Page 29 of Must Love Libraries and Libations
“And no open flames.”
She smiled, eyes bright. “Naturally.”
“And you’ll need to write up a schedule for my approval.”
“Already working on it.”
“The outside celebration, yes, but no inside display.”
Her smile faltered. “But why not?”
Because it’s me you are asking to be on display. Old. A relic. A history. “It’s unnecessary.”
“It’s not about necessity. It’s about honoring the library and sharing its history and the Wyrmwood tree with the town.”
“No.”
She tilted her head slightly. “Your mouth says no, but I’m hearing yes. You’re going to agree. I know it.”
I crossed my arms, my tail twitching with annoyance. “You are relentless.”
“I’m still hearing a yes,” she said, then grinned. “Glad we have that settled on.”
I huffed a breath in annoyance.
She studied my face for a moment, then stepped closer. “Erasmus,” she began, her voice quieter now. “About earlier?—”
“No,” I said quickly and more harshly than I intended. “It was nothing.”
She froze for a moment, then said, “Nothing.”
“Nothing. A mistake. Just…forget it.”
“Right,” she said after a beat. Her voice was even, but I could feel my words had affected her. “Well, since it was nothing, let me get to work. Now that we have agreed, I have cupcakes to order and musicians to hire.”
Her cheeks burning red, she turned without waiting for an answer and headed off.
As she hurried away, I wanted to call her back but didn’t know what to say. Guilt twisted in my chest. I hadn’t meant it to sound so harsh. I’d panicked. It wasn’t nothing.
Not to me.
And that was precisely the problem.
I hadn’t kissed anyone in, what, four hundred years or so?
I hadn’t even really noticed a woman in that long. Sure, there were always beautiful women in Moonshine Hollow, but a woman who made me lose my composure, made me struggle for words, made my stomach twist? It had been a very long time since I’d met a woman like that.
And Miss Windsong undid me.
How could I explain that to her? She already thought I was a stodgy, cold relic.
My wings shifted, tail twitching with agitation. Not knowing what else to do, I headed back toward my study, irritation rising again like an old companion. This entire thing was a distraction, an unnecessary complication…both her and her party.
She could have her party outside, but I wasn’t going to be any part of it. I had to set it all aside. Her. The party. All of it. I had important work to do. There were still spells in the witch’s codex that needed to be chained. That was my task. That was why I was here. Even if I was on the last book, the last pages, with no other magical tasks waiting for me thereafter. I had not yet let myself consider the yawning abyss that lay on the other side of being done with the codex. That was too much. Beyond the codex, there was…nothing. A new assignment? I had no idea what the council had planned for me. But for now, I still had a job to do, and kissing beautiful, irresistibly insistent women had nothing to do with that. I was a gargoyle. It was time to focus on my work once more. That was why I was here, after all. I was there to guard the library, not to fall in love…no matter how warm and good the infuriating Miss Windsong had felt in my arms.
Turning my attention from Miss Windsong turned out to be easier said than done. That night, as I sat before Witch Eyreaway’s codex, my mind was distracted.
The study smelled of parchment, lavender-scented wax, and ink. But the air was still…too still. My tools still lay neatly arranged at my side. My tea had gone cold. Melville slept in the corner, his soft snore the only sound in the place.
