Page 17 of How to Write a Rom-Com

“Sorry?”

“As your destination,” he explains, and again, the threat of a smile pulls at his lips. “You must be big into kayaking. Or wait, let me guess, hiking? You’re here for the trails?”

“Hah!”

Oh shit.

I quickly clear my throat, trying to cover up the fact that I literally just laughed out loud. “Sorry,” I say with a chuckle. “No, I am not big into those things actually.”

Liam twists his face in a way that suggest he thinks that I’m crazy. Honestly, I feel crazy. I didn’t realize how much lying to peoples’ faces was going to be involved in this trip. It doesn't make me feel good.

“So?” he prods.

“It came highly recommended,” I lie. “I was looking for somewhere affordable where I could sit outside and read all day.”

Good save, Lucy. Good save.

“Ah, well, Hudson Hollow is good for that too, I suppose,” Liam replies, still appearing uneasy about my answer. Or maybe he’s disappointed, I can’t quite tell.

“Tell me, what’s the takeout situation around here?” I ask. I’m not going to lie, I chose my college based on its proximity to good Chinese takeout. But I think if I ask what the Chinese food is like, I may sound a bit too much like Marisa Tomei inMy Cousin Vinny.

“You’re looking at it,” Liam muses.

“Oh,” I say, trying to wipe the shocked look off my face. “So, people don’t eat like… anywhere else?”

Liam rubs his fingers on his jaw. “Uh, there’s a Chinese restaurant in Catskill, but that’s about thirty minutes away.”

“Huh.” How do people live like this? I take another inconspicuous glance at Liam, trying to understand this person whose life is the polar opposite of mine. How do people survive on one restaurant? They cook the rest of the time? I can’t fathom that.

“Well, thank you for lunch and for the chat,” I say, hopping off the barstool. “See you around?”

Subtle nod in reply.

Once I’m out on the sidewalk I realize I’ve been sweating. Geez, it felt like an interrogation room there.

Oh, butLiam. When I first met him, I thought he was gorgeous (obviously), but I never thought he would be so intriguing as well. I’m desperate to know his story. Why open a restaurant in the town you grew up in? Wouldn’t you want to escape after college? And why Liz’s?

That boy is a book that needs his pages sniffed and devoured and I think I am the perfect person to do it.

Chapter Six

Operation Small Town, Day 5

The library in Hudson Hollow may be my new favorite place in town. No, scratch that. The world.

When I first passed the library, and I meanpassedit, because there was no sign for it, I didn’t give it a second glance. When I finally doubled back and realized I was in the right place, the nondescript building didn’t particularly excite me.

Boy, was I wrong. I know I’m not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but let’s be honest, I work in publishing, and we judge covers all day long.

Readers and publishing people understand the excitement one finds when stepping into a room full of books. We all first felt truly understood when the Beast revealed his library to Belle. Right then and there, having a library fit for a ladder on wheels became our dreams.

I feel a bit like Belle when she enters the Beast’s library. The library ishuge. There are two floors lining the outside walls, with a magnificent, tiled ceiling towering above. The circulation desk sits in the middle, surrounded by mismatched tables and chairs where a scarce number of people sit. How are there not more people here? How is this not atouristdestination? Look at all thebooks!

Okay, I might be overreacting. But libraries have always been my happy places. I lived in the library throughout middle school and high school, and I chose my college for its library. It had four floors—I never wanted to leave.

I make my way to the circulation desk and have to pause for a moment to decide how I’m going to approach this. I can’t exactly go up to this person and say, “I’m using this town for a book, can you tell me everything about it?”That would not only be blowing my cover, but I don’t think the locals would take too kindly to it.

“Are you lost?”

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