WYOMING, Mich. (WOOD) — When James Jones proposed to his fiancé, he asked her if she wanted to go on an adventure with him. Now, the two have embarked on a new adventure: opening a romance-only bookstore in Wyoming.

Pages and Grapes is celebrating its grand opening Saturday at 1760 44th St. SW near Byron Center Avenue, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony set for 10 a.m. The festivities will include a giveaway of wine tote bags and a pop-up shop from CozmaLuna Nails at 1 p.m.

The bookstore offers a large variety of romance books, including books in Spanish, large print and a LGBTQ+ romance section, alongside products like candles, bath and body products and chocolate. Once it secures a liquor license, it will also have a selection of Michigan-made wine.

The story of the bookstore first starts when Heather Wejroch (who had worked in various industries and now works as a volunteer coordinator) and Jones (whose experience includes decades in retail and now in IT) were working on getting their bachelor’s degrees together.

Wejroch had to take an entrepreneur class last year, something she wasn’t interested in. The professor said to pick something connected with one of her passions and, as an avid reader, Wejroch started putting together a plan for a bookstore.

Originally, the idea started as an all-genre bookstore, but as the project progressed, she decided to make it a romance-only store with wine and candles. She was partially inspired by ‘BookTok,’ a TikTok community that discusses novels, especially those in the romance genre.

“They’ve created this whole community and it is just so inspiring,” she said. “(The romance genre) is just taking off. People are loving it.”

She liked seeing women come together to share reviews and discuss what they were reading.

“I turned in the paper,” she said. “And then I couldn’t let it go.”

Soon, she and Jones were looking into making the idea a reality, talking to lawyers and jumping through the necessary hoops. There was a learning curve and the process was at times frustrating and overwhelming. Wejroch thought about walking away, with other options for the couple including buying a house. But her fiancé pushed her to follow through, she said.

“James was right there. It’s like, ‘We’ve got this. You can do this. You have a vision, just push through,'” she said. “He was my rock.”

“We pushed through and here we are. Goals accomplished. Dreams accomplished,” Jones said.

Jones, whose kids and grandkids have stopped in to help out at the bookstore, said he believes you can achieve any goal you set for yourself.

“You have to create the steps,” he said. “Never let anyone tell you can’t do this, ‘You’re not good enough to do this,’ because you are. You do matter and you just keep pushing yourself. … You can accomplish whatever you want.”

As they get ready to open their doors, they said the excitement from the community on social media has been “overwhelming.”

“I am so excited that the day is finally here. It’s been a long road. It’s been a lot of work the last week, just pushing through. I can’t wait to have the community come in, give us their input, help us create a better bookstore,” she said. “And I’m terrified, we’re terrified. But it’s going to be fun.”

The goal is to build a community inside the store, with events like book clubs and author signings. The couple also wants their little store to help support Michigan small businesses.

In a few years, they also hope to add a wine bar.

Wejroch said opening up the bookstore has brought them closer together.

“We live the happily ever after,” she said.