Laurel blinked, her pulse leaping at his public show of affection. Before she could say anything else, he stepped back, giving her space. Giving her time.
The incredible man always knew the right thing to say or do.
“Okay,” she said, making her way back to the others. “What are the leading contenders so far?”
Rylee looked up from where she and Brandi were scribbling names. “Let’s see…‘The Dusty Chapter,’ ‘Caffeinated Chapters,’ and Brandi’s personal favorite, ‘Espresso Yourself.’”
Matthew groaned into his cup. “That one should be illegal.”
“I stand by it,” Brandi said, grinning. “It has vibe.”
Laurel laughed, truly grateful to have met these people. “What about something simpler?”
Rylee tilted her head. “Yeah, maybe a play on your name? Like Laurel’s Library?”
“Too on-the-nose,” she said, wrinkling her nose.
Brandi’s brow furrowed. “The Laurel Leaf. That’s kind of elegant.”
“The Reading Leaf?” Rylee tried.
“Under the Laurel Tree,” Matthew offered, then immediately frowned. “No, that sounds like a murder mystery.”
Laurel smiled, warm and amused, but none of the names landed quite right. They were good. Clever. But they weren’ther.
She wandered a few steps toward the front corner of the shop—the one she’d claimed as a kid. Her favorite corner. Always had been. The place she’d filled with paperbacks and daydreams before she even knew what owning a store meant.
The others kept talking behind her, their voices softening under the weight of her thoughts. She planned to sell coffee and tea and a few cold drinks, but mostly books here, so she needed a name befitting it all.
And then it hit her. Of course. It was so simple.
“Book & Brew Corner,” she said, trying it out, and goosebumps immediately spread through her body.
Silence followed, brief but full.
Brandi was the first to react, her eyes lighting up. “Oh, that’s good.”
Rylee grinned. “That’s really good.”
Matthew gave a nod of approval. “Ten out of ten. Would buy overpriced espresso there.”
Bennett’s gaze met hers from across the room. He didn’t smile, not exactly, but something shifted behind his eyes. “Yeah,” he said. “That’s the one.”
Laurel felt it settle in her chest like it had always belonged there. Likeshebelonged there.
“Book & Brew Corner,” she repeated, and this time, she smiled. It would no doubt get shortened toBook & Brewwhen talked about, but theCornermade it special to her. “Yeah. That’s it.”
While Brandi debated the merits of pale sage versus warm taupe for the reading nook wall, and Rylee argued that any self-respecting book café needed at least one obnoxiously oversized velvet chair, Laurel slipped her phone from her pocket and called to check on her aunt and to tell her the name she’d settled on for the shop.
“Perfect,” Annie said. “Named after your corner.”
Her heart rocked. “Yes, exactly. The one by the window where I used to sit.”
Her aunt sniffled. “I always knew you’d find your way back there.”
She blinked fast. “Thanks for letting me come back.”
“I never let you go,” Annie said, and then cleared her throat like she didn’t want to get sappy. “Now go tell those friends of yours to save me the first cup of coffee.”
