I bite my lip to keep from laughing. "I know that now, Sidney."
"Where are you? You better have been joking about being on the way to jail."
One brow rises toward my hairline. "Well, hello to you, too, Cranky Bear. My day at work was great. I helped an elderly man get his first library card, and then he asked me to marry him."
"What the fuck?"
Oh, wow. I didn't know it was possible to feel a growl from the other end of a phone, but that one definitely made things twitch.
"I'm pretty sure he was only kidding. His wife was with him. How was your day?" I ask, trying desperately to pretend that my panties aren't getting suspiciously damp.
I do not like Sidney Hawkes.
I do not like Sidney Hawkes.
I do not like Si—
"Better now," he growls. "Where are you?"
"Jeez. You're like a dog with a bone over this jail thing. I'm on my way home from Tye's. I didn't even do anything illegal today."
"Only today?"
"Mind your business, Hawkes."
He chuckles, the deep sound making my stomach flutter. God, he's got a great laugh. "You busy tonight?"
I think about the stack of books in my bag, waiting to be read so I can decide if we'll stock them. "A little bit."
"Doing what?"
"Reading."
"You're a little bit busy reading?" he asks, a smile in his voice.
"Yes," I huff. "I'm a librarian, Sidney. Librarians read."
"What about tomorrow. You busy reading then?"
"Um…no?"
"Good," he grunts. "Be ready at six. I'll be at your place to pick you up."
"What? Why?"
"You want your mom to believe we're dating, butterfly?"
"Yes…"
"Then I'm taking you out."
I gape at his number on my navigation menu. "But I thought…"
"What?"
"I thought we'd just start this weekend, when we go to Aspen?"
"Nope," he says. "We're laying the groundwork now. That way, by the time we land in Aspen, everyone will already know about us. Your mom won't have any reason to suspect you're trying to pull one over on her."
