Page 19 of The Library of Second Chances
‘Hm?’
‘I said you’re welcome,’ she said with more force. ‘For the book. Because at the library, you didn’t say “thank you”.’
He looked bewildered, and to be honest, she couldn’t blame him. That interaction had played over and over in her mind, but he had probably forgotten all about it before he’d even reached the bottom of the stairs.
It seemed to dawn on him, however, because his eyes suddenly crinkled.How does he have eyes so dark brown when his hair is so light?she wondered vaguely. It might be endearing, even charming, if he wasn’t such abum.
Chloe shifted in her seat, then brought out her phone. She was still logged into her fake Instagram account. She was only following a few authors, bookish accounts, and of course, her sister Gwen. It was pathetic to stalk her on social media, but it meant she could know what she was up to without having to speak to her.
She hadn’t posted anything new in a while. Sighing, Chloe brought out the book she was reading instead.
‘Never thought I’d see someone use an old receipt as a bookmark.’
Chloe ignored him. It nettled her when people interrupted someone who was reading.
‘It’s a sin.’ Was that humour in his voice? ‘Almost as bad as dog-earing.’
‘You’re the one who dog-eared the page,’ she snapped, closing the book. ‘And cracked the spine.’
‘I know, I know. A first edition, too. I may as well have ripped out all the pages and thrown them off a cliff.’
‘Yup.’ She opened her book again, trying to find where she’d left off. ‘I bet you dog-ear all your books. And leave the toilet seat up.’
‘And get stuck over which meal to buy in the frozen foods section,’ he said smoothly.
He smirked when she looked back at him. ‘You were watching me?’
‘No. Isawyou. There’s a difference.’
‘Well,yougot a frozen meal, too.’
‘Oh-ho.’ He set down his drink, grinning now. ‘Now who was watching whom?’
Chloe let out an accidental growl and buried her face into her book.
They ignored each other until the food arrived. ‘Here you are, guys. Sorry for the wait,’ said a flustered young woman, setting down their dishes. Steam rose from Chloe’s curry, and her stomach rumbled in anticipation until she saw something in the sauce.
‘Oh.’ She paused. ‘Are there peanuts in this?’
But the waitress was already gone, weaving through the crowds to the bar, picking up glasses. Chloe remained quiet. She didn’t think when she’d ordered a curry in a pub that it would contain peanuts. But those were unmistakably nuts in the curry. She pushed away her plate, shocked to feel tears welling up in her eyes. It was silly to cry, but she was starving, stressed and it had already been a long nightmarish day, and one bite would make her lips swell up like—
‘Peanuts no good?’
Harry was looking at her, fork already in hand, his plate of chicken breast and chips steaming in front of him.
Chloe sniffled, hoping it wasn’t obvious that her eyes were glassy. ‘I just . . . yeah, I’m allergic.’
She could go up to the bar to complain and have them replace it, but the place was so noisy and busy it would likely take too much time. As though following her train of thought, Harry said, ‘We can swap if you want to. I haven’t touched this.’
She looked at him. His chicken did look good. But . . . ‘No, no. I’m fine.’
‘Well, you can’t eat that or we’ll have to ring an ambulance,’ grunted Harry. ‘And I can’t have you sitting here looking all sad while I stuff my face, can I?’
She wiped her eyes. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Aye, I’m sure. Your curry looks better, anyway.’
Harry took up the curry and put his plate of chicken in front of her. She tasted some and groaned with delight. ‘Thanks.’
