Forever Love on Fireweed Island (Island County Book 4) (8 page)

Jake’s touch sent a shiver through me, and my pulse spiked. If that’s all it took to get my world spinning, I definitely wasn’t ready to date. He’d be nothing more than a rebound, and then we’d both be stuck on this tiny island after our togetherness imploded.

“Yep. I manage to get myself into all kinds of sticky situations, and when I’m challenged with figuring out how to get myself out of them alone, I’m not nearly as personable,” I teased. “And I’m not really comfortable with the whole—” I waved my hands in the air. “This thing.”

He cocked his head slightly. “How so?”

“Well.” I thought best how to approach things. “I’m really not into going out.”

“So who’s the alleged recluse?” He smiled.

I laughed and shook my head. “No, I mean I don’t go out with guys. I’ve been away from the dating scene for far too long. Not that your asking me to dinner was a date—just like coffee wasn’t a date—but I’m saying it occurred to me that I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing, and it’s probably better if I don’t do dinner or dates anytime soon.”

Jake went back to the folded arm position as he studied me, and I stood, wondering why in the world, with all my education and thousands of books under my belt, I couldn’t get out a decent conversation around this guy.

“Don’t forget to breathe.” He let out a low laugh.

“Right.” I giggled and glanced up at the wood ceiling with crisscrossed beams overhead. There was no way he’d find this endearing.

“Oh, and to clear things up, dinner would be a date,” he corrected. I brought my eyes back to his, and a slight roll of his lips displayed an amused smile. “And I believe our coffee this afternoon was a mini-date. Thought it might be a good way to get your feet wet. I was told to take things slow with you.”

He grabbed a pair of sunglasses from his pocket and slipped them on his head.

“What?” I straightened up. “Who have you been talking to?”

I was shocked to learn he’d been asking about me—maybe Coco, but surely not me. It was both intriguing and terrifying at the same time. He didn’t answer, so I pressed.

“Was it Nick?” I prodded. “Do you know Nick well?”

“Nah. It wasn’t him, but I did buy a coffee table from him. Guy does great work.”

“For your tent?” My brow arched.

“Yep.” He smiled. “I promised I’d protect my sources . . . so back to the original question. Will you have dinner with me?”

I wanted to, but I knew I wasn’t ready. I needed more time to trust again. I needed time to just be me.

“I’m getting the distinct feeling I shouldn’t give you too much time to think about this, or I’ll never get you to dinner.” He slipped his arms around my waist, and my thoughts scattered in a million different directions. Maybe a dinner out was exactly what I needed to dip a toe back into the dating pool. Besides, I was completely fascinated with what this volunteer fireman did to fill up his time.

Jake slowly led me toward town without another word until we reached a small bench in front of the tea shop.

“How about if it isn’t a date? Just two people who met in odd circumstances who would like to get to know one another a little more.” He drew his arm back to the side and propped his foot on the bench as he waited for my answer.

I couldn’t afford another emotional mistake, which was why I stuck to men who stayed firmly printed on the pages between my fingertips, but this I could do. I stuck out my hand and chuckled.

“Deal.”

“Free on Monday?” He took my hand in his, and rather than shake it, he held it firmly and studied me. I felt my cheeks flush and looked down to avoid his gaze.

I saw the thickness of his fingers still clutching mine, and I noticed a scar run across the top of his hand.

“Yeah. Monday would be great.” I glanced back up and realized I’d greatly underestimated the attraction I felt toward Jake Harlen. A tingle of excitement ran through me, and I knew that no matter what we called our dinner, I wouldn’t be able to deny what he did to me.

And maybe meeting Jake Harlen for my rebound was exactly what I needed.

“Ms. Clairon is going to be staying at the Loxxy for two nights. She arrives tomorrow morning with early check-in at noon, and she’s expected to arrive here around four o’clock.” Valorie handed me the email she was looking over. “The MWIC ordered a selection of pastries and boxed coffee, which should arrive at three-thirty.”

We had a mystery writers meeting scheduled for one of our small conference rooms, followed by a special presentation by Sherry Clairon. Her recent series had hit all the best-seller lists, and the local mystery writers of Island County somehow secured her appearance for their monthly meeting. A box arrived this morning with Sherry Clairon’s latest release for the signing, and I’d already set up her table for the following day.

“Great.” I nodded. “It’ll be fun to listen to her speak.”

I set the itinerary on the library counter, took in a deep breath, and blew out a sigh.

“You seem stressed.” Valorie’s brow arched. “Is she a favorite author of yours or something?”

“I do love her books, but no. That’s not what has me all tied up in knots.”

Jerry—one of our loyal patrons and holding two tech manuals—wandered up to the counter and handed the heavy books over to me along with his library card. I scanned his card and glanced at the screen.

“It looks like you’ve got two books overdue, Jerry. Did you drop them in the bin today?” I asked.

“I did. I meant to return them a couple of weeks ago, and time slipped by,” he said guiltily.

I clicked on Jerry’s profile and scanned his history. He’d never been late in his seventeen years of borrowing books from the Fireweed Library. That was an impressive feat.

Valorie walked over to the bin, grabbed the books, and walked them over. I scanned each book in quickly and waited for the updates to hit Jerry’s profile so I could check out the new books for him.

“I’ll go ahead and waive those fees.” I double-clicked on the mouse and wiped away the amounts.

“Thanks. Now my wife won’t remind me how forgetful I am,” he laughed, shoving his brown hair back with his hands. Jerry worked from home as a web developer, and his wife was a dental hygienist. They were a cute couple and both shared a passion for reading—his interest was all techy, and her interest was time-travel romance.

