He towered over her, dressed in black jeans and a gray, rib-knit Henley that hugged his physique. His dark hair was softly disheveled, parted loosely at the temple with waves brushing forward and framing his brow. The gray of his shirt nearly matched his eyes.
“And how do you know my name, cat thief?” A smirk stretched across his lips, the kind of grin that belonged to someone who never lost a bet.
Cali flinched. “I’m not—I didn’t mean—” She found herself tongue-tied. “It was Minka,” she confessed.
“I’m impressed with how fast you do your research.”
He stepped closer and leaned against the doorframe. So close he could press into her if he took just one step more. So close she could make out a shadow of stubble along his jawbone. So close she could smell his cologne, like cedarwood and vanilla with spice. She felt the grip in her hands loosen, a slow rush of heat building in her abdomen.
“Hey!” Leo hooted from the back of the library. “Look what the cat dragged in!”
Chapter 3
Ethan’s gaze reluctantly pulled away from Cali’s face as Leo ran up behind her. Side by side, they could’ve passed as brothers, minus the dimple thing. Both dark hair, well built. But Ethan had more of an edge to him.
“Glad to see you finally made it. C’mon in, man.” Leo wedged between them, wrapped an arm around Ethan, and escorted him away. Cali made a mental note to murder Leo later and locked the door again. She could overhear Leo continue as he pulled up an extra seat for Ethan. The circle widened to make room for them. “I said Nine Lives doesn’t start until about 8. What brings you here early, buddy?”
Cali cleared her throat and took her seat again at the opposite side of the circle. She sent an icy stare in Ethan’s direction.
“Well …” Ethan started, hesitantly, piecing together how he may have interrupted something sacred. “I was going to grab a bite at the café, but it was closed.” He glanced over at Minka, and she waved like a schoolgirl. “Then I thought I’d just grab a beer and wait instead, but the bar was also closed.” His eyes flicked between Lynne and the wine bottles. “So when I saw the light on inside the library, I figured I’d knock.” He glanced around the entire group once more. “Did I interrupt something? Why do I feel like I maybe should’ve known the secret handshake to be let in?” His eyes landed back on Cali, and she shifted in her seat.
“Oh no,” Tabitha chimed in. “We’re just the book club. And the Nine Lives club. Same thing. We were about to dive intoThey Both Die at the End. You read it?”
“Of course.”
Of course? What did he mean ‘of course’?
He leaned forward in his chair and rested his elbows on his knees when someone passed him a cup of wine. Cali watched as he pushed the Henley sleeves up to his elbows, revealing the tattoos. “Sorry,” he said with a muffled snicker, “I don’t think I caught everyone’s names.” He stared across at Cali. “Let’s start with you.”
Cali felt her face light on fire. Her hand instinctively rose to her collar, and she found her fingers fumbling the buttons along her chest. “Oh, me? I’m Cali.” She cleared her throat again. “Cali Jacobs. I’m the librarian here.”
“And the one who started the book club,” added Minka.
“And the Nine Lives club,” said Leo. “She’s being modest.”
“I don’t think we’ve ever seen you modest before, darling,” Mrs. Ellery said with a wink.
Cali ran her fingers through her curls. “So, um, Ethan … " She really did like the way his name sounded, the way her tongue pressed against her teeth when she said it. “Who else don’t you know here? We should probably start soon.”
Ethan turned toward the florist, Freya, and a couple others, including Mrs. Ellery. Once the conversation died down, Cali interjected. “Since this was my pick, I’ll start with the elephant in the room: the title. Were you surprised by the ending?”
A heated debate immediately ensued. Ethan rolled his eyes when Cali romanticized Mateo’s passive nature, and she returned the gesture when his speech about life’s randomness started to sound more like a lecture than a discussion. She accused him of being “too practical” in his takes. He called her “too soft” for needing a happy-ever-after. But then they bothbrought up the subtle-yet-possible direct involvement of Death-Cast in the main characters’ downfalls, which left the rest of the book club speechless. If Cali wasn’t mistaken, she caught the barest ghost of a grin on Ethan’s face—a true and genuine smile, not a smirk.
“Is this one of the banned books you’re trying to get in the display, Cali?” Freya asked.
Cali nodded. “If it’s LGBTQ+, you can bet someone doesn’t want you reading it. In fact, if it’s got sex, race, religion, or anything not strictly ‘vanilla,’ it’s inevitably challenged. That’s why I wish the library board would hear me out. Books like this need more attention.”
“They’re just stick-in-the-muds, Cali,” Mrs. Ellery offered. “I should know. I grew up with most of them. It’s not that we shouldn’t have a banned book display. It’s merely that the library’s never had one before.”
Leo downed what was left of his wine. “Not to break topic, but we’re already well past 8 p.m. Tell us more about this Maine Coon you spotted, Ethan. We’ve been texting about it all day.”
Leo’s pivot jarred no one, it seemed, but Cali, who shifted uncomfortably in her seat as Ethan recited the history between him and the Maine Coon kitten—and its stray mother before it ever appeared. He’d clearly found it before Cali had. A wave of embarrassment crept over her.
“I think his mother died,” Ethan explained. “I got all the construction crew guys looking out for his mom. We almost got her into a trap so I could get her spayed and checked out and bring her home. The Great Catsby’s been wanting a brother or sister,” he confessed. Cali almost spit out her wine.Catsby!Ethan saw her hand fly to her face but pretended not to notice. “Then she disappeared,” he continued, “and this little guy shows up on site instead, same colors, same tree where she alwayswaited and watched for the lady who put kibble out behind the library every morning.”
His voice trailed off. Cali was so flustered she could sink into her chair. No, through it. Right through the carpet and into the core of the Earth. No one knew she’d been doing that. No one needed to know! That was between her and the cats.
In a long, comedic delay, Minka exclaimed, “Oh! That must’ve been Cali you saw!”
