This is exhausting. Holland sighed. What do I say? What do I not say? Someone had handed her a champagne glass, but she wasn’t sure if she should drink it, so she’d left it on a small table by the wall.

“Lord Gale!” A bubbly blond woman smiled as she approached. “I haven’t seen you at a party since your brother’s wedding.”

“I’ve been busy.” Ryan stated.

“I can see that.” The woman turned to Holland and her smile grew. “Such a lovely girl. I hope he’s treating you right.” She laughed and put a hand on the girl’s shoulder.

“He’s very kind.” Holland said slowly.

“They always are.” The woman sighed. “My husband was the kindest man I’d ever met. He always said I reminded him of Alice Kingsleigh. Do you know who that is? She’s a character from a book.”

Holland nodded. “From Alice in Wonderland. My father read it to me when I was ten.”

“That must have only been a few years ago.” She gushed. “You look so young.”

“Lady Austin, my fiancée is only a year younger than I am.” Ryan interrupted.

“Always so uptight.” She sighed. “And what’s with this ‘Lady Austin’ label? My name is Tia Jane Austin.”

“Forgive me, Tia Jane.” Ryan bowed his head. “But Holly has told me before that her height has been a sore subject in the past.”

Holland looked up at him. She’d never said anything about it, but it was true. People had always assumed she was a number of years younger than she actually was. Is it that obvious? She wondered.

“Holly!” Tia Jane clapped her hands. “What a lovely name! I have a daughter with that same name! She lives overseas, though. Too bad. I’m sure the two of you would get along great.”

A man came up behind her and cleared his throat. “Lady Austin, a word?”

“Please excuse me.” She smiled warmly. “It was lovely meeting you, Holly.”

“You don’t seem to like her much, do you?” Holland commented after Tia Jane was out of earshot.

“My father almost married her.” Ryan confessed. “My mother died when I was five. My father thought having a mother figure was important, so he started dating Tia Jane almost immediately after the funeral. But she broke things off after a few months, using her first husband as an excuse.”

“She seems friendly.” Holland mused. “I bet she did it for you and your brother.”

***

Ryan knew he wasn’t giving Oliver all of the details, but she didn’t need to know. It wouldn’t be any benefit to her knowing Tia Jane’s excuse was that she was still married. After all, no one believed her.

She’d never introduced her husband to anyone. No one had seen a picture of him or their daughter. For all the loving words she said about the girl, people expected proof.

“She talked about her husband in past tense.” Oliver interrupted his thoughts. “Did something happen?”

Ryan placed a hand on her back and led her onto a balcony. “She won’t say a word about it, but she started talking about him like that two years ago. Some people don’t believe she was ever married, though.”

“I think she was.” Oliver said softly. “My dad didn’t talk much about my mom, but when he did, there was nothing but love in his voice. I could hear the same love from her.”

It occurred to Ryan that his false-fiancé might be a romantic. This worried him a little. Romantics are always looking for loopholes. He remembered all the books he’d read hoping something would change drastically. But maybe I’m a romantic, too.

***

Holland awoke the next morning a little confused. She was back in her apartment over Hopeful Readings, but she wasn’t wearing her usual flannel pajamas. Instead, she was wearing a silk nightgown and her hair was braided despite having been down for the party.

“What happened?” she mumbled, pulling herself out of bed. She headed for the kitchen to make a pot of coffee, but stopped when she saw a note on the table.

Holly,

Don’t worry, nothing happened. You just fell asleep in the car. The nightgown is Maggie’s, but she says you can keep it. I’ll stop by around five.

Ryan

Smiling despite herself, Holland changed into her usual jeans and sweater before having a quick breakfast. She tucked the note into her pocket on a whim and went down to the shop.

Vicky was behind the counter with a book open on her lap. “Vicky.” The girl jumped off her stool and pushed the book onto the counter’s ledge before turning around. “I’ve told you before not to read on the clock.”

“Sorry Miss Hope.” She looked embarrassed as she slipped the book into her bag. “It was slow, so I thought I’d pass the time.”

Holland sighed. “If any customers saw you doing that, they’d think you didn’t care. It would affect the reputation of this store.”

“That’s why it was on my lap.” Vicky said proudly. “I’ve thought it through. If a customer came in, I’d hear the bell and push the book away, like I did when you came down. They’d never know.”

“Alright.” Holland chuckled. “But pay attention. You didn’t hear me come down, so the bell might not have alerted you. What are you reading, anyway?”

Vicky blushed. “Gone Tomorrow. I just bought it yesterday. You’re really good.”

Holland laughed a little harder at that. “Back to work Vicky.” She said before moving to check the shelves.