon with each word out of Lauren’s mouth. There was no way she was letting this woman go. No way at all. “I would love to see that sign.”
Lauren smiled. “That can be arranged. How about you? Why’d you start your store?”
“I’ve always enjoyed collecting vintage books. Mainly children’s books and I’m good at finding them. When I met Justin, he had the same passion but for comic books. We became fast friends and after only a few months of knowing each other decided to go into business together. We started out online but knew we could do so much more with a storefront. We still have our online store and selling vintage books is a big part of our revenue. We wouldn’t be able to make it without it. That’s why I go to a lot of estate sales and auctions. I’ve found a lot of books that way.”
“I enjoy estate sales as well. We’ll have to go together some time.”
“Name the time and the place and I’m all yours.”
“I like the sound of that.”
Dinner, Ainslon decided, wasn’t too bad. Shelly had flirted with h
er, but it wasn’t anything Ainslon couldn’t handle. Easton had texted her at lunch that she would be joining them for dinner, so it wasn’t a surprise to see her standing in the kitchen. Over dinner, Edna had even gotten an invite from Shelly that after dessert they could browse through her grandfather’s books.
Ainslon held Edna’s arm as they crossed into Shelly’s yard and climbed the few steps that lead into the kitchen of her house. The space was worn, but well looked after. Ainslon ran her hand along the kitchen table. Maple, if she were to take a guess, and gorgeous. She wanted to ask her about it but shelved that question for later.
At the end of the hallway, Ainslon held her breath when Shelly opened a door to their left and motioned for them to enter. Shelly flicked a switch and it took a moment for Ainslon’s eyes to adjust to the bright lights. The moderate sized room had floor to ceiling bookshelves on all four of the walls and shelves above the door. The vast number of books sat upright and loosely packed into the bookshelves. Thank goodness. She knew, without even looking at the spines, that Old Man Collins had been telling the truth, and that the bulk of these books would probably be worth a small fortune. She quickly scanned the shelves and zeroed in on a shelf on the far wall.
After Edna waved off her offer of help to sit on the couch, Ainslon proceeded in the direction of the shelf she wanted to check out. At first glance, a minimum of three shelves held all the children’s books. As her sight latched onto the spine of a certain book, her heart raced, and she had to fight the urge not to jump up and down and pull it down off the shelf. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Shelly walk in her direction. “Do you know if these are all the children’s books he has?”
Shelly leaned against the shelf. “They are. He liked to keep similar books grouped together.” She pointed to the shelf across from them. “Those are mysteries and anything that would resemble them. Every shelf had a purpose. Can I ask why you would be interested in children’s books?”
Before she could answer, Easton said, “She owns a children’s bookstore.”
Shelly slid her fingers along one of the shelves. “Really?”
“It was my dream and I made it happen.” Ainslon scanned the rest of the titles. There were at least ten she wanted right off the bat. The room’s temperature felt cool enough, so she wasn’t concerned about their condition, only about their edition. “You said you would be willing to sell some?”
“I would consider it. Yes.” Shelly pushed off the shelf.
“Do you care if I pull some down and look at them?” If she said no, this would be a wasted trip.
“I don’t mind.”
Ainslon reached for the Mary Poppins that had caught her eye. What would the odds be that he had her book? As she turned it in her hand, her fingers shook. It was in excellent condition. She prayed to whoever would listen and opened the book and flipped through, scanning the page for what she was looking for. For a moment, she shut her eyes as she took in a deep breath, closed the book, slipped it back on the shelf, and moved on to the next book. It was a first edition, but she didn’t want to seem too eager. She continued to look through dozens of more books and made notes on her phone of the ones that held her interest.
She ran her eyes along the other titles on the rest of the shelves. His collection was amazing. There were several she would love to add to her private collection. She turned to Shelly sitting with Easton and Edna on the couch.
“Did you find some you were interested in?” Shelly asked, then stood.
“I did, and I know of another buyer who would take a few of these other books off your hands, but I don’t want to call him unless you really do want to sell them. I found seventeen I wanted.” If she was able to purchase them, she would already have six sold and their selling price would pay for the rest of the books.
Shelly seemed apprehensive and Ainslon could sympathize. This was her grandfather’s collection. “You seem eager and I like that. Edna was telling me a little bit about your store.”
“I will pay top dollar for them, but I won’t pay retail price. I can’t do that, but I will give you a fair price. Just think about selling them. If you give me your email, I’ll send you a list of the books I’m interested in. You can do research on them and it will give you the cost breakdown. I’m not going to cheat you.” She really needed that book, but she didn’t want to beg. In the end, the decision was solely up to Shelly.
