Page 1 of Read Between The Lines

ChapterOne

‘Good morning, beautiful. I wanted to leave a quick message to wish you a happy day. I fell asleep thinking about you last night and woke with your name on my lips. I can’t wait until you are with me in more than just my dreams. Sending love your way.’

I played the voice note, savouring the way Brian’s rich, deep tone made me feel all tingly and desirable. No previous boyfriend had ever called me beautiful, and their first thoughts on a morning had been either more coarsely expressed or merely caffeine-related. I pulled myself up. It was way too soon to be referring to Brian as my boyfriend, even in my head. As for the ‘beautiful’ thing, well, given that we were yet to meet in person, it was probably best not to let myself get carried away by that either. But there wasn’t any harm in listening to the message again, right?

‘Blimey, Kat, is that Hot Brian?’ My colleague Moira burst into the break room at full volume, making the most of not having to speak in the librarian-quiet voice we were encouraged to use when on duty in the reading rooms. She took the phone out of my hand and tapped the screen so the voice note started from the beginning again. ‘Maybe I should try online dating. I love that gravelly sexy thing he’s got going on there. It’s giving me serious Alan Rickman vibes, although I appreciate that’s probably more a my generation reference than yours.’

‘It’s okay, I know who he is. He was Professor Snape, and didn’t he play Colonel Brandon in that nineties adaptation ofSense and Sensibility? The original and the best, if you ask me. He came across as gorgeous and thoroughly decent. And his voice was yummy, just like Brian’s.’

‘I was thinking more of his role inDie Hard,’ said Moira with a grin. ‘I should have known there’s not an Austen adaptation you haven’t seen. Colonel Brandon in that film oozes sex appeal,andbehaves like a gentleman, what more do you want in a man? It sounds like you’ve finally got yourself a keeper, which means we need to come up with a stronger nickname for him.’ Moira flung herself down onto the sofa next to me, but her voice remained at the same volume. I smothered a grin at my friend’s exuberance. ‘Hot Brian’s a bit generic,’ she continued. ‘It always works better if there’s some alliteration in there, don’t you think? But B for Brian doesn’t really give many options. What’s his surname?’

‘James. Brian James.’ I realised I’d subconsciously mirrored the way James Bond famously introduces himself. It seemed appropriate. Brian had sent me a picture of himself in full black tie and he definitely could give 007 a run for his money.

Moira frowned. ‘Hmm, I’m still not getting inspired. It’s very’—she paused—‘ordinary.’

‘It’s solid. Dependable. And “a rose by any other name” and all that. Shakespeare knew what he was talking about,’ I said, feeling the need to defend Brian, even though I’d admittedly experienced a few pangs about it myself in my more superficial moments. Brian James as a moniker wasn’t quite up there with proper hero names like two of my personal favourites, Fitzwilliam Darcy and Edward Rochester, but as my sister Caro was always telling me, this was real life, not the rarefied world of fiction.

‘And remind me again, what does Mr Brian James do?’

‘He’s a soldier. An officer, if we’re being really precise.’

Moira fanned herself. ‘I don’t know how I forgot that.An Officer and a Gentleman, I hope. I hereby christen him the Sexy Soldier. Sexy Soldier, Lovely Librarian.’ She wolf-whistled. ‘I’m sure we’ve got that book in the romance section somewhere. One of those ones with the rippling biceps on the cover. I mean, there’s other stuff on there too, but that’s where one’s eyes tend to be drawn.’

I laughed. ‘Brian is sexy, it’s true. He hasn’t quite got the rippling biceps look, but he’s not far off. In fact, he’s way out of my league. I’ve no idea what he sees in me. I keep thinking he’s going to message me and say he’s made a horrible mistake, or worse, stop contacting me altogether.’

Moira folded her arms and frowned at me. ‘Now listen here, young lady. That’s enough of that talk. Women suffer enough with other people putting them down, without doing it to themselves. You are what I believe is known as a real catch. You’re lovely inside and out. It’s time you started believing that.He’slucky to be chatting withyou.’

I felt my cheeks grow hot. The reality was that I felt lucky Brian seemed so invested in our budding relationship. I was too used to being the ‘filler girl’– good enough to date, but not good enough to consider anything long-term with. I cleared my throat and mumbled my thanks.

‘Once more, with feeling.’ Moira was clearly not going to let this go.

‘Thank you, Moira,’ I said sheepishly.

‘Hmm, I guess that’ll have to do for now. Now remind me, how do I look at his profile pictures again? I could do with a bit of eye candy to brighten up the day.’

‘You can’t give me the feminist spiel one minute, then start objectifying men the next,’ I teased. ‘Besides, they’re for my eyes only.’

‘Oh, they’rethosekind of pictures, are they?’

My cheeks grew even hotter. ‘Absolutely not. Brian is one of the good guys. He would never dream of sending a dick pic.’

Moira chuckled. ‘Your face. It’s just too easy to wind you up. Go on, let me have a peek.’

Her exaggeratedly pleading expression was so ridiculous that I relented and showed her the latest snap of Brian. He was in full work mode, calmly directing the distribution of aid parcels in a village recently hit by an earthquake. When I’d asked him about it, he’d been adorably reticent, clearly worried that he’d come across as virtue signalling or showing off to score dating points, but that had only made me fall for him even harder. Who wouldn’t love a man who used his strength to help the vulnerable? And yes, I admit, he looked damn fine doing it too: powerful stance, strong jawline and kind eyes, all wrapped up in one.

‘Quite the Hollywood hero. And does the Sexy Soldier have a friend? Just keeping my options open, you know.’ Moira waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

‘I’ll ask him when we meet up,’ I said, knowing full well that Moira had recently celebrated her thirtieth wedding anniversary to the man she’d been with since her first year at university, and was as likely to join the dating apps as I was to start a bonfire using books as fuel.

‘And when exactly is that joyous occasion going to occur? You’ve been chatting for a couple of months now, haven’t you?’ she pressed. ‘I know half the fun is in the anticipation, but you’ve got to get to the really good stuff before long. I’ll spare you the “in my day” speech, but suffice to say, the hubby and I did not hang around.’

I sighed. ‘Mr Moira wasn’t answerable to the whims of the military. Brian’s on deployment for another month, but I’m trying to look on the bright side. The anticipation is making things more exciting, and at least this way we get to build a proper connection with each other. He’ll be back in Oxford before I know it.’

It had been a big disappointment to find out early in our conversations that Brian was on an extended overseas deployment. The main reason I’d joined this particular app, SO Ox, was that it promised to help people in my home city find their Significant Other through a mixture of virtual interaction and in-person events. That, and the fact that all members were carefully screened before they were allowed to join, which significantly reduced the chances of encountering the time wasters and ghosters who’d so disappointed me on my previous tentative foray into online dating. While my sister might tease me about my enduring love of the ‘happily ever after’, so common in the books I adored, I refused to believe that it was impossible to find in real life too.

‘I know Brian will be worth the wait,’ I added. ‘I have a very good feeling about where we’re heading. Besides, there’s something even more romantic about getting to know a person through emails and voice notes. I’m sure Jane Austen would have been into it if she lived nowadays.’ I glanced up at the clock and took a final gulp from my now-cold mug of tea. ‘Right, I’m going to love you and leave you. The front desk calls, and it’s nearly time for the lunch rush. You know what Mondays are like.’

‘Go forth, recommend those books, and solve those people’s problems. I’ll be back once I’ve had my biccies,’ said Moira, saluting me as I exited the room.

---