“Ivy brought flowers and a nice fruit basket to enjoy with our lunch,” Mrs. Townsend tells him.
“Mr. Townsend, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” I extend my hand.
Though his movements are more measured than toward his family, he does shake my hand and nod.
“Welcome. A pleasure.”
Short, simple but yet feels approving in some way. I look at Andreas, who’s smiling down at me with a sparkle in his eyes. I finally see where he gets his personality from. On the surface he’s definitely more of his mom, but there are moments I’ve caught glimpses of his father.
“Your family’s wonderful,” I say when it’s just the two of us.
He rolls his eyes and laughs. “They’re crazy. You haven’t even met all of my siblings. Brace yourself. It’ll be a zoo during the party when everyone’s here.”
He leans in and kisses my lips. “Just promise you won’t run screaming for the hills once you meet everyone.”
Lifting on my tiptoes, I return his kiss. “Very little chance of that happening.”
His eyes narrow.
“Little chance means there’s still a possibility. Do I have to warn you again of what will happen if you try to get away from me, baby?”
It’s totally inappropriate the way my nipples harden given where we are right now, but the underlying growl in Andreas’ voice does crazy things to my body.
“I won’t be able to sit comfortably for a while?” I guess.
“Sitting will be the least of your worries,” he tells me.
“We’re eating outside,” Anastasia yells from the kitchen.
CHAPTER 35
Ivy
“Um, exactly how much money does your family have?” I ask as I look up at the massive five-story library that also just so happens to be named ‘The Patience Townsend Library of Williamsport.’
I had no idea this is what Mrs. Townsend and Andreas meant when they referred to ‘the library’.
“You told me your mother was a librarian. You didn’t tell me she owns the actual library.”
My gaze roams over the sleek red brick interspersed with the spacious windows.
Andreas grins as he runs his hand over the back of his head.
“My dad gifted it to her for their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary,” he explains.
I narrow my eyes on him. “Your father bought and named an entire library after your mother as an anniversary gift?”
He grins. “Technically, my father wasn’t the sole investor. There were other investors that contributed.”
I narrow my eyes at him.
“Okay, yes, they all invested less than half of what my father did, giving him majority ownership and naming rights. Thus …” He gestures toward the building.
It’s stunning.
“Let’s go check out those books my mom put on hold for you, huh?” He takes my hand and starts for the entrance.
The inside is just as beautiful and stunning as the outside. It’s evident Andreas knows his way around well as he leads me to the third floor. The librarian working there pulls a stack of books from behind the counter with a paper with his name on it.
