apparently surprised, but his features softened when he saw it was Georgie. âHi.â
âPersonally, itâs not really my cup of latte,â she continued.
âIâm sorry?â
âOh, I know itâs being touted as the next Booker prize winner and all, but it wonât win. I mean, maybe it is âan honest and disturbing account of a womanâs descent into depressionâ, but who wants to read about that?â
Liam looked blankly at her. âIâm sorry, Iâm not following you at all.â
Georgie indicated the poster. â Duck Egg Blue. Waste of good trees if you ask me. So, what brings you back so soon?â
Liam cleared his throat. He looked nervous, which Georgie found not a little endearing. âWell . . . actually, um, well . . .â He took a breath. âActually, Iâm after another gift. For my father this time.â
She suppressed a smile. âWhatâs the occasion?â
Liam hesitated. âItâs his birthday.â
Georgie lifted an eyebrow. âSo your fatherâs birthdayâs a day after your motherâs? Thatâs a rather huge coincidence, isnât it?â
âIâll say.â
She frowned. âTheyâre both Librans then? Thatâs not a great combination.â
âNo, itâs not,â he agreed.
Georgie smiled. âYou didnât remember this yesterday?â
He shook his head regretfully. âSlipped my mind.â
âSo what does your father like to read? Thrillers, war stories?â
âThatâs a bit of a sexist assumption, isnât it?â Liam remarked.
âI know these things, Iâm a bookseller. Heâs a man, if he reads at all itâll be sports biographies, action, thriller, war . . .â
âFine, what do you suggest?â
She folded her arms, considering him. âI suggest you buy a cup of coffee instead. Itâll only cost a couple of dollars and you wonât have to fork out thirty bucks for a book you donât want, when all you really wanted was an excuse to see me again.â
Liam stared at her incredulously. For a second Georgie thought sheâd really put her foot in it. Why couldnât someone have parents with birthdays on consecutive days? It wasnât all that incredible; it would hardly get them into the Guinness Book of Records.
But then his face relaxed into a sheepish smile and Georgie breathed again.
âSo whatâll it be?â she asked tentatively.
âWhite with one.â
She smiled at him. âTake a seat, Iâll bring it over to you.â
He wandered across to what they referred to as the sitting room. Not that it was a room as such; it was just an area bordered by bookshelves on three sides, with comfy armchairs and sofas and a couple of coffee tables. It had been one of Georgieâs ideas after sheâd seen the cafe on Friends . But everyone was doing it now.
She carried two cups over and handed one to Liam as she parked herself beside him on the sofa. She sat side on, facing him, bringing her feet up underneath her.
âThis is a pretty impressive set-up,â he remarked.
âThank you.â
He turned to face her, stretching his arm across the back of the sofa. âSo it really is your business?â
âHalf of it.â
âThatâs right, you said you were partners with your sister . . .â
âIn-law.â
âWhoâs married to your brother,â he nodded. âNot the other way around.â
Georgie smiled. He remembered.
âHow long have you owned the business?â Liam asked.
âGoing on twelve years.â
âYou must have been a child when you started?â
âAnd you must have been to flattery school.â
He smiled. âNo, come on. You couldnât have been twenty?â
Georgie shrugged. âYouâre getting warm.â
âThatâs a pretty big deal, starting a