Page 6 of The Love Ambush (The Sullivans #1)

Levi

T he library in Catalpa Creek is a red-brick, blocky, two-story building, and it’s one of my very favorite places in town.

Inside, I wave to Marley behind the checkout desk and hurry straight back to the children’s library. I find Ellery among the shelves, helping a kid find a book.

She’s got her hair up in a loose ponytail and is wearing a dress that’s covered in images from Alice in Wonderland. Even her earrings are white rabbits. And the smile on her face as she helps a kid find a book about robots makes it even clearer than her outfit how dedicated she is to her job.

I browse the children’s books while I wait, so that I’m not looming over her and her patron.

She finds me engrossed in a book about dinosaurs. “Good book?” she asks.

I hold it out, and open to a page covered in well-detailed drawings. “These are not the dinosaurs I was obsessed with as a kid.”

Her ever-present smile widens, and her eyes light. “Science makes new discoveries every day.”

I take another look at the awesome creatures on the page before shutting the book and sliding it onto the shelf. “I clearly need to pay more attention.”

“The story room is occupied today,” she says, already knowing why I’m here.

“A toddler yoga class. You can use one of the carrels upstairs unless you need to make calls?” The inquisitive look she gives me is one I’m very familiar with.

She clearly knows I’m doing something I don’t want anyone to know about, and she’s dying to know what it is.

“I do need to make some calls. About an order of pipe fittings.”

She purses her lips in disapproval. “You could do that at home around your brothers.”

“Sebastian called a family meeting.”

She frowns. A rare occurrence. I’ve thrown her off her snooping game. “That’s a believable excuse.” She pops her hands on her hips. “If you need quiet and privacy, I might have another option for you. Do you have a phone call you want to make that you don’t want anyone to know about?”

I cross my arms over my chest. “Let’s just say I don’t want to disturb other patrons. And if I don’t get asked about what I do at the library by a local the next time I’m getting coffee, I might be willing to admit I don’t want anyone to overhear.”

In a perfect world, I wouldn’t even give Ellery that much, but she’s incredibly smart and persistent.

If I want her to keep finding me private space in her library, I’m going to need to give her something.

She looks me over, considering. “You don’t trust me.

But I promise you, Levi Sullivan, I am a vault. ”

“You said you have a space for me?”

She turns on her heel and walks away. She bounces with every step she takes. I might think it was an affectation, but I’ve seen her do it even when she thinks no one is watching. “Follow me.”

Ellery is good friends with Gentry and I consider, as I follow her, asking her about Gentry.

Or maybe suggesting to her that Gentry needs more support in her job as guardian to her sisters.

Unfortunately, I don’t trust Ellery not to pass on what I say to her friend.

Vault or not, Ellery loves a good romance almost as much as she loves a mystery, and I can totally see her assuming I have a thing for Gentry and trying to push us together.

And I definitely don’t have a thing for Gentry. I’m totally over anything I might have had. A thing that was bordering on obsession so scary I had to act like an asshole every time I saw her just to avoid feeling like she was rejecting me repeatedly.

I was an idiot. But I’m not an idiot now, so I’m over the thing.

I’m at least working on getting over the thing.

Ellery leads me to what is basically a closet with rainbows on the walls and a comfy pile of oversized pillows on the floor and gestures me inside. “This is our reading room for kids who need some peace and quiet. No one will bother you here.”

It’s not ideal, but I’m not in a position to be choosy. “This is great. Thank you, Ellery.”

“I can’t promise how long it’ll be available, so work quickly.”

I settle on the cushions as she starts to close the door.

“Wait,” I say, a thought occurring. “Didn’t I hear you mention to one of your colleagues last week that you’re looking for some ‘new blood’ to date?”

She bites her lip and raises her eyes skyward before stepping into the closet and facing me. “Levi, you’re a great guy, but I’m not… I mean, I did say I was looking for…” She looks away like she’s hoping for rescue, and I finally understand what’s going on here.

“No.” I hold up both hands. “Not me. I’m not talking about myself. I’m talking about my brother, Sebastian.”

She looks back at me and smiles, her eyes lighting with definite interest. “Sebastian?”

“My oldest brother. He’s a few years older than you, and a great guy. My brothers are trying to set him up with someone, and I think you two could be a good couple.”

Her smile droops. “I’ve seen him around and he’s definitely cute, but a couple?” She eases back out of the closet. “Yeah, I’m not interested.”

“He’s not your type?” Because I could have sworn she looked interested a moment ago.

“Oh, he’s definitely my type. Sebastian is everyone’s type. But I’m not looking for a relationship. I prefer to get my romance from books.”

“What did you mean by dating?” I don’t know why I’m pushing this, but I had a flash of an image of her and Sebastian together, of her bright mood lifting his and his no-nonsense attitude about work and life grounding her.

She presses her lips together, clearly thinking her answer through. “Can I be sure I won’t hear about this at the coffee shop tomorrow morning?”

I mime zipping my lips and throwing away the key. “You have my word.”

She nods. “It’s not like it’s even a secret, really, but you know how people talk.

” She pulls in a deep breath. “I’m not relationship material, but I’m in the market for a more casual arrangement.

In layperson terms, I’m looking for a friends with bennies sitch, but it doesn’t sound like that’s what Sebastian wants. ”

“Ah,” I say, my hope dying. “No. Sebastian takes his relationships with women very seriously. Probably too seriously. It’s how he got his heart broken last—” I realize what I’m saying and stop myself. “Can we just forget this whole conversation?”

She smiles, but the way she’s wrapping her hair around her fingers and tugging gives away her true feelings. “What conversation?”

I wait until she’s left, the door closed gently behind her, before I boot up my laptop and get to work.

Annabelle answers on the first ring. “Please tell me you’ve got some good news. I need to bring this guy in or my ass is grass.”

“Nobody says that anymore,” I say as I type furiously.

“I say it. What have you got for me?”

I give her everything I’ve been able to find on the bail skipper she’s been trying to track down.

Annabelle and I dated for a few months three years ago, before deciding we were much better as colleagues.

She runs a private investigation business out of Aspen Cove, and I do any work for her that requires computer hacking skills, or really any computer skills at all.

She’s better at the physical aspects of private investigating, like tailing a suspect or chasing and tackling them to the ground.

“What have you got for me about Harley Lendew?” I ask. “Was your friend able to make contact?”

“Yep,” Annabelle says. “He made contact and made it very clear to Harley what the consequences will be if he shows up at the wedding.”

“Great. Thank you.” Relief drops my shoulders and un-tenses my jaw.

Brodie’s fiancée mistakenly sent a wedding invitation to his father after Harley somehow tracked down his son and sent him a birthday card. When Brodie called me, freaking out about his father coming to his wedding, I promised him I’d take care of it. Annabelle has graciously helped me out.

“You’re welcome. Now, how much time do you have before you fly out?” Annabelle asks.

“Enough.”

“Good. I’ve got a job for you.”