The Bookshop on the Corner (A Gingerbread Cafe story)

The Bookshop on the Corner (A Gingerbread Cafe story) by Rebecca Raisin Read Free Book Online Page A

Book: The Bookshop on the Corner (A Gingerbread Cafe story) by Rebecca Raisin Read Free Book Online
Authors: Rebecca Raisin
point.
    Instead of picturing the buff hero of my future I saw cats circling my ankles, waiting to be fed. I shook the thought away. I didn’t even own a cat, and for that very reason I vowed to never buy one — just in case.
    Coffee would soothe the erratic beating of my heart. Or speed it up. The phone rang, catching me midway between the kitchenette and the counter. I jogged to answer it, plopping myself back on my chair.
    “Sarah from The Bookshop on the Corner.”
    “Did you get it?”
    Ridge.
    “Who is this, please?” I tried to keep the smile from my voice.
    “It’s your friendly New Yorker, calling to check in. I’ve budgeted so many minutes of my day for this call, so you better make it worth my while.”
    “Oh…Ridge, is it?”
    “Very funny.”
    A silence hung between us, probably because I was picturing him at the other end of the line, wondering what he was doing, what he was seeing. Was he looking out of a big glass window that faced the gigantic city skyline, surrounded by black furniture, and lots of objets d’art that were sleek in their simplicity?
    “I’m guessing you’re snuggled up in that little alcove you have behind the counter.” He sounded as if he were lost in a dream, his tone mellow and sleepy.
    “Did you install cameras?” Heat spread through me as I fought to sound jocular.
    “Yes.”
    I laughed in spite of myself, while internally screaming, what was this? Harmless flirting? Something more? Nothing? And what did I want it to be?
    “Did you get the book?”
    “I sure did, thank you. Stiffens my resolve to stay away from big cities.”
    “Well, in that case, the big city will come to you.”
    “Are you referring to yourself as a big city? Is that some kind of metaphor?” Again I was bowled over by my confidence with Ridge. It was so unlike me, but he had a way of making me say the first thing that sprang to mind.
    He let out a big belly laugh, which took me by surprise. I’d only heard him be all soft, and practiced charm. “It was kind of corny, I’ll admit.”
    “I’ll forgive you this once.”
    “So I’ll see you on Friday?”
    “Let me guess — CeeCee’s made friends with you on Spacebook?”
    “Tweeter, get it right.”
    Oh, boy, here we went again. Why was the back-and-forth banter so easy with him? It was as if we’d read these lines so many times they fell from our lips as though they’d been memorized.
    “I’ll be at Lil’s for the food, and, just so you know, I’m not one of those lettuce-munching, skinny eaters, so don’t mind me if I don’t talk all night. I’m more interested about what’s on my plate than socializing.”
    I could hear him accept the challenge, as if the little cogs in his brain were turning ever so slightly.
    “Me too,” he said. “I’m not one for people really. Much rather be snuggled up in a little nook, next to a roaring fire, with a novel…”
    “Yeah, right, Romeo.”
    He scoffed. “Are you calling me a liar?”
    I exhaled down the line dramatically so he’d know how completely uninterested I was. “Yep.”
    “You’re right, the picture is incomplete. I’d rather be snuggled up in the little nook at the back of your bookshop, next to a roaring fire, with a novel in one hand and
you
in the other.”
    I dropped the phone as if it were scorching. Dammit! As I struggled to pick it up the dangly cord caught around the books at my feet.
Not
well played, Sarah. Now he’d know his words had affected me.
    Finally, with shaky hands I put the receiver back to my ear. Note to self: get a cordless phone — at least
try
to keep up with the bare minimum of technology. Sometimes the ‘if it’s not broke’ mantra had a lot to answer for.
    “Excuse me, I missed that, er…I have a customer…”
    “No, you don’t.” He was all throaty desire.
    I coughed. Oh, I coughed! I had to stop coughing. “Hello there…er…Doris, be right with you…” I said to the books in front of me, before mimicking the fictional

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