He lifted the books off the counter and waved with his free hand. “Have a great night, and thanks again.”

“No problem,” Valorie said.

She leaned against the counter and brought her eyes back to me.

“What’s got you so tense?”

I threw my gaze toward the magazine rack and let out a groan.

“It can’t be that bad,” Val said, and I brought my gaze back to her.

She slicked her long hair back and quickly pulled the loose strands into a ponytail.

“I’ve gotten myself into something that’s impossible to get out of,” I confessed.

Val glanced around the library.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” She lowered her voice. “Do I need to get some rope or matches? How about a shovel?”

I laughed. “It’s nothing that serious, but it’s close.”

“Well, whatever it is, I’m sure the problem will solve itself.”

“It’s not exactly a problem. I’m supposed to have dinner with Jake tonight, and I’ve tried to play it off with myself like it’s not big deal, but I’m nearly dying inside.”

Val threw her head back in soft laughter. We’d all become experts in quiet chuckles.

“I wondered when he might ask you.”

I crossed my arms and scowled.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“He popped in here on Saturday morning.” Val pushed herself from the counter and wandered over to the cart of reserved books.

“And?”

“He thought you might be working, and I told him you were at the farmer’s market.”

“So you’re the rat?” I teased.

 She turned around, looking especially evil, and nodded.

“What did you tell him?”

“I told him how wonderful you were and how much you liked to read, but he asked all kinds of questions.” She waved at a family that wandered in. “But I actually didn’t give him any answers.”

“You told him to take it slow with me?”

Her brows shot up, and she frantically shook her head. “No way.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive. I’d never say something like that. How do I know how you like it?” She wiggled her brows.

“Well, he said he spoke to someone who told him that.”

“Wasn’t me. I’d have no problem telling you that if I said it.”

I let out a deep breath and felt my pulse accelerating merely from the thought of meeting Jake for dinner.

“Thanks.”

“He seemed really interested,” she continued. “And I have to say, I don’t think most of the rumors about him are true.”

I chuckled.

“Are you sure about the nasty divorce you mentioned?”

“Not positive, no . . . but I’d heard it from William, who heard it from his wife.”

“And William’s wife is a reliable source because—”

“He banks where she’s a teller. I guess there was some hassle with his account, and it had to do with his divorce.”

“Gotta love the privacy around here. Hey, by the way, I got a notification that you posted a new blog post this morning, but when I clicked on the link, nothing happened.”

“Seriously?”

She nodded, and I made my way to my purse, where I rifled through a pile of old receipts, bad-decision lip glosses, my trusty e-reader, and too old gum, before finding my phone and pulling it out.

I had several missed emails and calls from the service that hosted my blog. I’d been hacked.

“Oh, my God. This sucks.”

I quickly redialed the most recent call and waited for them to pick up before finally getting to type in all my information to verify my account. My heart was hammering in my chest as I thought about all the comments and everything over the years that were gone—vanished. I’d worked so hard setting up the site, and now it was nothing more than a blank white page.

I had an absolutely sick feeling in my stomach as I waited for a live person to speak with me.

Val paced back and forth in front of me.

“I’m so sorry. I totally should have told you sooner, but I forgot. We got so busy with the morning rush and—”

I shook my head. “It’s not your fault. I’m sure they’ll be able to help.”

The family, who I’d spotted earlier coming into the library, made their way up to check out stacks of books just as the customer service agent spoke into the phone.

Val nodded and wandered over to help the family while I slumped in my seat and began talking to them about my account.

It wasn’t until twenty minutes later when I hung up and wanted to bury my head in the sand and start my Monday all over again.

It was moments like these when it became apparent that no matter how technically savvy I misled myself into believing I was, I didn’t even scratch the surface on the tech world. My blog had been obliterated, and it was going to take some serious coding to get it back up again.

I fell forward and let out a silent groan as I rested my forehead on my desk.

This.

Sucked.

“Hey, Jewels. Someone is here to see you,” Val whispered, patting the back of my head. “I can tell him now isn’t a good time.”

“Him?” I mumbled.

“It’s Jake,” she whispered.

I popped my head up and glanced toward the counter and spotted him browsing through a pamphlet. The dark shadow along his jaw from a few days of missed shaves complemented his messy blond hair. He looked even better than I remembered, and I’d done quite a lot of remembering since Saturday.

“He didn’t see you behind here,” she whispered. “It’s not too late to shoo him away.”

I glanced at the clock. Our dinner was still twenty minutes out. We were going to meet after my shift at Norma’s Café, which was a cozy little place that bordered between diner and family restaurant.

Initially, he wanted to take me to Island Bluff, but that was way too much for a friendship—more of a don’t wear your library outfit for dinner kind of place—and that wasn’t what this was supposed to be.

“Nah. I haven’t completely lost my mind,” I said softly.

“I wouldn’t give up dinner with him either,” she joked. “Why don’t you head out? It’s a slow night.”

“You sure?”

She nodded.

“It might be just the distraction I need,” I said, picking up my purse. “I’m trying not to panic over the fate of years in the making that got obliterated today.”

“Maybe Jerry can help? After all, you waived his late fees,” she offered, but I was barely paying attention. Jake placed the pamphlet back in the rack and glanced in my direction. A grin spread across his face when he spotted me, and my stomach dipped like I’d jumped off a cliff—and maybe I had.

“Thanks for taking over,” I told her quietly.

“Absolutely my pleasure.” She leaned over. “I just want details.”

I rolled my eyes and held in a giggle before making my way to where Jake stood.

“Thought I’d come by and see where you spend your days.” He glanced around the library. “Lots of books.”