The Bookshop on the Corner (A Gingerbread Cafe story) by Rebecca Raisin Page B

read again, maybe a few times, in the years to follow.
    An ephemeral waft of cool air hit my neck as I placed the last of Gloria’s books on the shelf. Smiling to myself, I said out loud, just in case, “Thank you for your wonderful collection, Gloria. I’ll treasure them always.”
    A faint ‘you’re welcome’ rustle came from the magazines on the coffee table.
    I hoped one day Gerald would visit and sit in here and feel the magic too.
    ***
    Ridge retuned a few days later. I knew he was back, but wasn’t expecting him for a few days. He strolled into the bookshop as if he were merely a customer, and not someone who made my heart skip a beat. And then skip again, until I was gulping for air.
    “Thirsty?” he asked, and walked to me…that he-scent. How I lived without him for two weeks was beyond me.
    “Not thirsty, just, erm, out of breath from unpacking boxes. Of books. Out the back.”
    He pulled me into his arms and said softly, “Liar.”
    “Moi?”
    “You’re not dusty.”
    I looked up from his embrace. “Sprung! Tell me all about Australia.”
    He withdrew his arms and pulled me to the table near the window. “You would have loved it, I think. The Aussies are a great bunch of people. So strikingly different from New Yorkers, you would have appreciated them. They have this laid-back attitude, and everything’s a joke. It was fun. I’d love to go back and explore some of the bigger cities. We were lost in the bush for most of the time.”
    “Somehow, I can’t picture you with your perfect smile, and immaculate clothing, lost in the bush…”
    He clasped my hand across the table, and laughed. “You know I did get quite a bit of stick for being a ‘pretty boy’. It wasn’t long before I was dressed more casually and wearing thongs, which are flip-flops, not a type of underwear.”
    My eyebrows shot up. “Well, I’m glad you clarified that for me.”
    His smile slipped. “I came to tell you I’m going away again. Soon.”
    My heart dropped. Would this be how it always was? Just when I was excited to get more time with Ridge, he’d jet away, to somewhere exciting. How long before the shine wore off the girl from the bookshop? I shook the thought away.
    “Where to this time?”
    “The Philippines. I’m doing a report about the effects of the typhoon and how the towns are coping now.”
    I couldn’t understand how he could go from a fluffy piece about Ashford to such a serious story about the ravaged state of the Philippines.
    “You sure cover a lot of topics. When will you be back?”
    “A week, maybe two?” He smiled, baring those lovely white teeth of his. “You wouldn’t consider coming, would you?”
    I dropped my gaze to our clasped hands. “Not this time, Ridge. But keep asking.”
    As time wore on, maybe I would consider it. One week away, I could probably do. So the bookshop would stay closed. I was sure the books could talk amongst themselves for seven days without incident.
    “So there’s hope,” he said. “But in the meantime can I take you out for dinner tonight?”
    “As long as you order something I like in case I want to switch.”
    “Deal.”
    We did that super-sweet new-couple thing where you just smile goofily and stare into each other’s eyes.
    ***
    Ridge stayed in the Philippines for three weeks. He sent me flowers by way of Missy’s garden; she was only too happy to chop off her gorgeous roses when Ridge asked.
    “He is missing you fiercely,” Missy said, handing me a bunch of scarlet roses.
    “Oh, Missy, thank you. I know how you hate cutting them.”
    “What’s a girl to do when a man like that is pining for his love? He emailed me when he realized there was no florist in Ashford. How you holding up?” she asked, settling herself on a stool at the counter. Her belly had a slight swell that never failed to make me smile. I itched to run my hand across it. I’d felt the baby kick for the first time last week. It was such an intense feeling — Missy