The Happily Ever After Bookstore
Sometimes love needs a little shove.
At the Happily Ever After Bookstore, happiness is always found within the pages of the books on its shelves. Its owner, Leona, revels in finding each reader just the right book to bring them joy. She also enjoys meddling just enough to bring readers together who might not know they are destined for one another. In need of a holiday pick-me-up, Sadie seeks out Leona’s advice for a good holiday romance. While scanning the book selections, she knocks into Charlie McGowan, who is certainly out of his element. When they learn that Leona “accidentally” gave them the wrong bags at check out, Sadie and Charlie set out to find one another, only to fall for Leona’s matchmaking tactics. When author Fiona Gable and her ex-husband Price Richter end up in the same town, leave it to Leona to put them in one another’s paths. Decades of marriage couldn’t keep them together after love and loss, but could finding one another under new circumstances change everything? Though skilled at pairing people together, Leona’s ability to find love eluded her. Her true love was her bookstore. When the bookstore is in need of repair, Jon Ford is sent to fix it. Leona wonders if she might have finally found her happily ever after. But, as fate would have it, Jon comes with baggage—ages three and four. Does Leona have it in her to take on a store, a man, and a family just to have a happily ever after of her own? |
Enjoy a Sample:
Chapter One
Bells chimed above the door as Sadie pushed it open and walked into the bookstore. The smell of books old and new, incense, teas, and soaps filled her nose.
It had been cold enough outside that when she stepped into the warm store, her glasses fogged up.
Slipping them off, she wiped them with the ends of her scarf, and put them back on.
Sadie had been coming to the bookstore since high school. Leona, the bookstore owner, was a whimsical woman whom Sadie enjoyed. On her recommendation, Sadie read all the great classics. The Great Gatsby, Catcher in the Rye, Romeo and Juliet.
Leona was the first person to hand her a copy of Harry Potter. As she grew older, Sadie’s tastes changed quite a bit. Now she rather enjoyed a contemporary romance that offered a happily ever after.
She wasn’t above reading a great mystery or science-fiction novel. But Sadie found that she just enjoyed people falling in love.
Perhaps she enjoyed it as much as she did, now that she was edging out of her twenties, because she had yet to find love herself. Her mother had never found love, not even with Sadie’s father. But that wasn’t unusual, many of Sadie’s friends’ parents were not married either. It was a sign of the times. Things were hard. Money was tight. And, sometimes, people just didn’t care about one another after a while.
Leona appeared from behind the bookshelf. Her wiry long hair, which was never colored and now glinted with strands of silver, hung past her shoulders, and the many bangle bracelets on her wrist jingled.
“Sadie, my darling, how are you today?” Leona asked.
Sadie hiked her purse up on her shoulder. “I am wonderful, how are you?”
Leona waved her hands through the air, as she would often do, to encompass the store. “Everything is perfect. What have you come in for today? A new fantasy? I have one that will take you through the forest with fae. I have a new biography; of a silver screen legend. Oh, and I have a cookbook for you, or for your mother, so you can use all of those potatoes you have.“ Leona smiled.
Sadie couldn’t help but smile, at the comment. That summer, Sadie had purchased a book for her mother on gardening. It seemed as if all of a sudden the earth was speaking to Sadie’s mother, and she wanted to garden. As it was, the only thing her mother was handy at growing was potatoes.
“I may have to look at the potato book after all. But I was thinking I would love a holiday romance.“
Leona gave a low hum in consideration. “A holiday romance? The holidays are almost over.”
Sadie nodded. “Yes, but I’m needing something to make me feel more festive, I suppose. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and my mom is so depressed, she didn’t want me to help her put up the tree or any lights this year. So I need some happily ever after.”
Leona's forehead creased as she thought. “Go back to the romance section. Let me check my computer,” she said, lifting her brows in encouragement as the front door chimed again.
Sadie walked to the section on romance, which she was more than familiar with.
Leona had shelves of new books and used books. Some of them Sadie had already read and brought back for store credit. But she looked at the spine of each book and knew buried in the pages were love stories which brought her hope.
Charlie winced at the smell of the small store when he walked in. Even his grandmother didn’t wear that many scents at one time. What was all of that?
He’d considered turning around, but the woman who moved in behind the counter had already caught his eye.
