Page 16 of Honey Bee Library (Sweet Tea and a Southern Gentleman #7)

SAbrINA

I felt much more confident walking into the library today then I’d felt yesterday. One day under my belt, and things were already easier. My life was looking up and I was so excited. Samuel could feel my energy this morning and was giggling while I fed and dressed him.

It broke my heart when I dropped him off at daycare, but Mindy, the daycare provider, was all smiles for my son as she scooped him up. It was easier leaving him when I knew the person caring for him adored him as much as I did.

“Morning,” I said to Isabelle, who was sitting at her desk in her office.

She glanced up from her computer and smiled. “Morning,” she replied as she turned her attention back to her screen and continued typing. “Just a second. Let me finish this thought.”

I nodded, leaning against the doorframe. I didn’t want to assume what she wanted me to do, so I was more than happy to wait for her instructions. The clicking sound of her typing filled the silence.

“Thanks,” she said as she pushed her chair out and stood. “How was your first day? Did you like it?”

I nodded as I straightened. She joined me at the door, and I waited for her to pass by before I followed behind her.

“I’m so glad,” she said as she glanced over her shoulder at me.

“I was just thinking about how confident I feel today versus yesterday.”

She nodded. “It’ll get easier every day. Soon, you’ll be running this place like a pro.”

I liked the sound of that. I needed something for myself. I needed to feel confident in one aspect of my life. I’d felt like I was floundering for so long, and I was ready to see the sunshine peek above the horizon. I was ready to start my life.

We spent the morning going over the shelving system Honey Bee Library used.

She showed me how to scan the barcode and make sure the status was changed in the system.

She pointed out any damage that we might need to take care of.

Then she showed me how to separate the books so reshelving was a smoother process.

Once she was done, she left me to get started. Now alone, I allowed myself to relax as I went through the motions.

I was reshelving the children’s books, when I heard the soft chime of the bell on the front door. Excited to help a patron, I finished sliding the book I was holding into its spot and hurried through the aisle to my desk.

“Good morn?—”

I stopped when the familiar, cocky smile of Liam greeted me. He looked more put together this morning. His shaggy hair looked clean. He still had the same amount of jewelry as yesterday, but his clothes were less wrinkled.

“What are you doing here?” I asked. I gathered my composure as I grabbed the armrest of my desk chair and pulled it over so I could sit down. Desperate to look like I had things to do, I grabbed a nearby stack of paper and straightened it by tapping the edge on the desk.

He sucked in his breath. “Is that the way you treat all the readers that come in?”

I paused and flicked my gaze up to him. “Are you a reader?”

He rested one arm on the counter and used it to lean closer to me. “I could be.”

I snorted. “You don’t look like it.”

His other hand flew to his chest as he mustered an offended look. “Ouch. What does that mean?”

I wasn’t sure where this conversation was going, but I knew it wasn’t a journey I wanted to take. This was only my second day on the job and the last thing I needed was for Isabelle to overhear us and think I wasn’t being professional.

“Did you find...” I paused. What was the name? “Cole?” I hesitantly asked. I could only assume that he hadn’t since he was now standing in front of me once again.

“Yes, Cole. And yeah, I found him.”

I frowned. “So why aren’t you with your friend. Why are you here?”

Liam straightened and glanced around. “This is a public building, is it not?” He tapped the counter with the tip of his forefinger.

“It is.”

He glanced back at me. “So I can be here?”

“You can.”

He smiled at me.

I leaned in. “But why are you here?” I narrowed my eyes at him.

He shrugged. “I need a book.”

“You need a book.”

“Isn’t that why people come to the library?”

I sighed and shook my mouse to wake up my computer. “Okay. What book are you looking for?”

When he didn’t answer right away, I looked up. He was squinting at me like he was trying to conjure up a book title. I sighed and stood. I wasn’t sure what this man’s angle was, but I wasn’t interested in playing games. There was way too much at stake for me right now.

“I’ll show you where the mechanic section is. Maybe you can find the book you’re looking for there.” I pushed my chair in and rounded the counter.

I paused and waited for Liam to follow. He stayed behind me as I led him to the back of the library.

“Why do you think I want a book about cars?”

His voice was low and playful, and it sent shivers across my skin. I shook my head, forcing my thoughts to get right before I went down a path I didn’t want to go down.

I flicked my gaze over my shoulder at him. “Have you seen the way you dress?”

He stopped and stared at his t-shirt and jeans. “I look like a mechanic?”

Since he was no longer following me, I stopped as well. We were standing in the self-help aisle.

“Well, yeah,” I said. I really didn’t know how to categorize his style. All I knew was he didn’t look like he lived in a small southern town. He looked transient, and I did not have time for anything that wasn’t stable.

“I look like a mechanic,” he whispered as he continued to stare at his clothes.

“Sabrina?” Isabelle’s voice caused me to glance it its direction.

“Are you okay here?” I asked, ready to sprint away to see what Isabelle needed.

He was picking at his shirt, so I took that as a yes and left him there.

“Sabrina?” Isabelle’s voice had grown louder.

“Right here!” I exclaimed as I left the self-help aisle. I only took two steps before she appeared.

