A New Chapter

by Susan Coventry

  This was one of Emma’s favorite aspects of her job. She loved to read to the children and watch their eyes light up as she took on the various characters’ voices. Oftentimes, the kids enjoyed the story so much that their parents bought the book for them, but that wasn’t the only goal. Emma’s true fulfillment came from instilling the love of reading into the hearts and minds of young children.

  She didn’t expect as many kids today because it was Labor Day weekend, the last hurrah of the summer season. Whether there were five kids or twenty, the show would go on! She was arranging the chairs in a semicircle when she heard a man clear his throat behind her. It sounded suspiciously like… yep, it was Zack, with Gracie in tow.

  “Good morning,” he said with a gravelly morning voice.

  “Good morning,” Emma returned, focusing her eyes on Gracie. “I’m so glad you could come today.”

  Gracie gave her a shy smile and looked up to her dad for guidance.

  “Gracie, I didn’t introduce you the last time we were here, but this is Emma Murphy. She owns the bookstore, and she’s going to be reading to you today.”

  Gracie nodded her head but clung to her dad’s hand for dear life.

  “Do the parents stay with their children during the story, or how does it work?”

  Emma was touched by his concern for his daughter, even though she tried not to be. Zack was obviously uncomfortable in the situation, and she felt obliged to put him and Gracie at ease.

  “It’s really up to you. Some parents sit with their kids, and others roam around the store. There are even a few who wait in their car, but I’d prefer it if you’d stay nearby.”

  Zack crouched down to confer with Gracie. “How about if I sit with you this time, and maybe next time you can sit here on your own?”

  Gracie nodded her head enthusiastically while Emma instructed them to choose a seat and then turned her attention to the other kids and parents that had begun to file in. Six kids had turned out in total, and they were all regulars, except for Gracie, which meant the other parents left their children in Emma’s charge and drifted off to look at books.

  Emma had done this dozens of times, but something about Zack’s presence threw her off. He sat quietly and attentively with Gracie securely on his lap, but his eyes bored right into her. Those light gray eyes with the ridiculous thick eyelashes that most women would kill for, the mane of rich brown, almost black, hair that stood up in all the right places, and the light smattering of facial hair that graced his chiseled jaw—it was too much! Zack’s Greek heritage gave him that dark, roguish, smoldering look that was impossible to ignore. Did he look this good five years ago? Yes, she was sure that he had, but back then, she wasn’t supposed to have noticed. Hell, she shouldn’t be noticing now either!

  Emma brought her focus back to the story, adopting a silly voice as she read, “That Sam I am, that Sam I am…” The kids listened with rapt attention, and when she finished the beloved story, everyone clapped, including Zack. Emma was certain that her face had turned a bright shade of pink. To distract herself from his intense gaze, she stood up and offered cookies and juice while the kids turned their attention to the coloring sheets.

  “You’re really good at that,” Zack said once the children were happily engaged.

  “Thanks. I probably enjoy it just as much as they do,” she replied self-consciously.

  “Nothing wrong with that. Do what you’re good at; that’s my philosophy.”

  Hmm… I wonder what you’re good at? “So, do you and Gracie have big plans for the holiday weekend?” Emma struggled to find a neutral topic, and this was the best she could come up with.

  “Just this before I have to take Gracie down to Ann Arbor. She’ll be spending the rest of the weekend with Alicia before school starts.” Zack sounded matter-of-fact, but his eyes told a different story.

  “It must be difficult having to share custody. Not that I know much about it, since I don’t have children myself…” Emma let her sentence trail off once she realized she was rambling.

  “It’s a tough thing to deal with, but we’re cooperating for Gracie’s sake.”

  Emma was silent for a few beats while they watched Gracie interact with the other children. So far, Emma hadn’t noticed any signs of distress. Gracie behaved much the same as the rest of the kids, contentedly coloring while she nibbled on a cookie.

  “So, what about you? What are your plans for the long weekend?” Zack asked, seemingly anxious to turn the conversation back to her.

