Chapter 26

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Amelia

The sun filters through the bookstore's large front windows, casting a warm glow over the rows of neatly stacked books. We've got ourselves iced coffee, which is super sweet and probably diabetes-inducing, but hanging out with Morgan like this is fun and nice.

I've always done things like getting coffee and going to bookstores on my own. This feels new and exciting.

We're here early, and the scent of fresh coffee from the shop next door mingles with the smell of paper and ink. A sense of calm washes over me as I browse the shelves, running my fingers over the spines of the books.

Morgan is already flipping through a novel at a nearby table, her red hair catching the light. She looks up as I approach, beaming at me. "Find anything interesting?"

I hold up a book I picked out. "Just a classic I've been meaning to read. How about you?"

She shows me the cover of her vampire romance book. "I thought I'd try something new."

I narrow my eyes at her as I sit down beside her. "You just lost the right to mock me about Twilight. "

Morgan laughs, the sound light and genuine, and I feel a smile creep up on my face. "Fair enough."

I've noticed that Morgan is a trooper, taking everything that has happened to her in stride. But sometimes, I catch her expression turning sad, like it is right now, which prompts me to ask, "How are you holding up?"

"I'm managing. Just trying to get back to normal, whatever that means."

"It's okay to take your time," I offer gently, meeting her gaze. "No need to rush into normal ."

We sit in comfortable silence for a few moments, the quiet murmur of other customers browsing, adding a gentle background noise.

"Do you come here often?" she asks me after a while.

"Sometimes," I reply, nodding. "I think it's the best bookshop around. I want to go to one of their Night of the Books events soon." I reach out to grab a flyer a little farther down the table and show it to her. "It's some kind of late-night book shopping with snacks and reader nooks they do once a month."

Morgan takes the flyer from my hand. "That's next weekend." She snaps a picture of it with her phone, a small smirk playing on her lips.

"It is," I say, my heart pounding a little, waiting for her to ask if we want to go together.

But she doesn't.

And I'm too shy to ask her.

If she wanted to go, she would have asked like she did yesterday.

"I think I might start making this a regular stop, too," Morgan says, her tone thoughtful. "It's nice."

"Yeah, it really is," I agree.

Morgan hesitates for a moment, her tone cautious when she asks, "So… you're working at the same company as Ollie?"

"Yes, but you know that already," I reply with a teasing smile.

She grins, her eyes sparkling. "Busted. I know a lot about you, Amelia. Because he talks about you a lot. He really likes you."

He really likes me.

I feel my cheeks warm when I think about what I did with fantasy Oliver last night as I admit, "I really like him too."

Morgan's eyes widen. "You do? Like, as in a friend or…" She trails off, leaving the question hanging in the air.

My mind reels as I try to figure out how to respond when my phone pings from where it rests on the table. More texts follow in rapid succession, and I know it's Misha without even needing to look.

How about a daytime hike tomorrow?

I just found something I would like to show you.

But we would have to drive two hours to get there.

The hike is easier than the last one, though.

You down?

The way my heart just started beating faster is unhealthy, for sure.

A grin spreads across my face as I type back.

So down, tell me when I need to be ready and I will be .

Morgan notices my expression and grins. "Who makes you grin like that?"

"Misha," I say, still typing. "We're going on a hike tomorrow."

I'll get you at 7 a.m.

Can't wait to have my hiking buddy back.

:)

Can't wait for mine either.

Morgan frowns a little. "Misha, huh?"

"Yeah, he just asked me to go on another hike tomorrow," I say, my excitement evident in my tone. "The last one was so much fun. I mean, before I ruined my muscles, but he said it would be easier this time."

"Are Oliver and Grey going to join you?" she asks casually but still curious.

"No, they aren't really into hiking, especially Grey."

Morgan's expression turns thoughtful. "Speaking of Grey, you know, I was with Grandpa Donovan yesterday, and… he hired me. It seems like I'm going to stay here, thanks to you."

I look at her, confused. "Thanks to me?"

Morgan nods, her expression becoming gentle. "Yes, thanks to you because I would have never asked him. I missed being around all of them so much. I missed having people on my side outside of work. And I didn't want to live that alone anymore. That's why I didn't really plan where to go after my last job. I should have thought about it earlier, but I hadn't because I was so over it."

"Why didn't you ask Mr. Donovan if you could have the job?"

"Because I didn't want to push myself on him so he would think he had to hire me. And he said he didn't ask me initially because he didn't want to make me stay for him. Without you, this would have never happened. Thanks to you, I can stay here where I want to be. I can have my family close. Thank you."

I feel a lump in my throat, my emotions welling up. "It's not thanks to me, Morgan. You guys figured it out all by yourselves. I just gave a nudge in the right direction."

"It is thanks to you," she insists, her voice firm yet kind. "Let me be grateful."

I smile, a warmth spreading through me. "Well, I'm glad I could help. And I'm glad you're staying."

"How do adults make friends?" Morgan asks out of nowhere.

I blink in surprise. "I… what?"

She leans in, her expression thoughtful. "I mean, in kindergarten, you just walk over to somebody you like and ask, ‘Wanna be friends?'"

A laugh bubbles up before I can stop it, the sound echoing softly in the quiet bookstore. "Is that so?"

"Well, that's how I did it," she says with a small, nostalgic smile. "But I don't know how to do it when you're in your thirties, so I just do it the same way. Wanna be friends?" she asks, her expression so earnest and a little hopeful as if she's laying her heart on the table.

Wow. This is everything.

"I never had a girlfriend before," I admit, feeling a warmth spread in my chest. "I would love to be friends."

Morgan's face lights up, her grin so genuine it's contagious. "I haven't had one in a long time either. Somehow, I'm always the old people's friend. It's always my clients I end up befriending, never people my age."

"I am an old person. I like books, staying in, and tea."

"Isn't tea a Brit thing anyway? "

"True," I admit, grinning. "But I love coffee and blankets, too, and plants."

Morgan grins. "Oh well, those are the things I like too. Sounds like fate." She reaches out her coffee to clink it with mine. "To our grandma friendship."

I clink my coffee cup against hers. "To us."

We spend the rest of the morning in the bookstore, browsing and chatting, and by the time we leave, I feel like the happiest twenty-six-year-old grandma ever.