"Everything okay, boss?"
"Yeah," I said. "Just some family stuff."
He studied me for a moment. "You look like you're about to walk into battle."
Close enough, I thought, rubbing at the back of my head.
"Something like that," I admitted.
Marco grinned. "Does it have to do with the librarian?"
I sighed. "When doesn't it?"
The grin on his face intensified. "For what it's worth? I think she's crazy about you. The real you. So whatever you're worried about, it's probably going to be fine."
I wanted to believe him. Wanted to believe my mother and Caspian and everyone else who seemed convinced this would work out.
But I'd believed Sabrina too and that had been a disaster.
The difference was, Sabrina had never made me feel the way Amara did. She had never looked at me like I was someone worth seeing. And she had most definitely never made my dragon purr and ask to claim someone.
My phone buzzed with a text from Caspian.Mom just arrived to the office looking satisfied. I'm guessing she terrorized you into doing the right thing?
I typed back.Something like that.
His response came quickly.Good. Now actually do it. Amara's not Sabrina. Stop letting that witch ruin your life three years later.
I pocketed my phone and stared out the bakery window at the street beyond. The morning light was thin and pale, the kind that came with February, when winter wasn't quite ready to let go but spring was already pushing at the edges.
Tomorrow,I told myself again.
Tomorrow I'd go to the library and tell Amara everything. Tomorrow I'd find out if she was truly the girl I'd been waiting for. The one who didn't care about my status.
The one who only wanted me.
7
AMARA
The library was quiet in that specific way it only got at closing time. There were no rustling pages or whispered conversations. It was just the soft hum of the heating system and the occasional creak of old floorboards settling.
I was running my final check of the aisles, making sure no one had left books scattered on tables or tucked into the wrong shelves, when Mrs. Luna called out from the front desk.
"I'm heading out, dear. Don't stay too late."
"I won't," I promised, though we both knew I probably would. There was something comforting about the library after hours. I loved the solitude and the safety of being surrounded by stories that weren't my own.
The Valentine gala was just over a week away and my skin seemed to be crawling with anxiety. My mother had called twice today to remind me. Once to confirm I still had the dress and then she'd called again to tell me she'd made an appointment for my hair.
I'd barely been able to focus on work because I just wanted this event over with. I should have put my foot down and told her no, that I wasn't going.
Every time the door chimed, my heart jumped, hoping it was Kael stopping by on his lunch break. But he never came by here. And like, why would he? He had a bakery to run and a life that didn't revolve around a librarian who bought pastries every morning.
Stop it,I told myself. You're being ridiculous.
I locked the front door and flipped the sign to CLOSED, then headed back to my desk to grab my bag. My thoughts turned to the burgundy dress hanging in my closet at home, still in its protective covering. I hadn't tried it on since the boutique and part of me was afraid it wouldn't fit the same way. That I'd imagined how good I'd looked in it and how it had felt so right against my skin.
I worried that I'd imagined the way Kael had looked at me at the farmers market and told me I'd be beautiful.