  “You’re looking at it. I work today and tomorrow, but we’re closed on Labor Day.”

  “What will you do on your day off?”

  Zack may have asked to be polite, but Emma began to feel uncomfortable. She didn’t want to let on that her life was rather dull outside of work. In fact, she had no plans for the holiday whatsoever. She would probably end up puttering around the house until she gave in to reading. After all, she was the only one who saw the inside of her house these days!

  “I don’t have any specific plans,” she answered, hoping that would bring an end to the discussion.

  “Well, in that case, if you’d like to grab a coffee or something, maybe we could…”

  Emma didn’t let him finish. “I don’t drink coffee,” she said abruptly.

  “Tea?”

  “Nope.”

  “Anything caffeinated?”

  “Diet Coke occasionally, although I know it’s not good for me.” Geez, can’t this guy take a hint? I do not want to go out with him. I would not, could not! Oh God, now I’m channeling Green Eggs and Ham.

  “How about lemonade?”

  Zack was obviously not giving up, and the pressure was mounting. She never was very good at saying no…

  “Ok, fine, I’ll meet you for lemonade.” That didn’t even sound right.

  A slow, satisfied smile spread across Zack’s face. “Great! Lemonade it is.”

  Emma shot him a weak smile. “Great.”

  “Daddy, is it time to go yet?” Gracie asked.

  “Yes, sweetie, right after you tell Miss Emma thank you.”

  “Thank you,” Gracie said.

  “You’re very welcome, Gracie. I hope that you’ll come back to story time again.” Emma was being sincere, even though she knew that it meant having continued interaction with Zack. If his daughter weren’t so darn adorable… The two of them together were hard to resist.

  “I’ll call you about the lemonade,” Zack said and swiped one of her business cards from the front counter.

  Kelly and Emma watched as he and Gracie walked out the door. “Lemonade?” Kelly said.

  “Don’t ask,” Emma said and huffed off to the back of the store.

  Chapter 4

  Two days later, Emma and Zack sat across from each other at a table for two in Starbucks. Emma sipped on a strawberry banana smoothie (it sounded less boring than lemonade) while Zack nursed his no-frills dark roast coffee. A brownie sat on the table between them, but no one had taken a bite yet. There had been a bit of awkwardness at the counter when Zack had insisted on paying, but now they were seated, and Emma was struck by a whole new wave of discomfort.

  She had debated cancelling this morning until she realized that she didn’t have Zack’s phone number. He had called the store the day before to confirm their coffee “date,” but she hadn’t written his number down from the caller ID. Emma squirmed in her chair and wished she were still at home in her pajamas, curled up on her couch with her nose in a book. She had no business being here with Zack. What did they have in common besides their connection to Phil? Oh, and the fact that they were both divorced, which was not a stellar thing to have in common. Zack had confessed that he knew she was divorced. Based on their history, he probably wanted to make it clear that he didn’t intend to hit on a married woman. Even so, the words this was a mistake kept repeating in Emma’s head until they threatened to spill out.

  “So, Emma, you’re probably wondering why I asked you to meet me t
oday,” Zack said.

  Mr. Cool-as-a-cucumber didn’t look the least bit uncomfortable. He leaned back in his chair like he owned the place, without a hint of nervousness on his handsome face. “Well, I am a little curious,” she replied.

  “I wanted to apologize to you for my behavior on the night of Phil’s wedding. I acted boorishly, and there was no excuse for it. I hope that you can forgive me.”

  Boorishly? He knows the word boorishly? Impressive. “That was a long time ago, Zack. I think we’ve reached the statute of limitations on boorish behavior.”

  Zack’s loud laughter filled the nearly empty shop. “Does that mean that you’re not holding a grudge?”

  Hmm… how to answer? “It means that we all make mistakes and I accept your apology.”

  “Just so we’re clear, I’m sorry for the way I acted, but not for what I said to you that night.”