“Oh, good,” she said, blowing out her breath. I must have looked startled, because her eyes widened as she glanced behind me. “Everything okay?”

I nodded. “Yep, of course. Just showing a reader the self-help section.” I jutted my thumb over my shoulder at Liam. Hopefully he was distracted enough to stay put.

“Oh, good,” she said, following my gesture before glancing back at me.

“I wanted to see if you would be willing to run the library’s book club tomorrow night.

” My eyes widened, and she hurried to raise her hand.

“It’s not hard at all. I already have the questions printed off; you just need to read them.

” She sighed. “And keep the conversation on topic.”

“I…um….” I had Samuel to take care of. I wondered if Abigail was free to watch him. I knew I probably should’ve checked with her first, but I didn’t want to disappoint my new boss. So I nodded and said, “Sure,” with a bit too much enthusiasm.

Isabelle raised her eyebrows. “Really?”

“I’d love to.” I was playing fast and loose with the word love , but I didn’t want her to think that she was inconveniencing me, even though, technically, she was. This job was my lifeline, and I was going to do everything I could to hang on to it.

“Wonderful.” She reached out and patted my shoulder. “I’m so glad you took this job.”

I smiled. “Me too.”

She turned and headed back to her office. I stood there, my mind reeling from what I’d just agreed to. I hoped that Abigail wasn’t busy because I had no idea what I was going to do with Samuel if she was.

It took me a moment to return to the present, and suddenly, Liam’s cocky smile entered my mind. Right. I’d abandoned him.

I turned and headed back in his direction.

I rounded a corner and yelped when I almost ran into him.

He was standing there with his arms folded across his chest and one shoulder resting on the corner of the bookshelf.

He had one leg crossed in front of the other, and his eyebrows were raised as he studied me.

Had he been eavesdropping?

I pushed that thought from my mind. Why would he even care? This was a small-town library. Nothing interesting ever happened here.

“Find anything you might want to read?” I asked, nodding to the obvious lack of books in his hands.

He glanced over at the books next to us and shrugged. “Naw, I’m perfect. I don’t need any self-help.”

I snorted. “I doubt that.”

He feigned a hurt look. “Ouch.”

Guilt coated my chest, so I gave him an apologetic smile. “Sorry.”

He smiled and leaned forward. “No need for an apology. I like a woman who isn’t scared to speak her mind.”

And there it was. All of my suspicions were confirmed in one statement. He was here to flirt with me. It wasn’t books or a shared love of literature. I was someone he wanted to pursue. And from the look of his clothes, he wasn’t after anything serious.

I always attracted the wrong kind of men.

I laughed and shook my head. “Not going to happen,” I said as I reached out and fiddled with the books to my left. I wrapped the tips of my fingers over the spines and tipped them out before letting them fall back into place.

When Liam didn’t speak right away, I glanced over at him. His eyebrows were drawn together as he studied me. “What’s not going to happen?”

Great, now he was pretending to not know what was going on. I raised my forefinger and flicked it between us. “You and me.” I shook my head. “It’s never going to happen.”

“You and me?” he whispered. Then he chuckled as he raised his hands. “I’m not…I mean…”

Heat pricked my skin as the fear that I might have misread the situation rose up inside of my chest. What was wrong with me? Did I honestly think that every man wanted me?

“I—I’m so sorry,” I whispered.

I had no idea how I was going to come back from this. The only option I had was to hightail it out of there before he could finish rejecting me. I didn’t look him in the eye. I just turned and hurried back to my desk, where I prayed that a hole would open up and swallow me alive.

I was busy tapping away on my computer a few minutes later when I heard someone clear their throat. Out of instinct, I looked up even though I knew who was going to be standing there.

Liam had his hands shoved into the front pockets of his jeans, and he had a sheepish smile on his lips. I wanted to say that I’d moved past our little blunder, but my skin was still warm from embarrassment.

“Can I help you find a book?” I asked in my best librarian tone. I was going to keep our conversation professional. I worked in a library, and I was going to require him to stay on topic.

“Sabrina—”

“This is a place where people come to read and learn. If you’re not here to do that, then maybe…” I didn’t want to be flat-out rude. My mother taught me better than that. But I was going to be pointed, so I let my sentence trail off as I nodded toward the exit.

Liam glanced in the direction I’d motioned before he turned back to me. I could tell that he wanted to say something, but he was conflicted on whether he should. I just raised my eyebrows. The ball was in his court.

“Sorry for bothering you,” he murmured as he nodded and started backing up toward the doors.

“No bother. Come back when you need a book, and I’ll be happy to help you.”

He held my gaze as he lingered by the door before he pushed against the release and slipped outside.

The library felt deafeningly quiet once he disappeared around the corner.

I stared after him, wondering what had just happened.

It had been so long since a man had paid attention to me that I just assumed if a man was talking to me, he was flirting.

I groaned as I rested my arms on my desk so I could bury my face in them. I shouldn’t be allowed around people. I didn’t know how to act anymore. I had a good thing going for me here at Honey Bee Library. I would never forgive myself if I messed that up.

Samuel was depending on me to make this job last. I needed it if I was going to start over. My little family needed me to get my head out of the clouds and focus. So that was what I was going to do from this moment on.

Focus.