Page 34 of Between Now & Heartbreak

“I’m sorry about that. I just don’t want to give them something to gossip about.”

“Why is it gossip worthy for you to talk to a library visitor while you’re helping him?”

“It’s a very small town,everythingis gossip worthy.” She says in a serious, clipped tone. Her eyes are trained on the door, her body tensed as if she’s waiting to make sure no one’s coming in behind us.

I hold up the keys and dangle them in front of me. “I locked it. And think me holding these is breaking some sort of ordinance. Leah made it clear that civilians aren’t to touch the key.” I stretch my arm toward her, the key dangle

She looks at the keys and then looks at my face, her eyes are full of indecision that in direct contradiction to the certainty that’s building in me.

“I don’t bite, Beth,” I lie.

“I know that,” she smiles a little too brightly, her pretty white teeth gleaming, as she walks toward me like she’s walking to the edge of a cliff.

She plucks the keys from my fingers and I stifle a chuckle at the way she’s so very careful not to touch me.

She glares at me and drops the keys in her pocket and takes a step back, straightening as she smiles from her safe distance.

But whether I’ve been on two thousand miles away or right here, I haven’t stopped thinking about this woman since the night we met. And I have to know if there’s a chance to get things right.

“You know you can touch me. I’m not contagious.”

She throws her head back, and laughs to herself.

“Share the joke.”

Her expression sobers, but her eyes grow even warmer.

“It’s not really funny. It’s just that you’re so wrong. You’rehighlycontagious.”

I laugh because she’s damn delightful and I reach out for her. “Beth—”

“Let me turn on the machines for you,” she turns and walks over to the first of the huge machines lined up against the wall.

“You don’t have to do that,” I say, and turn to follow her.

“I do actually. They’re really temperamental. Hold on,” she mutters and reaches behind the computer to fidget with something.

I walk over, too. But I stop far away enough to respect the space she clearly wants to keep between us. For now.

“So, you’re an IT expert volunteer?” I ask

This time her laugh comes easy, and I wish she was facing me so I could see her face. She's so pretty when she laughs.

“Hardly. There’s a wire back here that always comes loose. We used to let people plug it back in themselves until a lady electrocuted herself. I think these machines are like fifty years old. So, we keep it locked so no one can just wander in inadvertently start a fire or something.”

The machine beeps and the screen lights up.

“There you go. All set.” She straightens, and runs her palms down the front of her skirt. My eyes follow their path, greedy to do the same thing with my own hands.

“Thank you. Do I need to get someone to lock up when I leave?”

“No, you can lock it from the inside.” She’s looking everywhere but at me.

I can’t look anywhere but at her. And I don’t want her to leave before I’ve said what I need to.

“Are you in a rush?”

“So, how’s your family?—”

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