She smiled wide, her piercing blue eyes sparkling from six feet away. When she moved about behind the counter, her bracelets clanked together. Pushing her hair over her shoulder, she picked up a teacup from a saucer and lifted it to her lips.
“Hello, how are you today?” she asked.
Charlie felt a warmth resonate from her greeting, and he thought it was funny because a moment earlier he’d been freezing outside.
“Good, thanks.” He pulled off his gloves and continued to walk into the store.
“Are you looking for anything specific?” the woman asked.
Charlie pulled off his hat and assumed his hair had sprung up when the woman’s eyes lifted. “I suppose I am. I’m looking for a book about some old movie star that just came out. I don’t know. The cover is white, and the image is in black and white.”
The woman smiled wide. “I know exactly which one you’re looking for. It’s three shelves over and facing out. You can’t miss it.”
Charlie nodded, tucking his cap and gloves into the pocket of his coat.
He walked toward the section where the woman had directed him. A woman bundled in a coat and scarf looked at the shelves on the adjacent wall. Eventually, they were nearly back-to-back, each searching for books.
The woman had been right. When he saw the book, he knew it right away. Charlie took it from the shelf and stepped back just as the woman behind him did the same.
The woman stumbled one way, dropping her book, he stumbled the other direction, dropping his.
“I’m so sorry,” the woman said as she scrambled to pick up both books. As she rose, the book he’d come for in her hand, Charlie blinked hard.
The woman holding out the book to him looked as if she’d walked out of a cartoon illustration of a bookworm. Of course, she was real, and cute. Big round glasses accentuated large dark eyes. There were freckles on her nose, and her curly hair was piled atop her head in a very messy bun.
Charlie wasn’t sure why he couldn’t even speak.
“Vivian Leigh?” she asked, looking down at the book. “Are you an old movie buff?”
Charlie blinked again, realizing she was talking to him. “No.”
“Oh,” the woman said, her pink lips forming that O long after the words had vanished. “I wonder if this was the book Leona was telling me about.” She turned it over and looked at the back.
“Who is Leona?” he asked.
“The woman who owns the store.”
“I told her what the cover of the book I was in search of looked like. She told me where to find it.”
The woman, still holding out the book he’d dropped, smiled. “She’s a book miracle. She knows every book and every story in this store.” The woman looked again at the book in her hand. “But this wasn’t the one you wanted?”
Charlie finally took the book from her. “No, well yes, it was. It’s not for me. It’s for my grandmother. She has Alzheimer's. She doesn’t remember any of us, but she remembers these people,” he said, looking at the cover of the book and then wondering why he’d shared that much information.
“I think she’ll enjoy it then.”
Charlie nodded and watched as the woman turned and walked away.
Looking down at the book and then back up at the empty space where the woman had been, he wondered why he felt so odd. Maybe it was all the scents in the store, and they were just making him dizzy.
Chapter One
Bells chimed above the door as Sadie pushed it open and walked into the bookstore. The smell of books old and new, incense, teas, and soaps filled her nose.
It had been cold enough outside that when she stepped into the warm store, her glasses fogged up.
Slipping them off, she wiped them with the ends of her scarf, and put them back on.
Sadie had been coming to the bookstore since high school. Leona, the bookstore owner, was a whimsical woman whom Sadie enjoyed. On her recommendation, Sadie read all the great classics. The Great Gatsby, Catcher in the Rye, Romeo and Juliet.
Leona was the first person to hand her a copy of Harry Potter. As she grew older, Sadie’s tastes changed quite a bit. Now she rather enjoyed a contemporary romance that offered a happily ever after.
She wasn’t above reading a great mystery or science-fiction novel. But Sadie found that she just enjoyed people falling in love.
Perhaps she enjoyed it as much as she did, now that she was edging out of her twenties, because she had yet to find love herself. Her mother had never found love, not even with Sadie’s father. But that wasn’t unusual, many of Sadie’s friends’ parents were not married either. It was a sign of the times. Things were hard. Money was tight. And, sometimes, people just didn’t care about one another after a while.
Leona appeared from behind the bookshelf. Her wiry long hair, which was never colored and now glinted with strands of silver, hung past her shoulders, and the many bangle bracelets on her wrist jingled.
“Sadie, my darling, how are you today?” Leona asked.
Sadie hiked her purse up on her shoulder. “I am wonderful, how are you?”
