Page 15 of Love Around the Corner

Leo couldn’t help it, Carter’s smile provoked one his own. “Go on,” he said. “Surprise me.”

“Okay then. I’m listening to an audiobook. You probably don’t approve, but I prefer audio to print.” He lifted an eyebrow. “I’m not a great reader, as you know.”

A flush crept into Leo’s cheeks, his comment about the sign outside Carter’s shop fresh in his mind. He considered apologizing, but there were too many people around, so he just said, “What’s the book?”

After an assessing pause, Carter said, “Madam Bovary. It’s by—”

“Gustave Flaubert. Yes I know.”

“Right.” A wry smile. “Of course you do.”

“Are you enjoying it?” Leo said. “What do you think?”

“Iamenjoying it.” Serious all of a sudden, Carter turned thoughtful and— Wow, he was handsome when he was thinking. “I’ve only just started it, but…” He trailed off, flushing. “Ah, you don’t wanna hear my thoughts. I’m sure you’ve read it.”

“I have,” Leo said. “But I do want to hear your thoughts.”More than you know.

Carter gave him a wary look. “I guess I’m finding it hard to warm to Emma Rouault as a heroine.”

“Yeah, she’s never going to be anyone’s favorite.”

“Right. But I guess that’s the point?” He looked uncomfortable. Like a man, Leo thought with a sinking sensation, expecting to have his opinions belittled.

So he nodded, trying to look encouraging. “Sure. I don’t think we’re necessarily meant tolikeher.”

“But you don’t have to like a character to find them compelling,” Carter added cautiously. “You just have to be engaged by them. Even if it’s in a negative way.”

“More of an Emma Woodhouse than a Lizzy Bennet?” Leo suggested.

Carter’s whole face lit up. “Except Emma Woodhouse learns her lesson in the end,” he said. “She changes and makes amends. I’m guessing Emma Rouault doesn’t…”

“Well.” Leo smiled. “That’s French literature for you.”

Carter laughed, a bright burst of amusement, and something flashed between them: a connection, an understanding—a spark. For a weird, dissonant moment, Carter superimposed himself over Leo’s mental image of Camaro89 and the two became one.

Leo’s heart all but stopped.

“Okay, here we go!” Dee set a steaming mug of coffee on the table and settled into the chair next to him.

Leo snapped his gaze back to the table, aware in his peripheral vision of Carter’s sudden silence. Had he felt that same intense connection? Was it just because Leoknewthat he could see Camaro89 in Carter? Or did Carter see it too, did he see LLB in Leo?

God, Leo should probably just tell him. But how? The longer he left it, the weirder it got.

He stared at his coffee while Dee brought the meeting to order and handed out a brief agenda. Leo barely paid attention, too aware of Carter’s imposing presence at his side—and Camaro89’s sensitive mind beneath all that brawn, the mind Leo had fallen in love with months ago.

The absurdity of the situation left him dizzy.

“…think you and Leo could handle that, Alfie?”

“Sure. What do you say, Novak?”

Leo blinked back into the moment. “Ah, sure. Um…sorry, what?”

Carter raised an eyebrow. “Dee asked if you and I could source some decorations for the market stalls. What was it, Dee?” He produced a pen from his pocket and turned over the agenda to write on the back. “Table coverings of some kind. And…?”

“Rope tinsel,” Dee said. “Something to hang from the gazebos.”

“Oh, like banners,” said Jude Brenan. “Christmas lights would be great, too—the battery ones, so we don’t have to worry about trailing cables.”

---