“And what makes you say that?”
“Because we fit together.” The thought just came to him, but now that it was out of his brain, it made sense.
“You figured that out after a movie and coffee?”
“Well, there was something else that clued me in.” When he saw her cheeks flush, he smiled. She wasn’t as cold as she appeared. “You felt it, too, didn’t you?”
“I . . . ,” she whispered, not looking at him.
He brushed away a stray lock of hair that had loosened from her updo. “Maybe we should give this . . . give us . . . another try?”
She looked up at him, and what he saw in her eyes was far from emotionless. It was passion, pure and simple. And quite unexpected from her typical staid demeanor. Pleasantly unexpected, and it made him want to hold her again. But he didn’t dare. He’d already been a cad, and he wasn’t about to make things worse by taking advantage of her again.
He was lucky she wasn’t furious with him for kissing her in the Sunset parking lot. He had never kissed on the first date, and they hadn’t even officially had that. But he’d had so much fun with her at the café, and the undeniable connection he’d felt made him lose his marbles. He’d only meant to give her a quick peck on the cheek.
Next thing he knew, she’d been in his arms, kissing him, and he was in heaven.
“Are you serious?” she said, her voice featherlight and tentative. “About us?”
He couldn’t stop himself from moving closer. “Yes. I am. And I promise this time, Olivia Farnsworth, I won’t let you down.”
“You used my last name.” A smile played on her lips. “That must mean you’re serious.”
He chuckled. Touched a lock of hair, then rubbed it between his thumb and forefinger before letting it go again. This intelligent, serious, cute woman with a subtle sense of humor and the softest hair imaginable was knocking him off his feet.
Who would have thunk it?
Her fingers touched his teal necktie. “How do I know you’ll keep your word?” She lifted her gaze, a miniscule twinkle in her eye.
He swallowed. “Maybe we should shake on it?”
“Hmm.” She placed her palms on his chest. “I’m not sure that will be enough.”
His arms circled her waist. “Have any suggestions?”
She stood on her tiptoes and whispered, “A kiss will do.”
She didn’t have to ask twice. He bent down and kissed her, holding back as much as he could. She’d given him a second chance, and he didn’t want to blow it. “Believe me now?”
Olivia nodded. “Yes,” she said. “I do.”
“Good. Because I’m going to call you tonight after the wedding, and we’ll set up a date. And I promise you, Olivia Farnsworth, it will be the best one you’ve ever had.”
* * *
He never called.
Chapter 2
One year later
“Beau’s thinking about coming for a visit.”
Olivia glanced up from her computer behind the library checkout counter. She, Flo, and her other assistant, RaeAnne, were closing for the evening. “Who’s Beau?”
“My grandnephew.” Flo straightened the stack of bookmarks Olivia had ordered for the after-school students who hung out in the library until their parents picked them up. School was starting in a week, and there was still so much to do.
“He’s the one you’ve been trying to fix Olivia up with, right?” RaeAnne said. She was straightening the New Arrivals display a few feet from the desk. “Is he still living in his mother’s basement?”
Flo scowled. “He’s still—”
“Finding himself,” Olivia and RaeAnne said at the same time.
“Very funny. I’m sure if he met the right woman, he’d make her a wonderful husband.”
Olivia tuned Flo out. She had books to order and snacks to unpack for the vending machine in the seating area away from the bookshelves, and she had to catalog the shipment of magazines they’d received earlier in the day. And she had to get all that done before she met up with her friends at Knots and Tangles in—she glanced at her watch—less than ninety minutes. The Chick Clique, they called themselves. Well, Riley, Anita, and Harper did. Olivia hated the cheesy name.
“Olivia? Olivia?” RaeAnne said.
She continued typing. “What?”
“Maybe you should give Beau a chance.”
“Exactly what I’ve been telling her for over a year now,” Flo huffed.
“Not interested.” She tapped on the keyboard.
RaeAnne sighed. She was ten years older than Olivia and married with two young boys. Blissfully married, as she liked to remind Olivia and Flo at least twice a week. “I don’t understand. You’re cute as a button. You should be hitched to some handsome man by now.” She turned to Flo. “Is Beau handsome?”
“I think so. His mother does too.”
Olivia resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
“You know who she reminds me of?” Flo went to stand next to RaeAnne. “The actress in that mummy movie. What was it called?”
“The Mummy?” RaeAnne supplied.
“Yes, that’s it.” Flo snapped her pudgy fingers. “She was a librarian too. Very smart. Knew Egyptian. She was also pretty. Had dark hair, right?”
“Yes.” RaeAnne rearranged two of the hardback books. “But she was English, not half Hispanic.”
“I’m a quarter Hispanic.” Olivia continued to type, unable to let the error pass. “Puerto Rican. On my mother’s side.”
“The English librarian was also taller,” Flo pointed out.
“And adventurous,” RaeAnne added.
“Well, we all know Olivia’s not adventurous.”
Olivia glanced up from the computer at Flo’s regretful tone. “Not everyone has to be adventurous. There’s a lot to be said for staying close to home.”
“You mean staying in a rut,” RaeAnne mumbled.
Olivia winced. The rut thing again. It had been a year and two weeks since she’d taken a chance on getting out of her rut and ended up crash-landing into heartache. Twice.
“You know,” Flo said, turning off the lights in the children’s section of the library, “maybe what Beau needs is an adventurous woman. That might be just the thing to get him out of—”
“His mother’s basement?” RaeAnne chuckled.
“His rut. I’ve been reading about analysis paralysis in this month’s issue of Psychology for Everyone, and some people overanalyze everything that might go wrong. Therefore, they never take a risk. Sometimes they don’t move forward at all.”
Olivia’s back teeth clenched as she shut down the computer. “It’s 5:30 p.m.,” she said, eyeing both busybodies. “Quitting time.”
RaeAnne saluted her. “Off to the store I go. Trent and I are taking the boys to Lake Catherine for the weekend, and I have a mile-long list of things I still need to get. At least we have the tent and two coolers already.”
“Don’t forget the sunscreen.” Flo fell into step beside her as she headed for the break room next to Olivia’s office in the back of the library. “It’s going to be a scorcher on Saturday.”