  Emma decided to play dumb. “I don’t recall. What did you say to me that night?”

  “I told you that you were the most beautiful woman in the room, and that was the absolute truth.”

  Emma’s mouth dropped open, and luckily, there wasn’t a bite of brownie inside, or it would have fallen out. She collected herself, leaned forward, and asked, “How can you say that with a straight face when your future wife was also in the room that night?”

  “Because it’s the truth.”

  Emma sat back in her seat and tried to process his statement. She wasn’t sure how to feel about this man. Was he just feeding her a line? What was his agenda? On one hand, he sounded sincere, but was he an expert at playing women? Well, he wasn’t going to play her—that was for sure!

  “Why did you really ask me here today, Zack? Since we’re being truthful about everything…”

  Zack slurped his coffee, leaned forward, and looked directly into her eyes. “I was hoping that we could start over, as friends. Other than my parents, you’re the only one I know in Clarkston, and I would like it if we could become friends.”

  “Friends?” Emma asked incredulously.

  “Yes, friends,” he repeated.

  Emma could honestly say that she had never had a male friend. In high school, she’d tried to pass a couple guys off as friends, but she’d secretly had a crush on them. She wasn’t decided on the age-old question of whether or not men and women could just be friends. Perusing Zack’s face across the table confirmed her uncertainty. If only he were a little uglier…

  “So, what’s your answer?”

  “I suppose we could try it,” she replied skeptically, “but I think we need to define the term ‘friend’ first. Go ahead, what does it mean to you?”

  Finally, she had put Zack on the spot. This was more like it!

  “I feel like I’m on a game show and if I give the wrong answer, I’ll be sent home,” he teased.

  Emma didn’t feel the least bit sorry for him. Oh no, if he wanted to be her friend, he would have to prove that he knew the meaning of the word.

  “Ok, here goes. A friend is someone you can share coffee with, or strawberry smoothies as the case may be. If the two friends have certain things in common, say they both like sports, they could go to a game together. If one friend was having a particularly rough day and wanted to vent about something, they could call the other friend and talk about it. If…”

  “Ok, ok, enough,” Emma said while attempting to keep a straight face. She had to give him credit for humoring her with such a thorough answer. The guy was a good sport!

  “Now it’s your turn,” Zack said with a serious expression. “What would I have to do as your friend?”

  Hmm… interesting choice of words. “Well, you summed it up nicely, but I have a minor correction to what you said about doing things together. Suppose one friend loved books and wanted to go to a book expo. The other friend may not share that interest; however, they would accompany said friend to the expo knowing that the favor may be reciprocated down the road.”

  “So, if the other friend liked classic cars, they could conceivably ask said friend to a classic car show even though that might not be a shared interest?”

  Emma could no longer contain her laughter. Her shoulders shook, and her face was probably crinkled up and bright pink as she burst out in giggles. “I’m glad to see that you understand the rules,” she managed once her laughter subsided.

  “I think I can handle it. Any other rules that I should know about?”

  “Just one. No hitting on each other due to drunkenness or desperation.” Oops, maybe I shouldn’t have gone there.

  Zack’s face fell. “I promise that won’t happen again.”

  “Zack, I didn’t mean to… Let’s just put the past behind us and move forward, ok?” She held up her smoothie. “How about a toast? To a new chapter.”

  He raised his coffee cup and clinked it against her glass. “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship,” he said, quoting from Casablanca.

  Wow, a man who knew the word boorish and could quote from Casablanca. Little did Zack know that he had earned two gold stars on his report card already!

  Chapter 5

  “So, I went out with that guy Collin, you remember, the one that likes poetry,” Kelly began.

  Honestly, it was hard for Emma to keep track of all of the guys that Kelly had dated that she had met at the bookstore. Her friend had a penchant for choosing men based on the type of books they read. There was Steve, who liked mysteries, which made him “secretive” in Kelly’s eyes. Then there was Chris, who read erotica, and since his name was close to Christian (as in Grey) that meant he had to be good in bed, right? Wrong, according to Kelly, who suggested that he go back and reread the books.