Leona waved her hands through the air, as she would often do, to encompass the store. “Everything is perfect. What have you come in for today? A new fantasy? I have one that will take you through the forest with fae. I have a new biography; of a silver screen legend. Oh, and I have a cookbook for you, or for your mother, so you can use all of those potatoes you have.“ Leona smiled.
Sadie couldn’t help but smile, at the comment. That summer, Sadie had purchased a book for her mother on gardening. It seemed as if all of a sudden the earth was speaking to Sadie’s mother, and she wanted to garden. As it was, the only thing her mother was handy at growing was potatoes.
“I may have to look at the potato book after all. But I was thinking I would love a holiday romance.“
Leona gave a low hum in consideration. “A holiday romance? The holidays are almost over.”
Sadie nodded. “Yes, but I’m needing something to make me feel more festive, I suppose. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and my mom is so depressed, she didn’t want me to help her put up the tree or any lights this year. So I need some happily ever after.”
Leona's forehead creased as she thought. “Go back to the romance section. Let me check my computer,” she said, lifting her brows in encouragement as the front door chimed again.
Sadie walked to the section on romance, which she was more than familiar with.
Leona had shelves of new books and used books. Some of them Sadie had already read and brought back for store credit. But she looked at the spine of each book and knew buried in the pages were love stories which brought her hope.
Charlie winced at the smell of the small store when he walked in. Even his grandmother didn’t wear that many scents at one time. What was all of that?
He’d considered turning around, but the woman who moved in behind the counter had already caught his eye.
She smiled wide, her piercing blue eyes sparkling from six feet away. When she moved about behind the counter, her bracelets clanked together. Pushing her hair over her shoulder, she picked up a teacup from a saucer and lifted it to her lips.
“Hello, how are you today?” she asked.
Charlie felt a warmth resonate from her greeting, and he thought it was funny because a moment earlier he’d been freezing outside.
“Good, thanks.” He pulled off his gloves and continued to walk into the store.
“Are you looking for anything specific?” the woman asked.
Charlie pulled off his hat and assumed his hair had sprung up when the woman’s eyes lifted. “I suppose I am. I’m looking for a book about some old movie star that just came out. I don’t know. The cover is white, and the image is in black and white.”
The woman smiled wide. “I know exactly which one you’re looking for. It’s three shelves over and facing out. You can’t miss it.”
Charlie nodded, tucking his cap and gloves into the pocket of his coat.
He walked toward the section where the woman had directed him. A woman bundled in a coat and scarf looked at the shelves on the adjacent wall. Eventually, they were nearly back-to-back, each searching for books.
The woman had been right. When he saw the book, he knew it right away. Charlie took it from the shelf and stepped back just as the woman behind him did the same.
The woman stumbled one way, dropping her book, he stumbled the other direction, dropping his.
“I’m so sorry,” the woman said as she scrambled to pick up both books. As she rose, the book he’d come for in her hand, Charlie blinked hard.
The woman holding out the book to him looked as if she’d walked out of a cartoon illustration of a bookworm. Of course, she was real, and cute. Big round glasses accentuated large dark eyes. There were freckles on her nose, and her curly hair was piled atop her head in a very messy bun.
Charlie wasn’t sure why he couldn’t even speak.
“Vivian Leigh?” she asked, looking down at the book. “Are you an old movie buff?”
Charlie blinked again, realizing she was talking to him. “No.”
“Oh,” the woman said, her pink lips forming that O long after the words had vanished. “I wonder if this was the book Leona was telling me about.” She turned it over and looked at the back.
“Who is Leona?” he asked.
“The woman who owns the store.”
“I told her what the cover of the book I was in search of looked like. She told me where to find it.”
The woman, still holding out the book he’d dropped, smiled. “She’s a book miracle. She knows every book and every story in this store.” The woman looked again at the book in her hand. “But this wasn’t the one you wanted?”
Charlie finally took the book from her. “No, well yes, it was. It’s not for me. It’s for my grandmother. She has Alzheimer's. She doesn’t remember any of us, but she remembers these people,” he said, looking at the cover of the book and then wondering why he’d shared that much information.
“I think she’ll enjoy it then.”
Charlie nodded and watched as the woman turned and walked away.
Looking down at the book and then back up at the empty space where the woman had been, he wondered why he felt so odd. Maybe it was all the scents in the store, and they were just making him dizzy.