Page 41 of By the Book

“I’m pretty good right now,” I grin.

“And you’re fine with how they treated you in there?” she asks, her eyes wide in concern. “Because I was sitting there disappointed to be a part of the crowd.”

Something like hope stirs within me. I put an arm around her shoulder and curl her in. I need to clearly see the look on her face when I ask my next question. “Why did you leave the meeting?”

She sighs, settling her gaze on me. “I left because I’m absolutelynotfine with how they were acting towards you.”

“Do you agree with anything they said?”

“No, not in the slightest. I didn’t call you during the break in because you’re in charge, I called you because you’re… you.” She presses her fingers to her forehead. “That didn’t sound like I wanted it to.”

I remove her hand from her head and hold it against my chest. I know that like this, she can feel how rapid my heart rate is. How her words have affected me.

“It sounded exactly like what I needed to hear. I don’t care what the whole town thinks. I care about what you think.”

Voices are approaching from inside; the meeting must be over. I pull her up, pressing an urgent kiss to her forehead before the town descends upon us.

And I hate it, having to worry about hiding my feelings. Having to steal little moments. I want to take her in my arms and kiss her right atop these stairs, in the open for anyone to see.

“Let’s get out of here?” I suggest, taking a step back to ensure that I’m a safe distance from her now.

“There you are, Nessa is going to open the café for us. Coming?” Poppy asks as she steps outside.

Ivy looks at me before responding, her eyes holding a question. But I don’t have the answer. I don’t know how to make this work other than just giving in and trying to shield her from the fall out.

With a tight smile, I don’t make her try to choose. It’s an easy way to safeguard her tonight. “I’ll leave you to it. Goodnight, ladies.”

“What are you doing with that?” Ivy leans in the doorway of her shop, studying me with a healthy dose of skepticism.

Planting the ladder in my hands at the far corner of the store, I pass by her to get the security system from my passenger seat. “Weren’t you getting your inventory set back up?” I ask over my shoulder.

The patter of her steps follows behind me. When I reach the curb, I spin, coming face to face with her. She points a finger against my chest, fierce as a kitten.

“That’s not an answer.”

A chuckle escapes me as I wrap my hand around hers and lower her accusing finger. “Then let me show you.”

I turn back around and collect a cardboard box. “This is what I need the ladder for,” I explain, holding up the package.

Her eyes scan it and I watch the realization pass over her delicate features. “Is that… is that for here?”

“Hence the ladder,” I point out.

“You can’t just get me a security camera. That’s too much.”

Tucking the box under my arm, I grab my tool bag as well and step around her. Ivy follows me back inside, close on my heels.

“Wait, you don’t need to do this,” she argues again, this time placing her hand on my arm to stop me.

“I do. I need to. So could you please just let me?”

She curls her hand tighter around my arm. “If this is about the town meeting yesterday…”

I drop the contents in my hands and cup her face. “It’s not about this town, it’s not about doing my job. It’s about you, Ivy. I can’t sleep when I think about that night. It replays in my mind, your message needing help, the way you looked sitting amongstthe chaos after. I keep seeing these constant reminders that he stood inches from where you were hiding and it makes me completely sick. So let me do this.”

Before the last words have left my mouth, she wraps herself around me. She’s up on her toes with her arms tight around my neck. Her hair is straight today, like silken raven wings shining in the sunlight. It cascades down her back, and I take the opportunity to bury my face against her exposed neck, inhaling her sweet jasmine scent.

“Is that a yes?” I whisper, walking her back into the book stacks behind us.

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