When Harper returned to her little bookstore, she was positively buzzing with excitement. The book she carried in her arms, wrapped neatly in brown kraft paper, was an exceptionally rare first edition copy of The Tale of Peter Rabbit. It was one of her favorite books growing up, and every bone and every cell in her body seemed to be filled with electricity. There was nothing – absolutely nothing – that could be more exciting.

Except for perhaps the positively flustered man she had accidentally barreled into that morning.

The thoughts of the man had dissipated considerably once Harper reached Mr. Hawthorne's apartment. She wasn't sure what the man had to show her, and when he brought out The Tale of Peter Rabbit, it took everything in Harper not to weep. There was no way that she was going to be able to afford buying the book from him.

The green clothed board book looked to be in near-perfect condition with the exception of normal old book wear. The pages were starting to yellow on the edges, but the illustrations and the pages were as well kept as they could be, if not a bit loose. It wasn't anything that Harper couldn't fix herself if she was so worried about it. She knew that particular book, especially in the condition that it was, would go for no less than $5,000 dollars, and while she had a penchant for purchasing over expensive books, she was afraid that would be her limit.

When Mr. Hawthorne told her that she could just take the book, free of charge, Harper did weep. An open and ugly sob that would have had her incredibly embarrassed if it weren't for the fact that the old man had made he cry more than once. Whether it was from helpful advice on her business or sage wisdom about relationships, Mr. Edwin Hawthorne knew how to figuratively smack Harper in every single one of her emotions.

The very moment Harper stepped into The Enchanted Inkwell, Lily rounded the corner of a tall bookshelf and stood in front of her expectantly.

"Well?" Lily asked, eyes dropping automatically to the brown paper parcel that Harper held tightly to her front.

"You are never going to believe this!" Harper gushed, rushing towards the small backroom that the bookstore had. She ignored the piles of books dotting the floor, some in boxes and the half put away on the carts she used to restock the bookstore and carefully placed her new precious collectible on a nearby table. She gave Lily a look of pure delight as she joined her in the back room. "Ready?"

"Anything that has you this excited has to be good."

"It's better than good!" Harper said as she delicately undid the packaging and laid it flat so that the cover of the book was in the open. "Tada!"

Lily's jaw dropped the moment that she realized what exactly was in front of her. "You've got to be kidding me," she said in awe. "Is it –"

"A first edition? Yes!"

"Wow," Lily said slowly, blowing out a whistle. "How much?"

Harper was unable to contain her squeal of joy. "Eddie gave it to me!"

"You're kidding."

"No!" Harper said before sighing and flipping through the pages for a few minutes before wrapping the book back up. "It needs a little bit of work, but I might just leave it alone because it's so nice."

"Put it in its own special little box and display it?"

"If only," Harper sighed longingly. She gave Lily a beaming grin. "It'll sit nicely on my bookshelf, though. Let me go get it upstairs and then you can head out. I can handle the store for the rest of the day."

"Awesome," Lily said. "We're still on for tonight, right?"

"You know it."

With book placed safely within the walls of her apartment, Harper returned to the sanctuary of The Enchanted Inkwell, settling herself on the stool sitting behind the register. She was proud of what she had made of the bookstore, an impulsive purchase on her part when the old owner, Mildred, decided that she wanted to retire. The old woman couldn't bear to close the shop after her husband Henry had passed away, and Harper, a longtime customer, couldn't bear to see the old building shuttered. The shop and apartment overhead were nestled on a relatively quiet street corner and was a refuge for book lovers of all sorts. It became a home away from home for so many who passed beneath the twinkling bells overtop the doorway.

For Harper, the bookstore was her home in every sense of the word. The historical charm of the dark woods and the iron spiral staircase that led to the second floor made Harper happy. Seeing the bookshelves filled with books of all genres, from romance to religious non-fiction to unclassifiable works by independent authors left Harper feeling at peace. The air, full of the promise of imagination and the scent of paper was a welcome respite from the overwhelmingly busy city sidewalks.

