Quiet and slow days felt kind of ominous for her. Like something was going to happen. After making sure that her backup would be ready to get in, if anything happened, she strolled behind her counter and let her day begin, as a couple of customers got in. Most of them knowing what they wanted;fortunately. Checking on her suspect album, as she usually did every day, she wondered why they never got in; even if her eyes caught a couple of familiar faces passing outside the store and supposedly window shopping. On the other hand, if anything happened, sheâd miss wearing that bulletproof vest under her shirt. Sheâd also miss brainstorming information about who can like this book or that book. Or which genre might match a teacher that wants to learn a foreign language. It wasnât her first rodeo-this mission. But, she was sure that she was going to miss it. More than she usually misses the adrenaline.
There were also a couple of other things she was going to miss. A certain someone; as a matter of fact. Of all the places, Louisa had to be interested in someone during a mission and under a secret identity: well, the first name was different and the bookworm persona that she was totally winging it. She had a certain low self-esteem there: she could never be the right kind of bookworm when she didnât have time to read as many books as other people did. But, then again, people seemed to like how genuine it seemed to her. Taking a deep breath and letting Lou leave for a while so that âKateâ would appear, she looked through online catalogues of books, wondering how long and hoping it would take its time for this mission to complete. Her head was raised instantly as the bell over the door rang and this certain someone walked in the store.
Nick had always thought there was something incredibly calming about being at work. Granted, his line of work was what many people would call rather stressful. But he had been in a pretty good mood as of late--many people noticed it, actually, and Nick would just say that it was a good day. And every day--or at least, every other day, heâd make his way to the local bookstore to pick out a few selections, either for himself or a friend, and maybe sometimes even to keep in the clinic. As his patients were children, he ended up buying a boatload of childrenâs books he didnât even remember existed. So as he headed home from a long day of meetings--heâd be on call that night, with no actual surgeries or other lingering appointments scheduled, he opened the door to the shop.
Contentedly, he looked around. It was a nice day, warm and and sunny. And it was clear to anyone with eyes, that he had eyes for one of the employees at the shop. He timed his visits nearly perfectly to make sure she was around, make up some small talk, buy a book or two... or five. He had introduced himself, dropping the doctor title, and careful that he was walking in wearing a clean shirt and not scrubs. But he didnât really like to flaunt his title around, especially when he was hoping for a date, that is, if he could muster enough courage to even ask. âGood morning, Kate,â Nick smiled, walking past the counter. âHow are you today?â