The Bookworm's Guide to Faking (The Bookworm's Guide #2) - Emma Hart Page 0,9
discernible from one another, I was on the other side of a severe case of mistaken identity.
That, that night, I hadn’t meant to kiss Iris.
I’d meant to kiss Holley.
CHAPTER FOUR – HOLLEY
rule four: at least try to make it believable. flowers help.
“Damn. Is there something you aren’t telling me?”
I jerked my head up from where I was marking up books for the new book club. “What?”
Saylor was standing in the doorway, her scarf wrapped around the lower half of her face, and she cocked her thumb over her shoulder. “You mean you haven’t seen the huge bunch of flowers out here on the sidewalk?”
I frowned. “What flowers?”
She rolled her eyes, an action that seemed to accentuate her winged liner that made me green with jealousy, and then wedged the doorstop under the door.
Brrr.
I wished she hadn’t. It was one degree from freezing out there, and I’d spent all morning warming this old store up.
Wasn’t that a waste of our money?
“These flowers.”
My eyes bugged as she hauled a bouquet through the door. It was bigger than both our heads put together, and it was a gorgeous mix of red and white roses interspersed with greenery and sprigs of baby’s breath. It was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen in my life, and my stomach plummeted so quickly I think it fell through my feet and disappeared into the center of the Earth.
“Ooh, there’s a card!” Saylor sang, setting the flowers down on the table next to the books I’d been setting aside. “Oooooh!”
I didn’t want to ask it, but apparently, my mouth wasn’t listening to my brain. “What?”
Her head popped out from the side of it, and she grinned, her cheeks rosy from the cold now that her scarf had fallen down. “You’re not gonna like thiiiiiiiiis,” she continued in her little sing-song voice.
“Saylor!”
““To Holley,”” she read, plucking the card from the bouquet. ““I really am sorry. No buts this time. Can we talk? Love, Seb.””
“No.” I turned back to the books and slipped a question card from the publisher into the front of one.
“Uh, are you blind?” She pushed the flowers closer to me. “Have you seen these? Hols, there are about two-dozen red roses in here. Do you know how much those things cost?”
“I don’t care,” I said calmly, putting another question card in the next book. “If he’s trying to get me to come around, flashing money left, right, and center isn’t the way to do it.”
“White roses are your favorite.”
“I don’t care.”
“Holley.”
“No, Saylor.” I scooped up the eight romance novels and carried them over the register, away from the frustratingly beautiful bouquet of flowers. I put them down next to the tissue paper I intended to wrap them in and looked at her. “That’s just… just… stuff.”
She stroked the petals of one of the roses. “Beautiful stuff.”
“Beautiful stuff,” I admitted. “And it’s very nice, but one bunch of flowers isn’t going to suddenly make me forget everything that happened.”
“Has anyone told you that you’re being completely pathetic about this?”
“No, but thank you for your opinion.”
“It’s not an opinion,” she said, shrugging off her jacket. “It’s cold, hard facts. You are. You’re being ridiculous and childish, and the least you can do is hear him out.”
I tore a piece of tape from the dispenser and slapped it down onto the book I’d just wrapped. “Is it.” I said it so flatly that it wasn’t even a question anymore.
“Yes. He’s clearly trying to make things right with you. Can’t you even give him five minutes?”
“Whose side are you on here? You’re supposed to be my best friend!”
“I’m always on your side.” She held out her hands, raising her eyebrows, then shrugged. “Unless you’re being a dumbass bitch, then I’m on the other side.”
“Ugh.”
“Hey. That’s how you know I’m a good friend.”
“How exactly is that?”
She hung her coat up. “Because a good friend isn’t afraid to call you on your bullshit. And you, my friend, are full of it.”
“Seems like I’m interrupting a therapy session.”
I looked at Sebastian, who was now standing in the open doorway, then at Saylor. “Why didn’t you close that?”
“Because I don’t possess the power of telekinesis?” she replied.
I turned back to Sebastian. “Sorry. We’re closed. You’ll have to come back tomorrow.”
“Holley!”
“What?”
Saylor stalked over to the door, kicked the door wedge away, and shut the door. “There. Now we’re closed with him inside.”
“I’m going to murder you while you sleep.”
“Try to wear gloves so you don’t leave any evidence.”