‘You’re one of the most egotistical men I’ve ever met, but I agree that it would be fun and I reckon it’ll help spark a debate. There will be a lot of bookworms who will relate to wanting to stay at home to read. And there will be others that will look at you and think…’
I stopped to choose my words carefully. The last thing he needed was me to compliment him. If Ben had any more smoke blown up his arse, he’d take off like a hot air balloon.
‘And think what?’ He grinned.
‘There will be others who will look at you and think that they might want to go on a date with you.’
‘I think you’re absolutely right.’ Ben leant back in his chair and smiled like the cat that got the cream.
‘Ugh,’ I sighed. ‘I think you’re doing this because you love the attention.’
‘Nope. Just doing it to help the library. And you,’ he said, and I almost believed him. ‘Right, my work here is done. Let me know when you want to start filming.’ He walked towards the door. ‘Laters, Jeffries.’
‘Laters,Ben-evolent,’ I said, deliberately using one of the nicer nickname suggestions he’d given me. He’d really helped me out again and I wanted him to know I genuinely appreciated it. ‘And thanks.’
I expected Ben to gloat or reply with some kind of cocky comeback, but instead he just flashed that infuriatingly gorgeous Colgate smile and left.
17
BEN
As I strode down the corridor towards the main library hall, my pulse quickened.
For some strange reason I was excited.
Maybe I needed to go to the doctor and get checked out because surely no person in good health could be happy about coming to work on a Sunday morning.
Then again, it wasn’t as if I’d be doing some kind of hard labour.
I was here to meet Sarah to film another social media video. We’d done the first one a few days ago and it had gone just as well as I’d hoped.
Sarah had pitched the idea to Jess and Theo the day after our meeting and they’d loved it. So had the rest of the team.
Jane said she had some experience in filming, so offered to shoot the video. It’d taken a few attempts, because Sarah and I had burst out laughing several times, but we’d got there in the end and the finished version that Jane had sent over once she’d done some editing was brilliant.
Sarah said she was tempted to post it straight away but then decided it was best to get a few videos in the bank first. That was why we’d agreed to meet this morning and create some more.
So here I was, ready to be objectified and embarrass myself. I didn’t mind, though. If it’d help Sarah—I meant, if it’d helpthe libraryout, it’d be worth it.
As I pictured Sarah’s face, I smiled.
We’d got on a bit better this week. She seemed to really appreciate my help with the videos and it was nice to feel needed for a change.
Obviously, she still thought I was a tosser, not least because I hadn’t been a fan of the books she’d recommended so far. I’d finished the second romance she’d given me and it was just okay.
Like I’d said, I knew I wasn’t the target audience, so she could take my opinions with a pinch of salt, but the thing was, everyone at the library was so evangelical about the books they’d read and so perhaps my expectations were higher than they would’ve been ordinarily. I was waiting for her to give me something that was going to blow me away and so far it hadn’t happened.
I was still keeping an open mind, though. I knew Theo and Jackson both enjoyed romance, so I was tempted to just ask them what they liked, but this was ‘Sarah’s project’, so I didn’t want it to seem like I didn’t have confidence in her or was trying to undermine her.
After sitting on the sofa, I looked at my watch. It was only five to ten and we’d arranged to meet at ten, so I was early.
I got up and walked over to the bookshelves. It was strange to be here alone. The library was eerily quiet. I ran my hands across the colourful spines, taking in the book titles. Although I was starting to recognise a few of the author names, this world was still so alien to me.
But just because I wasn’t a romance aficionado, it didn’t mean that I couldn’t appreciate the significance of this place. This was like the equivalent of Disneyland for a Mickey Mouse fan. I saw how the members’ faces lit up when they spoke about their favourite books or authors. If we didn’t close the library, I’d bet that they’d all happily stay here until five in the morning just so they could keep reading.
I couldn’t imagine doing that myself, but I guessed it was nice that they had something they were passionate about. It was hard to think of anything in my own life that interested me to that degree.
Yes, I liked travelling, but sometimes it got kind of lonely on my own. So many of my friends were doing the whole marriage and kids thing, which meant that they couldn’t just drop everything and come away with me anymore like the good old days.
