Page 158 of Give & Take
“We ranked the options for this opening. Soft, medium, all the way?—”
“Iknow,” she groans. “Why didn’t I choose soft?”
“Soft was no opening at all. Just flipping the sign open and quietly pretending Pink Cheeks has always been here.”
She sighs, looking up at the sign behind me. “You still don’t think the name’s too…”
“Cheeky?”
Lana nods. “Yeah, that.”
“You came home giddy when you came up with it.”
“I was a little drunk. It was Shelby’s first night out after having Jess.”
“You said you got drunk because you were toasted to landing on the perfect romance bookstore name. Several times.”
“Quit being logical.” She looks back at me, her eyes big and searching. “So why didn’t I choose medium again?”
“Because medium was just soft, but with balloons.”
“Right.”
“Remind me what all the way is?”
She knows this, inside and out. But I tell her again, because it smooths that path in her worrying brain. Because I don’t mind in the least reminding her of what she already knows.
“You’re going to go up to that podium.” I point to the wooden stand on wheels. “You’re going to talk about how this place came to be, and how happy you are to have them all here, celebrating you.”
“No.”
“Fine. Celebrating your achievement.”
“You helped. A lot.”
“It’s still yours.”
She brushes a lash from my cheek. “Go on.”
“We’ll do a champagne toast, and then we’ll talkabout some of the guests we’ve got lined up for signings, and some of the workshops, too.
“Did you get that woman from Swan River who wrote the guidebook on the best cheese shops on the west coast?”
I have to bite back a laugh. “She was fully booked, sadly.”
Lana laughs, and I know she’s going to be okay. Joking Lana is happy Lana.
“After that,” I continue, kissing her cheek, “we’re getting a good night’s sleep, because we leave on our Big Family Adventure tomorrow morning.”
Lana grins. “In Camp Campula.”
“Best Camper name ever.” Nova came up with the name for our camper this summer. So far we’ve driven all the way down to San Diego in it. Tomorrow we leave to spend the long weekend on Vancouver Island. It’s my favorite way to travel.
“Thank you, Raph. For all of this.”
Lana’s phone buzzes in her purse, which is on the floor next to us. She sits up, glancing at the notification. “Oh God. That’s Chris.”
I hold my breath. Chris was texting her earlier, freaking out that some dirtbike racing guy she thought was gone was back in town.
