“Oh?” Malene folded her arms. “Have you finally decided to use your God-given talent of spell hunting and find yourself a spell that will knock her socks off?”
I shot Malene a dirty look. “I know you want me to spell hunt. You and Rufus, but I swear that I’ll do it when I’m ready.”
“Rufus?” Urleen said. “Who’s Rufus?”
Oh, crap. I’d let the secret escape.“John,I mean John. Not Rufus.” I slapped myself on the forehead. “What a dingbat. Can you believe I forgot his name? What’s gotten hold of me?”
Malene eyed me suspiciously. “I don’t know. What could have gotten into you?”
“Gosh, I don’t know, but I should be going.” I glanced at my watch. “Look at the time. I have an appointment.”
“With whom?” Malene asked.
Think of something, Clem.“Um, Lady has an appointment to get her nails painted. Wow. You have no idea how long it took me to get her in with the doggie salon.”
Of course Norma Ray had to say, “Do we have a doggie salon in Peachwood?”
“I don’t believe we do,” Malene replied. “Clementine, whatever you know about John, you’d better—”
“Bye, y’all! I’ll see you later, Malene! Urleen, have a great day. Norma Ray, get some glasses.”
With that, I zipped out of the library faster than you can say, well,zip.
I rushed outside in such a hurry not to be questioned by the quilting bee brigade that I didn’t look where I was going. Next thing I knew, I bumped into an incredibly hard body, headfirst.
“Ow,” I said.
“My chest! What is your head made of?”
I instantly recognized the voice and peered up to see Rufus smirking down at me. The sun’s rays pierced my eyes, and I tented my hand to see.
And also managed to poke my elbow in Rufus’s eye.
“Ugh.” He took me by the shoulders and gently pushed me back until we stood at arm’s length. “There. That seems like a safe distance. Unless you have a rocket launcher in that purse of yours, that is.”
“Very funny. I don’t have one, but if I did, I would be smart enough to point it in the opposite direction and not to run with it aimed toward my face.”
“Your parents taught you well.”
We stared, taking one another in. My heart fluttered in my neck as his dark eyes penetrated me, seeming to look into the depths of my soul. I found myself falling, my emotions swirling.
A stupid grin started to curl up on the sides of my mouth.
Rufus raked dark strands of hair from his eyes. “So.”
“So.”
“How are you?”
“Good.” His gaze sucked me in again. Had to break free. I cleared my throat, hoping it would help me to get my thoughts together. It did, sort of. “I mean, yes. I’m great. I have to put in a bid for a job.”
He motioned for me to walk past him. “Don’t let me stop you.”
Was he dismissing me? “You’re not. I mean, it’s okay. I have a few minutes.”
The wind kicked up, tousling my hair. A honey-red strand smacked against my lips, getting stuck in the gloss I’d applied earlier.
I swear. There were only two types of lip gloss—the awesome kind that was silky, and the other, glue-like type that everything stuck to, especially hair.
