Heartsville 03 - Another Shot (J.H. Knight) Read Online Free PDF

Five
     
     
    “It was insta-love, wasn’t it?” Mandy stood at the counter while she waited for her mocha.
    “It was insta- like .” Aaron had to at least concede that much. His grin probably betrayed him, though.
    Mandy took her drink from Simon with a smile and went back to Aaron. “I knew he’d be perfect for you. I knew it.”
    “I didn’t say he was perfect,” Aaron said firmly, suddenly wishing his sister hadn’t dropped by. On the other hand, if he hadn’t avoided her texts and phone calls the last few days, the conversation would have already been done. “We haven’t even covered any of the important stuff yet.”
    He and Brad had covered quite a bit, though, in the last couple of days. They talked on the phone every evening and texted back and forth on their breaks.
    “What? Like comparing your Netflix queues?”
    “Among other things, yeah.”
    Mandy rolled her eyes. “How are you such a pessimist?”
    “How is being cautious pessimism? I like him,” Aaron said before adding begrudgingly, “a lot , actually. I just don’t feel the need to ask him to marry me before the second date.”
    “Okay, fine.” Mandy blew out a sharp breath to get her bangs out of her eyes. “Is my nook free?” she asked, nodding toward the stairs in the corner.
    “You’re the only one who ever uses it.”
    She grinned at him for that and took her mug—almost as big as her head—and her new book upstairs, walking past the painted sign that read For people who don’t like people . The little antisocial section had been Mandy’s idea, truth be told. There was only one chair—overstuffed and comfortable enough to nap in—with a small side table just big enough for a book and a cup of coffee. The walls were lined with shelves that held a small lending library. The idea was simple: bring in an old book you no longer want, stick it on the shelf, and take one you’d like to read. Mandy wasn’t really the only person who went up there, but most of the regulars did consider it her spot. And she contributed most of the books. Not unlike a drug dealer who offers the first hit for free, Mandy only left the first book in a series for lending. She figured people would try them, like them, and then buy the rest. Aaron didn’t know how well her plan worked, but he’d seen a lot of happy readers coming down those stairs.
    Once Mandy had retreated to her reader’s cave, Aaron went back to work. There was a rush of customers for another hour and a half, and then suddenly, the place was dead. “I’m taking a short break,” he told Simon. Clara had just gotten in and was getting ready for the evening rush—which on a Wednesday consisted of about twelve people.
    He pulled out his phone and checked his messages. Brad had texted him. Twice.
    You’re probably busy, but I thought I’d say hi.
    The next one was just a picture of two freshly carved jack-o’-lanterns, one with a funny toothless grin, and the other with a large bat.
    He stepped out back and leaned against the wall before responding. Those will rot before Halloween….
    Less than a minute later, Brad’s message appeared on his screen.
    That’ll give me an excuse to make more. I’m practicing for our date. There’s a pumpkin-carving contest at the fair.
    Oh? Aaron was glad Mandy had tucked herself away upstairs because he couldn’t have stopped grinning if someone had held a gun to him.
    Sounds messy, but fun. Looking forward to it.
    So am I. How’s your day going?
    Pretty good. Getting near closing. You?
    Mellow.
    Before Aaron could think of anything else to say, his phone rang, making his heart jump.
    “I couldn’t figure out why we were texting when I could just call.” Brad’s voice, all sweet and rough, sounded against Aaron’s ear.
    “Good choice,” he said, laughing softly. “Sometimes I forget my phone is an actual, ya know, phone.”
    Brad chuckled. “Same here. Remember the days when a cordless phone and call waiting felt