She cleared her voice. “Is there more?”
“Do you have a few days off?”
She rolled those gleaming eyes. “I’m going to work now.” She secured her purse on her shoulder. “Be here when I’m done. We’ll talk then.”
Hunter fist pumped the air and dropped to sit on the ground in front of her door. “My ass will be right here.”
~*~
Was she really going to forgive him? How many kinds of stupid could one woman be?
He’d lied to her.
Because he had to.
Maybe that was a lie, too.
No, it was not.
She dropped her purse and coat in the little office at the library, turned on the coffee machine, and walked back to the front desk.
Okay, maybe he was not lying now. Then what?
Talk to him. Tell him he hurt you because he’s the only person you want to trust. Tell him you’re a complete idiot because even though he was an ass, she loved him too.
She dropped into the office chair, the movement so heavy she rolled back and hit the wall.
She’d caught feelings a time or two in her life. She knew how it was.
This was a shit ton worse.
She could feel it, crawling under her skin like a whisper, humming at the corners of her thoughts. That tug. That damnpull.Like part of her was always tuned to him now, even when she didn’t want to be.
You want to be.
Yeah, okay, her stupid conscience could go take a hike right about now.
In the quiet of the still-empty library, the coffee machinebleepreached her, and she went to fill a cup.
So. This is what she would do: she would work, because it soothed her nerves.
There was the New Year display to set up.New Year, New Youwas the obvious angle, and she would abide by it, but she wasn’t going to dismiss the fact that the holidays could be brutal. Too quiet in some places, too loud in others. She knew. And so, she’d make sure the display had hope in it. Not forced cheers or empty resolutions wrapped in guilt, but a reminder to those who needed it that they made it to today, and it was enough for now.
She wandered the aisles, pulling titles that would give that gift.Wintering. The Book of Delights. Tiny Beautiful Things.A well-loved copy ofThe House in the Cerulean Sea,soft around the edges. And a few slow-burn romances, where people were allowed to fall apart and still find love waiting.
Talking about lessons to be learned.
She wheeled the cart to the display section, started arranging the books, her focus only on that job. By the time she stepped back, the table was a little crooked, one sign curling at the edge, but it was full of stories that carried gentle hope. It was almost lunchtime by the time she was done. Perfect. She would take the break, then catalog the big pile of books donated at Christmas. And when she was done there–
Shouts and horns from the street boomed inside, and the commotion was loud enough to make her walk out to check.
A boy of maybe five stood near the crosswalk closest to the library building, holding a blue stuffed shark by the tail. His little body swayed, like he was listening to music no one else could hear. He looked around him, giggling faintly, as if something unseen were circling him.
Daphne started running the second his sneakered foot stepped off the curb while the traffic light was still green for the cars.
“Hey! Hey–wait!”
Her boots hit the pavement hard, and she was flying to him. She snatched his hand, yanking him back with a speed she didn’t know she had. A cold shiver buzzed down her back when he looked up at her. His green eyes were too wide and glassy. He had the sweetest smile–and whispered in a wheezing voice, “We know what you are.”
