After I fetched us two coffees that were served in ceramic mugs, I returned to my place at the table.

Amber blew on the steaming liquid before she said, “I thought I was supposed to be showing you around, not vice versa. I never even knew this place existed. Really cool find. I could spend all evening in here getting amped up on caffeine and searching for obscure books. Do you think that’s strange?”

“No, actually. That’s why bookstores make good first dates for people. I’ve taken a few women to bookstores—granted not one as cool as this.”

She scrunched her nose. “I wouldn’t have thought that.”

“Well, for one, there’s never a lack of things to talk about. Each book is a conversation piece.”

The corners of her eyes crinkled. “Yeah, but you’re really not getting to know the person if you’re talking about books and not each other.”

“I beg to differ. You can tell a hell of a lot about someone by what they read.”

“Or what they don’t read...if they’ve never picked up a book.”

“Exactly. Now you’re getting my point.”

“I can imagine you’ve dated some women like that…who didn’t read? At least from what I remember…”

“Plenty. And the truth always comes out. Not that I have anything against someone who doesn’t habitually read, but sometimes it can mean there’s an overall lack of interest in things outside of themselves.”

A smile spread across her face. “I’m impressed, Lord. But given some of the girls you used to date, I didn’t think such things mattered to you.”

“Sounds like you’re judging a book by its cover, Amber.” I winked. “See what I did there?”

“I do.” She laughed.

The sound of her laughter brought me back in time to our youth for a moment. There were very few remnants of that time, but her laughter was one of them. Her laughter used to be my medicine.

“I’m not exactly the same guy I was in high school and college.”

“You mean, you don’t…” She coughed intentionally. “Get around anymore?”

“Get around? You mean sleep around…fuck around…right? Just say what you really mean…”

“I was trying to be bookstore friendly.”

“Look around. I’m pretty sure you can say and do anything you want in this place.” I grinned and inhaled a curious scent that smelled an awful lot like marijuana. “By the way, do you smell pot?”

She sniffed the air. “I do.”

I took a sip of my coffee and addressed her previous question. “I still appreciate a pretty face and a hot body, but it takes a lot more than that to thrill me now. A man can only take so much ass before he needs something more. My brain needs to be stimulated just as much as my dick.”

Amber looked a bit flushed. “I see.”

Needing to redirect my mind from focusing on how adorable her blushing was, I said, “You know what else is great about first dates in bookstores?”

“What?”

“If it ends up being a dud, you still get to take something new home to cuddle up with in bed.” I wriggled by brows.

“I like the way you think, Lord.”

My eyes landed on a situation happening in one of the aisles. “Even observing people in bookstores can be fun.” I pointed to this dude I’d been watching before she arrived. “Take that guy, for example. Look how he’s not even opening up the book he’s holding. He’s been watching that woman who’s browsing next to him the entire time. He’s pretending to be interested in The Nightingale, but really, he’s totally getting ready to make his move. And that choice of book was no accident, either. It’s a popular book. The likelihood that she’s read it and liked it is high. So, he’s counting on it as a potential conversation starter.”

“That theory makes sense, but how can you be so sure of what’s about to happen?” She drew her own conclusion. “Ah…you’ve picked women up in bookstores before, too.”

Shrugging, I admitted, “I might have done the casual aisle thing once.”

“Did it work?”

I simply smirked.

Amber rolled her eyes. “I didn’t even need to ask. I’m sure everything works for you.”

It amused me that she assumed things were so easy for me. “Why do you think that?”

“Because women have always been unable to resist you. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the bookstore aisle or the pet aisle at the supermarket, the story is the same in the end. You get the girl. You can have any woman you want.”

“I’ll have you know that’s not always the case, Amber Walton.”

“Someone rejected you?”

She was still clueless as to how I used to feel about her, never imagining that she was the first person who came to mind when she asked me that question. Even though it wasn’t a blatant rejection, she had no idea how it felt for me when she got together with Rory. Besides Amber, there was only one other woman in my life whom I’d wanted but couldn’t have. I don’t think I’d ever spoken about the situation with Emily to another person. If anyone could understand, though, it was Amber.