Shelly crossed her arms. “Would you like to have dinner with me to discuss it?”
“While I’m flattered by your offer, I can’t.”
“I had to ask.”
“I’ll give you that,” Ainslon said and walked behind Edna and Easton out of the room. She really didn’t want to leave the book, but she needed to bide her time. She knew if she offered her a fair price, there would be no way Shelly could turn it down, but she needed to make a few phone calls first. She accepted the card Shelly handed her with her email address on it. “We’ll talk soon.”
“I look forward to it.”
“Goodnight, Shelly.”
As soon as they walked into Edna’s house, Ainslon threw the lock on the back door and helped Edna fix them each a cup of tea. “Ainslon, you could have gone out with her.” She gave her a knowing look.
“Nana’s right. One date and you would have had what you wanted,” Easton chimed in.
“No, I couldn’t have. After one date, she could have stipulated more dates before she would sell.” She didn’t want to tell them about her and Lauren yet. She wanted them to have a little time to themselves before she announced it to her family. “That’s not how I do business.” They settled in the living room. “I believe she wants to sell, but it was her grandfather’s collection. One he’d collected his entire life. I would be hard pressed to sell. I can appreciate her reluctance, but I hope she does.”
“She has your book,” Easton stated and kicked her feet up onto the coffee table.
“She does, and sixteen more I want.”
“How much are you willing to pay for the seventeen you want?” Easton asked.
They usually steered clear of talking about their business dealings. Ainslon ran her fingers through her hair. It would take a huge chunk out of the store’s business account, but it would pay off in the long run. “I want to pay seventeen thousand, but I would be willing to go up to twenty if all the books I want pan out.”
Edna’s eyes widened. “I didn’t expect that much.” Easton’s face was blank.
“If she lets me buy them for seventeen, I will already have six sold and I will make back what I paid for all seventeen. I know for a fact my friend James will be interested in a lot of the other books she has. He would pay top dollar, and if the books pan out like I am expecting them to, he would probably pay tens of thousands for them. Old Man Collins has an amazing collection. If she wanted to send them to an auction house, she would make more, but there would be fees to pay and they may not all sell at the same time. This way she would be getting paid right now.”
Easton whistled. “Wow, sis. I had no idea you were making that kind of money.”
“We’re doing fairly well. Our vintage books make up forty percent of our sales. Last quarter we saw a ten percent increase and I’m confident it will continue to rise. We’ve added a lot to our comic section and have a few ideas to expand the children’s book section. But we’re quickly outgrowing our space. Justin and I have talked about the building beside C and C. It would be perfect.”
“That’s great,” Easton said.
“Easton, what’s been happening with you?” Edna asked.
“Nothing much.” She lay her head back on the couch. “Business is good, my dating life sucks, but what’s new.”
“You make it sound so bleak,” Ainslon said.
“Right now, my prospects are null. It would be nice if the right woman would fall into my lap.”
“Real life isn’t a Rom-Com.”
“No.” Easton nodded. “But, wouldn’t it be cool if it was.”
“Shady, I really like her.” Ainslon looked to the cat sprawled out on the bed, legs spread, cleaning her nether regions. “The least you can do is look up when I’m talking to you.” Ainslon lay her head back down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. “It’s like this all-consuming feeling, Shady.” She swung her arms in the air, as her foot tapped the bed. “It’s like this heat that spreads through me. Rushing through my veins. I get tongue-tied around her.” Ainslon giggled and moved to sit up when she noticed Shady wasn’t on the bed anymore. A quick look around confirmed the cat was long gone. “Well, see if I listen the next time you talk to me about your feelings.”
A glance at the clock had her scrambling up and rummaging in her closet until she pulled out a pair of jeans and a vintage Harry Potter t-shirt, proudly proclaiming her Hufflepuff house status. At the front door, she almost went back and changed since she was having breakfast with Lauren. But she’d promised a little boy that always came into the store on Thursdays that she’d wear the shirt for him. Lauren liked her and would have to get used to the clothes she wore.
Ainslon would always choose comfort over expensive clothes, but she could see herself dressing up for Lauren. Lauren always looked amazing and dressed to impress. Though, she never came across to Ainslon as snotty or better than anyone.
With a kiss to the top of Shady’s head, ignoring the cat’s protests, Ainslon ambled out of the apartment and down the elevator to the parking garage. A quick five-minute drive later, she parked and made her way to Brew and Bake.