Elle shook her head.
‘Have you stalked him today on his socials?’
‘I’ve barely had time to do anything yet.’
‘There’s no time like the present. Let’s have a look at what he’s up to today. After all, it’s Valentine’s Day!’ Pippa insisted, whipping her phone out of her pocket.
‘Noah Jones,’ she murmured to herself as she waited for the app to open. ‘Honestly, I think I spend half my life waiting for apps to load.’
Elle smiled at her impatience. ‘I don’t think holding your phone up to the window actually makes it load any faster.’
‘Little do you know, Cooper,’ she said, stretching her hand further in the air. ‘Right, let’s have a look,’ she said, tucking her hand under Elle’s arm and holding the screen in front of them. ‘Here he is – Mr Noah Jones.’
Elle dropped her gaze to the screen.
‘It appears that Noah Jones is spending this Valentine’s…’ Pippa scrolled her finger up and down the screen.
‘Probably with his girlfriend,’ Elle claimed.
‘Doing nothing,’ Pippa said. ‘There’s nothing on his socials.’
‘That’s probably because he’s all loved up and hasn’t got time to tweet today.’ Elle felt a tiny slump in her mood. Why hadn’t she messaged him back? She could kick herself.
‘Such a pessimist.’ Pippa put the phone back into her pocket. ‘I suppose we best do some work and hope your mystery man doesn’t stay a mystery for too long, because I’m dying to know who he is.’
‘You and me both,’ replied Elle, pointing towards the door, through which a flustered-looking Wilson had finally arrived.
‘I’m sorry I’m late. A flat tyre is not what you need first thing in the morning.’ He looked towards Pippa. ‘I was hoping we’d have time for a chat this morning but I’m already late. I’ll put your deliveries against the back wall so they aren’t in the way of the reception, then I need to get going.’ Wilson stacked up the numerous boxes then turned back towards Pippa. ‘I’ll text you at lunchtime,’ he said, touching her arm as he walked past.
Once Wilson was out of sight, Elle turned towards Pippa. ‘Why would Wilson be texting you at lunch and what was that look between you?’
Pippa shrugged her shoulders dismissively.
‘Why do I get the feeling there’s something you’re not telling me?’
‘Shhh,’ she said as Aiden wandered out of the staffroom clutching a mug of tea.
‘There’s a cuppa on the table for you both,’ he said, before grabbing the duster and heading towards the shelves.
* * *
Luckily for Pippa, Elle’s interrogation was interrupted by a steady flow of customers exchanging books, and for the next ten minutes the only noise in the library was the thump of the date stamp and the turning of pages.
‘Gosh, that was a bit of a rush.’ Pippa sat back in the reception desk chair when she finally got a breather.
‘Wasn’t it just. Don’t think I’ve forgotten the conversation before the rush.’
‘Don’t! I’m feeling bad enough as it is.’
‘Feeling bad about what? What do you mean?’ Elle cast her eyes around the library. There was no one in sight. ‘You’ve clearly got something on your mind. I can tell. Come on. Staffroom. Let’s grab a quick five minutes.’
Pippa took a breath once they were seated with the door firmly closed. ‘There’s no easy way to say this except to say it how it is. The other night I met up with Wilson and we slept together.’
Pippa certainly had Elle’s full attention now!
‘You slept with Wilson,’ she repeated.
Pippa nodded.