The bookstore was surprisingly emptier than usual, leaving Harper alone with far too much time to think. She ran through her day, thinking about how it had gone. The afternoon had gone extremely well after having lunch with Mr. Hawthorne, but her morning? Well, that had been an absolute disaster.

It wasn't the first time that Harper had gotten up late. She wasn't exactly known for being perfectly on time. It was so well known that one of her customers had jokingly brought Harper a new display with her hours with "suggested" times that the store might open. Harper loved it so much that it still stood next to the entrance and had served its purpose well. Most people didn't give her a hard time about it, but those new to The Enchanted Inkwell would grumble and complain until they stepped foot into the store. It was as if the store had magic powers.

I bet that man from this morning would complain, Harper thought to herself as her thoughts began to drift to the man she had run into. She could feel her face begin to flush as she thought about the fact that she had been in the man's arms for probably far too long. Harper could clearly see the man's face in her mind – his dark hair and equally dark eyes that were wide with surprise as he held her. His face bore a faint stubble as if he had decided that morning he just didn't feel like shaving. She thought about his dark grey long-sleeve button up that had the top two buttons undone that he wore underneath his denim-colored utility jacket.

With a small flutter in her stomach, Harper felt herself grow warmer. What was wrong with her? Sure, the man had been attractive, but there was no reason why she should be feeling the way she should over someone she had accidentally run into. Besides, just from his looks alone he was far too straight-laced for her. Probably one of those office executive types that promised that they could keep up with her, but never could.

Suddenly feeling anxious, Harper rose from her place behind the register and began to tidy up the books that were out for sale. She desperately needed a distraction and still had a few more hours before the bookstore closed. She brushed her fingers over the spines as she passed each book, ensuring that not a single title was out of place.

As customers would pass through the doors, Harper would be quick to greet them, popping her head around the corner of a bookshelf and waving. She would stop what she was doing to help whoever came in find what they were looking for or leave them to their own browsing if they commented they were just looking. It didn't matter to Harper – the more people who came into the bookstore, the more people could hopefully experience what she did: bliss.

Just before closing, Harper looked up from arranging a display on local authors to find that a regular customer of hers, Mrs. Abernathy, a delightful and whimsical woman with a penchant for steamy romances, walked in.

"Good afternoon, dear," Mrs. Abernathy greeted, her eyes twinkling as she peered around the first floor of the store before her gaze settled on Harper. "Something's different."

"Nothing's different," Harper laughed. She leaned against a nearby bookshelf, wincing as she felt it wobble slightly with a groan from the wooden floorboards underfoot. She would have to remember to put a shim underneath the shelf to stabilize it later. The old floors were beautiful but weren't always too thrilled with the weight of the books.

"No, something is different," Mrs. Abernathy insisted. "Anything exciting happen in the magical corners of your store today?"

"Oh, just the usual," Harper said with a laugh. "Just the books coming to life and all of these magical characters leaping from their pages." A smile played slightly on Harper's lips. "Although, I have to admit that there's a touch of the unexpected in the air. I'll leave you to it, though."

Mrs. Abernathy gave Harper a knowing look as she browsed the shelves as if she wasn't going to find herself in the romance section. She stayed amongst the bookshelves for a while before making her selection of one of the newest romances released on the market. Mrs. Abernathy was quiet the entirety of her transaction until the very end, where she reached out and took one of Harper's hands in both of hers.

"I hope whoever he is, he's worth it," Mrs. Abernathy said with a wink. She let go of Harper's hand, took her bag with new purchase from a now stunned Harper and left.

Harper let out a noise of disbelief and shook her head. Sometimes she didn't know what to make of the old woman, as brilliant as she could be. How could the old woman know that her thoughts had been on the man she had run into that morning? Then again, Mrs. Abernathy wasn't all knowing to realize that she would never run into him again.

She sighed as she looked up at the old cuckoo clock on the wall. It was nearly closing time and she doubted any other customers would pass through the shop. Harper decided to close up the bookstore and head out. She had plans with Lily and she was not going to miss them.