Battle of the Bookstores

The next morning, Josie internally panics over the message from RJ asking to meet. She fears how he will perceive her and decides meeting isn’t a good idea. Josie recruits Georgia to cover her shifts at Tabula Inscripta while she attends the upcoming Independent Booksellers of New England (IBNE) conference. She suspects that Ryan will be there, which reminds her of the favor she owes him since he helped her with a big sale yesterday. Josie brings Ryan pastries from Beans as a thank-you, but he regards the act of kindness with suspicion. She stays for the current book club discussion happening in Happy Endings and is surprised by the depth of the conversation. Afterward, she helps Ryan tidy up the store. When he asks why she’s helping, Josie admits that she feels she owes him.

Ryan asks about her aversion to romance novels. Rather than open up to Ryan about her mother, she instead says they’re predictable because they always end with happily ever after. Ryan argues that the journey matters more than the destination, but Josie argues that the world doesn’t operate on the assumption of happy ever afters. Their conversation is interrupted when Ryan gets a call from his parents about their upcoming anniversary party this weekend. When he mentions to Josie that his mom is badgering him about bringing a date, they joke about Josie attending as his date. However, the joke turns into a serious proposition on Ryan’s part, and Josie surprises herself by agreeing.

After a day of silence on BookFriends, Ryan finally answers Josie, accepting that she doesn’t want to meet in person yet. Ryan and Josie meet that weekend to travel to Maine for his parents’ anniversary. The drive takes a few hours, and they use the time to get to know each other prior to the event. They share where they grew up—Josie, the “bad” part of Newburyport; Ryan, the “nice” part of Winchester—and Josie shares that she has a sister named Georgia. Ryan shares that he has three older brothers, all married. John is a lawyer, Paul a surgeon, and Robert a nuclear engineer. When Ryan asks where Josie went to college, she shuts down and simply answers Emerson. She ends the conversation by turning up the music.

Needing to change into their party attire, they check into the hotel where Ryan has booked a room. There are no extra rooms available for Josie, so Ryan decides to stay at his parents’ so she can take the bed. They are both equally awed by their suit and dress. At the event, Ryan is dragged away by old relatives and friends wishing to catch up. Eventually, he notices Josie has been targeted by Uncle Frank, Ryan’s father’s “pervy old college roommate” (188), Ryan saves her by stealing her for a dance. Josie relaxes into Ryan, surprising him. His parents pause the event to give a speech about their happy, 50-year marriage, and when the music resumes afterward, Ryan asks if Josie wants to leave.

Josie and Ryan walk along the beach sharing a bottle of champagne he stole from the venue. While Josie enjoys Ryan’s family, she is intimidated by the success of his older brothers. Ryan tells Josie he wants love like his have parents someday, but he’s been hesitant to put himself in a position to get his heart broken again.

Ryan explains that he loves romance because he loves helping people find stories they can see themselves in; Josie explains that she loves literary fiction because it’s “like mining for diamonds” and so worth it when she finds a jewel (195). They both agree that each genre provides escape for them. When Ryan asks how she copes with reading stories with tragic endings, Josie explains that she knows she can put the book down at any time—whereas, if you are living a real-life tragedy, there’s no closing the book.

They become slightly intoxicated from the champagne, and Josie flirts with Ryan and kisses him. The kiss turns heated quickly, and they nearly have sex on the beach but are interrupted by a passerby. With the moment ruined, Josie states that she should get back to the hotel. Ryan walks her to her room, but when Josie discovers he’s returning to stay with his parents, which will ruin their ruse, she offers to let him sleep in her room.

Ryan and Josie share a bed, and Ryan respects her wish to keep their distance for the night. Before falling asleep, they apologize for misunderstanding each other’s genres and making assumptions about each other when they first met. When Josie asks what he’ll do if he loses the competition, Ryan tells her about the job opportunity with Gretchen. Josie admits she doesn’t have a plan B. They agree to be friends when they return to Boston, and Ryan agrees to pop into Josie’s bookstore and say hi occasionally. The next morning, Ryan wakes to Josie spooning him from behind.

After the weekend, BookshopGirl and RJ exchange messages on BookFriends. Josie claims her weekend was “okay” and she didn’t do anything special (211). RJ goes silent after that, which BookshopGirl finds suspicious. She continues to send messages for a day before offering an apology in case she said something wrong. She admits that she’s not great at connecting with people but values his friendship and misses him. Eventually, RJ finally responds to say that he’s been collecting his thoughts but that she hasn’t done anything wrong. He would love to meet her but respects her decision, and he misses her too.

Josie keeps her distance from Ryan following their heated moment in Maine. While avoiding him, she messages more with RJ, who leaves her feeling giddy. When she mentions going to IBNE, RJ says he’ll be going too, and Josie panics at the possibility that they’ll meet. RJ subtly mentions potentially meeting there, but Jose is against it still. She worries about messing up what they currently have.

Since realizing that people spend more time in Ryan’s bookstore than hers, Josie has integrated some of his tactics. She’s shifted some bookcases, made a reading nook, and highlighted specific books on the shelves. Customers are now spending more time in the store and buying more product. When Georgia sees Ryan and Josie together, she immediately realizes they are attracted to each other. Josie begins to worry about the end of the competition. Though she doesn’t want to lose, she sees how much Ryan’s store means to him and doesn’t want him to lose either. She begins brainstorming an action plan she hopes will convince Xander to keep them both on staff.

Later that day, Josie receives a confirmation email that she has been chosen to be on a panel at IBNE. She excitedly shares the news with Ryan. Meanwhile, when a woman backs out of the speed dating event at his store, Ryan asks Josie to fill in.

Ryan watches Josie’s store while she participates in the speed dating event. He regrets asking her, worried that she’ll meet someone she likes. When she returns after the event, Ryan pries about her dates while Josie asks about his store’s sales. Ryan explains that he sold only one book and that it took him 15 minutes to find it. Josie tells him the store is simply ordered by author’s last name. Ryan states that themed tables would have been a great place to put books outside the strictly alphabetized shelving in Josie’s store, then goes on to explain his complicated but fun system of arranging books by subgenres, tropes, and spice levels.

Though Josie doesn’t belittle Ryan’s system, she admits that she’d be unable to handle the chaos and argues that her store is efficient. Ryan replies that her store is too efficient, giving customers what they’re looking for immediately without giving them time to wander and make unexpected discoveries. When Josie mentions her mom, Ryan accidentally lets slip that he knows she reads bodice rippers, something Josie has only ever told RJ. Fortunately, Josie accepts Ryan’s excuse that she mentioned it in the car to Maine when they were talking about their families. Josie goes on to explain that her mom has hoarding tendencies and that’s why Josie prefers to keep everything clean and organized, including her store.

Josie mentions she has an idea that may convince Xander to keep both of them hired once he combines their stores. Ryan offers to grab dinner and talk about it—as colleagues—and Josie agrees.