The Little Bookshop On the Seine Read Online Free

leopard print mini skirt. “But, sheesh, this has come out of left field…you’re
leaving
?” Missy’s face contorted as she grappled with the idea of the bookshop exchange. Being my secret keeper, and my go-to person in times of need, the idea I’d done something so swiftly without asking for advice was a lot for her to reconcile.
    “One hot chocolate, and one gingerbread latte. Pray tell, what’s all this screeching ‘bout?” CeeCee asked, and plonked down on the old sofa across from us, putting her feet on the ottoman. “Lil,” she hollered. “Come sit, there’s somethin’ goin’ on over here.” She clasped her hands over the spread of her midsection, and gave me a pointed stare, her sweet brown forehead furrowing.
    “Well…” I tucked a tendril of hair behind my ear, waiting for Lil to join us.
    Lil waddled over, her baby bump so big she balanced a tray laden with chocolate truffles and gingerbread men on it. She handed us each a plate and sat next to CeeCee.
    “So,” Lil said, gazing at me curiosity in her big blue eyes. “What’s the story?”
    I rubbed my face, and took a deep breath. “I’ve agreed to exchange bookshops with Sophie in Paris. It all happened so quickly…she Skyped yesterday, and I said yes, without much thought.”
    There was an audible intake of breath from the girls. For the first time ever they were rendered speechless. Usually they’d chatter away and talk over the top of one another. I threw my head back and laughed. “Girls, I’m not going to Antarctica, or climbing Mount Everest. I’m going to Paris.”
    Lil cleared her throat, and composed herself first. “Wow, Sarah, just…wow. In a million years I would never have imagined you’d leave your shop. You
love
your shop. Your books are your
babies
.” Her bright blue eyes were wide with astonishment as she emphasized each point. Pregnancy suited Lil, her complexion was rosier than normal, and her blonde hair seemed to grow overnight, falling down her back in effortless shiny waves. Her face though, paled at my announcement. Did she think I was making the wrong choice?
    Lil hurried on: “It’s not that I don’t think it’s a good idea. I just…” her words fell away.
    “Ain’t nothing gonna change here. Youth is fleeting, I’ll tell you that for free. There comes a time where you either fish or cut bait, cherry blossom…go on and do what you gotta.” CeeCee, the warm-hearted mother hen of our group, said.
    Customers milled by the counter, waiting to order, but the girls were still too shell shocked to notice. I pointed them out to Lil. “Won’t be a minute,” she said, smiling to them, her cheeks now pink from disbelief.
    “What does that incredible hunk of a man…?” CeeCee’s eyes glazed over, as she lost her train of thought. “Mmhm, Mr Rippling Abs, if I was forty years younger…” her voice petered off and we all stifled giggles.
    “Cee!” Lil said, faux scandalized. “Can you focus?” We giggled into our hands. CeeCee had pet names for all of our partners, and always threw in the same line about being forty years younger. She was at the pointy end of her sixties, and spritely as a teenager despite her plump frame.
    CeeCee was looking past us, lost inside her daydream. Her head snapped back. “What? Just ‘cause I’m an old woman that don’t mean I can’t appreciate beauty! My eyesight still works plenty fine! And when I see that boy, and the way he struts up that street like he owns it, all smoldering-eyed, strong-jawed perfection, I just can’t quit starin’. Then there’s that sculpted body o’ his, I say to myself, I says, ‘now Cee, when it comes prayin’ time tonight, you remember to thank the Lord for that fine specimen o’ a man, it’s the
least
you can do’.”
    I almost spat out a mouthful of coffee, and tried my hardest to swallow it down without choking. Missy cackled like a witch and Lil gave Cee an astonished stare.
    “I think,” Lil said to me, trying to