it means that someone else is basically on top of us. Drew and I stop talking and try to move out of the way as the person in a large puffy coat reaches directly in between us to pull a book off the shelf. I bite my lip, trying not to laugh, and when I meet Drew’s eyes I see that he’s doing the same thing.
Then my eyes catch on the book this person has just pulled off the shelf, and I yelp.
“Wait,” I say. “What book is that?”
The woman eyes me suspiciously. “I saw it on CBS This Morning.”
“Blue cover!” Drew shouts, which seems unbearably loud in this little room.
She turns to look at him in alarm.
“It’s just,” I say, holding out my hands, “I’ve been looking for that book all day, and it’s really important to me, and—”
She starts to back out of the room, clearly disturbed by us. “This obviously means more to you than it does to me,” she says, handing me the book before walking away.
“Yes!” I fist pump and take a good look at the wolf on the cover. “Best assistant ever.”
“What is it?” Drew asks, leaning over to read the cover. “Mate for Life: The Science Behind Animal Romance.
“Huh,” he continues. “I guess it kind of makes sense why Tommy wants Tarah’s character to have that book.”
As he keeps talking about how Tarah’s character is researching the science of commitment and monogamy or whatever, I finally take a good look at the books on the shelf and see The Joy of Sex. The Complete Guide to Sex Positions. The Kama Sutra. This isn’t only the psychology room; this is also the relationship and sex room, and I’m crammed into it with Drew Danforth, sharing way too many details about my personal life.
“I’ve gotta get this to Tommy.” I bump into the shelf and knock off a book in my haste to get out of the small room.
“Okay,” Drew says, confused. He bends down to pick up the book, but the room is so small that his head brushes against my shoulder and I practically shriek.
“Bye!” I shout as I jump out of the room and try to find my way through the labyrinthine halls of the Book Loft as quickly as possible. I don’t know what kind of weird moment Drew and I had back there, but I have an actual job to do, and that involves getting this book to Tommy. I don’t have time to think about Drew Danforth, his surprisingly good listening skills, or his out-of-character love for a Kelsey Grammer sitcom.
Chapter Eleven
The next night, after Nick’s has closed and I’m done on set, Chloe comes over and shares the couch with me for movie night. Since our house is lacking that all-important “open concept,” I can’t see Uncle Don, but I can hear him puttering around in the kitchen.
This is maybe one of the best ways to spend an evening: on my couch, knowing that the two people I love most in the world are safe and sound right here with me.
“I know you love it, but I honestly don’t think I can watch While You Were Sleeping again,” Chloe says, flipping through a magazine as I scroll through Netflix. “I find Peter Gallagher’s eyebrows extremely distracting.”
“Yeah,” I say, “but you’ve gotta admit, Bill Pullman is pretty hot in that movie.”
She looks up for a moment. “I don’t gotta admit anything. He wears a reversible denim jacket.”
“And it’s a good look for him,” I say. “What about The Wedding Singer? It was the last time Adam Sandler played a convincingly sweet romantic lead.”
Chloe wrinkles her nose. “I’m pretty sure I have that one memorized. I can’t hear Madonna’s ‘Holiday’ without thinking of his character’s breakdown.”
“Oh! I know!” I say, switching over to the Hallmark app. “What about a Hallmark movie? In this one, a woman owns a pumpkin patch. Or in this one, the guy owns a Christmas tree farm.”
Chloe puts down her magazine. “No! How many quirky farms can these people even own?”
“Never Been Kissed?”
“Creepy.”
“Groundhog Day?”
“Too many vests.”
“But it’s one of the few winter rom-coms that doesn’t take place at Christmas,” I protest.
Unimpressed, Chloe rolls her eyes. “These are some really white and straight movies, Annie.”
“I know,” I say. “You’re right. But Drew says that’s why Tommy wanted to make an interracial rom-com so much, even though it’s a way smaller movie than the stuff he’s been doing lately.”