Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 75270 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75270 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
“You’re right,” I admit. “I inherently trusted you not to put me at risk. Just as you trusted me.”
Kane squeezes my hand once more before releasing it. “We know each other, Mollie. You and I entered into this with something most other people don’t ever attain.”
“What’s that?”
“Absolute faith in the other person,” he replies. “It’s what makes what we have so special.”
CHAPTER 11
Mollie
It was only a fifteen-minute walk to “Clarke’s Corner,” the bookstore Kane had told me about last night that belongs to his teammate, Aaron’s, girlfriend. When I glance in the storefront window, it looks like a fantasy wonderland with rows of bookshelves, tables covered in trinkets, softly glowing lamps, and plush-looking chairs to cuddle into with a favorite read.
I push open the door, the bells above it tinkling merrily to announce my arrival. Scanning the interior, I spot a beautiful redhead behind the counter. She smiles warmly.
“Well, you must be Mollie,” she says cheerily as she comes out from behind the register.
I blink in surprise.
“Kane texted Aaron, who then texted me, to say you might be stopping by,” she explains as she approaches with her hand extended.
We shake, and I get an enjoyable whiff of her perfume. It smells like lilacs, and it seems to go with her bohemian style. She has on an ankle-length white skirt scalloped with eyelets, along with a lavender off-the-shoulder blouse cinched with a belt of large silver loops interconnected with one another.
“But I could have been anyone walking in the door,” I point out with a laugh.
Clarke shakes her head, leaning in to whisper conspiratorially. “Apparently, Kane was talking you up at the team practice yesterday, which included bragging about what you do for a living. Aaron also texted me the link to your IG account, and I unabashedly admit to stalking it a bit this morning. Your travel pictures are simply amazing. So, of course, I recognized you. I thought you might bring Samson by, though,” she adds with disappointment.
“I didn’t think dogs would be welcome,” I admit.
“Next time, bring him. I’m eager to meet the pooch who is your traveling companion. Now, how about some tea or coffee, then we can chat for a bit?”
“Tea,” I say.
“And scones?” she asks with a sly grin.
I laugh, deciding I love this woman dearly already. “I wouldn’t say no.”
I follow her into the back room, asking how she got started in the book business. Clarke chatters on while she fixes tea, then pulls out a bakery box filled with orange and cranberry scones. She arranges everything on a beautiful hand-carved wooden platter complete with a delicate teapot and matching cups with etched roses around the rims.
We head back into the store to a corner with two oversized chairs with fluffy cushions. She motions for me to sit. We serve ourselves, but before I can even lift a scone for a bite, Clarke asks, “Okay… you must tell me everything about you and Kane. Because as far as I know, just last week he was as single as they come, and now he’s in deep with you.”
“In deep with me?” I ask curiously.
“Girl… did you hear me say he talked you up big time at practice? And if you think men don’t gossip about women, you’d be wrong. Aaron was all abuzz with Kane’s new love life when he came home last night. So dish… tell me all about it.”
It’s not a story I mind telling. After all, Kane and I have had a marvelous friendship. What we have now, while new and sometimes even scary because of the deeper connection we’re navigating, it’s a story I wish more people could experience themselves.
I explain how we met, how I got my nickname of Noodle, how we bonded at college, and our one drunk night of sex that never went anywhere.
“So, you two just went back to being friends?” she asks in amazement.
“In hindsight, it seems stupid right now,” I admit.
Clarke shakes her head. “I don’t believe that. Timing is everything. You wanted to travel, and Kane was headed to the pros. It wouldn’t have worked back then.”
“You’re right,” I say, reaching for my tea. “It probably would have been a disaster. Was it just the right time for you and Aaron?”
Clarke snickers. “It was the wrong time for me. I was so against having a relationship with someone famous like him, but he slowly won me over. It turns out he knew it was the right time, but I didn’t. I’m thankful he’s a persistent man.”
Clarke is one of the easiest women I’ve had the pleasure of talking to in a long time. While I’ve had the opportunity to meet women like me in my travels—those who just want to be on the open road—it’s refreshing to find someone who takes pleasure in living in her hometown, owning a little bookstore, and being in love.