#Chapter 67: Bookish Date

Emily I was trying not to get used to surprises when Logan declared at breakfast that we were taking the day off. I meant to protest, but honestly, I could use a break… and I had enjoyed the craft fair and his company more than I let on. But I knew the street before we even turned onto it. The narrow brick lane ran behind the old municipal hall, where ivy overtook the wrought-iron fence and the sidewalk was full of cracks. I hadn’t been down this street in years. Not since I was seventeen and desperate to be anywhere that didn’t reek of my stepmother’s perfume and the judgment that clung to every hallway of the Blackwood Pack. Logan pulled the car to a slow stop, eyes flicking toward the storefront beside us. A green-painted door. Gold lettering on the glass, slightly faded but still intact: Wren & Wisp Bookshop & Café. My chest tightened. “You know this place?” I asked, voice light but brittle around the edges. Logan unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door. “I