  “Collin, yes, I remember. Was he as sensitive and caring as you thought he would be?” Emma asked sarcastically.

  “Scoff all you want, but we’re going on a second date this weekend, so there!”

  It was Wednesday evening, and Kelly had just arrived for her five-to-nine shift. Emma was grateful that she had two capable employees to cover some of the evening and weekend shifts. She had hired Brett, a college student, to work over the summer, and he had stayed on to work a couple of nights per week. Hiring him had resulted in an unexpected increase in the number of teenage and young adult women who frequented the store. Brett was good looking in that all-American way that the young girls seemed to appreciate. Hey, if it sold more books, so be it; besides, he was a really good worker.

  The store phone interrupted Kelly’s dating tale, and since Emma stood closest, she picked it up. “A New Chapter, how can I help you?” she answered cheerfully.

  “Question. Do friends help each other unpack moving boxes in exchange for free pizza and beer?”

  A smile instantly broke out on Emma’s face. She couldn’t help it; the man had a good sense of humor!

  “I suppose that falls within the guidelines. When do you need me?” Oops, that didn’t come out right.

  Zack chuckled gruffly. “As soon as you’re able to get here.”

  Emma turned her body slightly away from Kelly, who was watching her with great interest. “I was just getting ready to leave. Give me your address, and I’ll head right over.”

  After she jotted down the address and hung up the phone, she turned back around to face the music. Kelly didn’t disappoint.

  “That was the Greek God, wasn’t it?”

  “Please stop calling him that. If he finds out, it’ll go straight to his ego.”

  “Sorry, but answer the question.”

  “Yes, it was Zack. He asked me to help him unpack some boxes. No big deal.”

  “What, are you friends now?”

  “That’s the plan.”

  “Well, get ready to fail. There’s no way you can be ‘just friends’ with a guy who looks like that!”

  Emma grabbed her purse and a new book that she was dying to read and purposely ignored Kelly’s comment. “Have a good night, Kell,” she said on her way out the door.

  It was almost
laughable how close she and Zack lived to each other. His neighborhood was two miles east of hers off of the same main road. She wound her way back into his subdivision until she found the house on a quiet cul-de-sac. It looked like the ideal neighborhood for kids, equipped with sidewalks and a mini-playground. He’d probably chosen it with Gracie in mind, which made Emma wonder if Gracie would be home tonight.

  Zack answered the door wearing a maize and blue University of Michigan t-shirt and a faded pair of jeans, and she had to admit he looked delicious (to borrow Kelly’s word).

  “Hey, come on in,” he said, holding the door open as she stepped inside.

  The house was a traditional two-story colonial similar to hers, the major difference being that his was in complete disarray. There were boxes everywhere, stacked up against the walls and scattered among the scant pieces of furniture. Emma also noted that everything was beige; the walls and carpet blended together with nary a contrasting color in sight.

  “Sorry about the mess. I’ve been trying to unload a few boxes per day, but with work and Gracie and…”

  “No need to apologize. I’m here to lend a hand, so put me to work.”

  “Great, well, I thought we could start in the den. I have some bookshelves up, but my books are still in boxes. Maybe you can unpack them while I set up my desk.”

  “Makes sense. Lead the way.”

  Emma tried not to look at his butt as she followed him down the hall, but her curiosity got the best of her. Naturally, it was a nice one, tight and toned just like the rest of him. She wondered idly how tall he was and guessed around six foot three.

  The den was a cozy room at the back of the house with a bay window overlooking the heavily treed backyard. Emma noticed that a swing set had already been assembled, which prompted her to ask about Gracie. “Where’s your daughter tonight?”

  “With her mom. Alicia took her out for dinner and shopping, so I don’t expect her back for a few hours.”

  Emma stopped herself from asking more questions about his ex and surveyed the scene. “Any particular order you want the books in?”