CHAPTER ONE
The third time my hip collided with the corner of my desk, I swore it was personal.
“Just once,” I muttered, rubbing what would definitely become another bruise, “I’d like to make it through a single day without injuring myself on stationary objects.”
The precarious stack of mythology books perched on the edge of the desk shifted ominously, and I froze, one hand still pressed to my hip. I watched in horror asNorse Mythology: The Comprehensive Guidetilted, then slid. I lunged, catching three heavy volumes against my chest whileDragons Through the Ageshit the floor with a dusty thump.
“Perfect,” I muttered, blowing a strand of hair from my eyes. “Just perfect.”
Mrs. Abernathy, our most faithful patron at eighty-seven years young, glanced up from her mystery novel, her eyes twinkling. “Another run-in with the furniture, dear?”
“The desk started it,” I replied, flashing her a smile before I scooped up the fallen book and added it back to the stack onmy desk, which was already buried under research notes, coffee mugs with varying levels of yesterday’s caffeine, and a collection of sticky notes with increasingly panicked reminders to myself.
I’d love to say such moments were rare, but my life was essentially a blooper reel with occasional moments of competence. Don’t get me wrong—I was actually good at my job. I could recite the Dewey Decimal System backwards while half-asleep, recommend the perfect book for anyone’s current life crisis, and repair a damaged spine with surgical precision.
I just couldn’t seem to navigate physical space without incident.
But another bruise was the least of my problems. I picked up my phone and stared down at the unsent text message, my thumb hovering over the send button.
“Come on, Clara,” I whispered to myself. “Just send the stupid text.”
Before I could make myself do it, someone dropped a book and the noise made me jump. My thumb, possessed by a particularly clumsy gremlin, slipped.
Message sent.
At least it was done now, and the Willowbrook Library remained blissfully silent around me, unaware that I’d just potentially humiliated myself. Afternoon sunlight slanted through the tall windows, illuminating dust motes that danced through shafts of light like tiny bookish fairies. My own personal library spirits, guarding forgotten tales and keeping watch over dog-eared pages.
Half-empty display shelves loomed mockingly beside me, waiting for the “Mythological Creatures: Fact versus Fiction”exhibit that my boss Mrs. Wilson expected to be completed by the time she returned from vacation at the end of the week. I’d actually suggested the exhibit myself in a moment of enthusiasm I now deeply regretted. The concept was solid—an exploration of mythological beings across cultures, pairing the fictional works featuring said creatures with nonfiction books examining their zoological origins.
The execution, however, was proving problematic.
The library, housed in a converted Victorian mansion, was charming in every way that mattered with original woodwork, stained glass accents, window seats perfect for losing yourself in a book—and completely impractical in every way that counted. Like, for instance, having fifteen-foot-high shelves with no way to safely reach the top shelves unless you were an NBA player or possessed wings.
The old rolling ladder had broken last week—under me, naturally—and until a replacement arrived, the top shelves might as well have been on the moon. Which was a problem, because all the oversized, beautiful, absolutely essential display books lived approximately three feet beyond my reach.
I checked my phone again, staring at the message I’d just sent to Mark Harrison, my across-the-hall neighbor with the easy smile, impossibly blue eyes, and—most importantly right now—a pickup truck and handyman skills.
We weren’t friends exactly, more like familiar strangers who occasionally collected each other’s misdelivered mail. But a few days ago, after he’d helped me carry groceries up three flights of stairs following an unfortunate paper bag collapse in the lobby, he’d scribbled his number on the back of a Home Depot receipt.
“If you ever need anything,” he’d said with a wink that I still wasn’t sure how to interpret.
Had he really meant it, or would he now think I was completely unhinged based on the text I’d just sent?
Hi Mark! It’s Clara from 3B. Sorry to bother you, but I have a bit of a ladder emergency at the library where I work. Need to reach some high shelves for a display, and our stepladder is basically a death trap. Any chance you could lend me one? Or even better, bring one by? I’d be eternally grateful! My bullheaded boss left for vacation and expects this done by her return. Help?
The mortification was almost enough to make me want to hide behind the reference desk for the remainder of my professional career. I’d debated for thirty minutes about whether to text him at all, then spent another twenty minutes crafting and deleting various versions of the message.
In my defense, I’d only had four hours of sleep after staying up researching differences between Eastern and Western dragon mythology. The multiple exclamation points and emojis were clearly a symptom of desperation and caffeine.
I glanced anxiously at my phone. No response yet.
Maybe he’s at work. Maybe he’s asleep. Maybe he’s wondering who the crazy emoji lady is and why she’s talking about bullheaded bosses.
I bit my lip, suddenly second-guessing myself as I stared at the crumpled piece of paper. His handwriting was terrible, but I’d been too distracted by… well, by him and the way his T-shirt had hugged his shoulders to ask him to clarify it.
I looked down at the number again. The last digit—was that a 7 or a 9? I squinted, trying to remember. I assumed it was a 9, but hadn’t he said something about lucky sevens?
A cold feeling settled in my stomach.
