“Very funny,” Hunter said.
“That’s what she said when I asked her,” Colleen said.
Wait—this was for real? Doug sat next to Colleen and put his arm around her. Together, they faced her in a way that made it clear it was, in fact, for real.
“Hunter, we really need for you to put your beef with Shelby aside for now,” he said.
“My‘beef’?” Hunter felt a flash of annoyance. She knew Colleen was having a rough time, but they were totally invalidating her. How would Colleen feel if Shelby had written aboutherpersonal life? Maybe she was getting upset about nothing: Shelby was a big-shot writer now. She wasn’t going to leave her book tour to work at Land’s End. “So Shelby agreed to this?”
“Not yet,” Colleen said, but her expression told Hunter she believed that ultimately, she would. And that was the difference between the two of them: Colleen hadn’t learned yet that Shelby’s only concern was Shelby. Which was why Hunter wasn’t going to stress about it.
There was no way Shelby Archer was coming back.
Ten
The entire ferry ride, Shelby wondered if she was making a mistake. Sitting on the upper deck, exactly where she’d been sitting four weeks earlier with Ezra Randall, she felt panicked. She should be in the city working on her book. How could she have agreed to this? Was it some elaborate form of procrastination?
She went straight from the ferry to Doug’s apartment. Inside the front door he kept well-worn water boots lined up and a shelf that displayed vintage brass sea lanterns. In the living room there was weathered wood furniture, and she saw Colleen’s decorative touches: needlepoint pillows, a plush pale green throw, and a ceramic pitcher filled with fresh hydrangeas.
Colleen rested on the couch, looking so obviously pregnant, Shelby wondered how she could have missed it a month ago. Had she beenthatconsumed with her book launch?
She bent down and hugged her gingerly, recognizing the scent of Colleen’s familiar lavender-and-apples shampoo.
“You can give me a real hug,” Colleen said into her shoulder, tightening her arms around her. “I’m not going to break.”
Well, apparently that wasn’t completely true. Or Shelby wouldn’t be there.
“Do you feel okay?” Shelby said, sitting next to her.
“I feel fine. That’s the frustrating part. I’m fighting the urge to run around and do things.” She opened her laptop. “I typed up a list of instructions for you just in case you forgot how to use the inventory system.”
Shelby smiled. Colleen had been making her “lists” for as long as Shelby could remember. “I haven’t forgotten anything. Once a bookseller, always a bookseller.”
The printer across the room spit out pages.
“Better to be safe than sorry,” Colleen said. “Mia’s not great with the computer. But the customers love her.”
“Mia?” Shelby said.
“Yeah. Surprising, right? With most kids her age, it’s the opposite. But she readseverything. More than anyone I’ve ever known.”
“Mia Lombardo?” Had Colleen forgotten to mention that her part-timer was Justin’s sister? But she was only fourteen. Wait—no. She was nowseventeen. Wow. It was hard to believe she was going to be a senior in high school.
“Yeah. I told you that,” Colleen said. No, she definitely hadn’t.
“That’s a detail I would have remembered,” Shelby said gently.
“I’m sorry. I have total brain fog.” She frowned. “Wait—it’s not a problem for you, is it? I didn’t think you’d care one way or another.”
Shelby waved her hand. “Totally fine. I’m just surprised. Actually—now I get it. This is all just a ploy to get Justin and me back together,” Shelby joked. When she broke up with Justin, Colleen had told her she was making a big mistake.
Colleen laughed. “You busted me, Shelby. I got pregnant just so I could lure you back to Justin Lombardo.”
Shelby laughed.
“Actually,” Colleen said, “I think he’s with someone new.”
“Oh. Well, that’s great.” And she meant it. Good for him. She wanted him to be happy. Maybe they could even be friends. She checked her phone. It was almost noon. “I can hang out some more or I could get started...”
