Emily had already forgotten about Jason Rook by the time she clocked in at Book Ends.
(Narrator : This is a blatant lie. She'd thought about him twice on the walk here, once while making tea, and again when she caught herself Googling "vampire lawyer series bad lighting" at 1 a.m.)
She was halfway through rearranging a table of Romance Novels Featuring Handsome Men Who Don't Know How to Button Shirts Properly when the store bell jingled.
And there he was.
Golden hair, sunglasses perched on his head this time (progress), holding two coffees like some caffeine-bearing deity.
Jason: "Hey."
Emily: "If you're here for more vampire puns, I'm fresh out."
Jason: "I brought peace offerings instead." sets one coffee in front of her
Emily eyed it. "This isn't poisoned, is it?"
Jason: "Not unless oat milk is toxic to you."
---
Jason wandered over to the fiction shelves, scanning the spines.
Jason: "So… if I wanted something light but smart, funny but not trying too hard, romantic but not… you know, sappy — what would you recommend?"
Emily: "Oh, you mean the impossible book? Sure, let me just conjure that out of thin air."
She walked over, brushing past him just close enough to catch the faint scent of cologne.
Emily: "Here. This one." hands him a novel
Jason: "This is… a rom-com book?"
Emily: "Yep. Thought you could do some professional development."
He smirked. "And if I finish it, do I get a gold star?"
Emily: "No. But I'll let you buy me a coffee without protest."
---
From behind the register, her coworker Hannah was doing the world's worst job of pretending not to eavesdrop.
Hannah: loud whisper to another coworker "Oh my god, they're flirting. This is flirting, right?"
Coworker: "This is definitely flirting."
Jason leaned in slightly, voice low. "What if I told you I'm already planning on buying you coffee?"
Emily: "Then I'd say you're dangerously close to cliché territory."
Jason: "And yet… you don't seem mad about it."
---
(Narrator: At this point, our heroine should be feeling the tiniest twinge of butterflies. And if she claims she's not? That's fine. That just means we're halfway to the "accidental date" chapter.)
---
Jason paid for the book, gave her one last grin, and walked out — leaving Emily staring after him, coffee in hand, wondering exactly when her week got hijacked by a man who sparkled (possibly literally) on television.
Emily (muttering to herself): "huh, typical".