Page 14 of The Romance Library

I used to spend hours lost in the pages. Until my passion had been cruelly ripped away from me.

By him.

The man who’d ruined my love of reading and my life.

And now I didn’t know if I’d ever get it back.

I turned the key in the ignition for the fourth time, hoping that this time the car would start, but it didn’t. If it didn’t start in the next two minutes, I was going to be late for the meeting.

After two more failed attempts, I jumped out of the car, weighing up my options.

I couldn’t afford roadside assistance, so I couldn’t call someone out to fix it. There was no one I could ask to drop me there. I wouldn’t get paid for the consultancy work until after the meeting, so couldn’t get a cab. I pulled out my purse. I’d be late, but I had just enough to get the train.

‘Cecil,’ I said, calling him whilst running to the station. ‘I’m so sorry, but my car wouldn’t start, so I’m going to be… hello? Hello?’ I glanced down at the phone screen.

Nooooo!!

Of all the times for my phone to die, it had to be now.

See. This was why I couldn’t accept the offer to run the library. I was a hot mess.

Two train journeys later, I eventually found my way to Seaview High. Luckily this time the gate was open, and I spotted a light on in a room on the ground floor. I pushed open the large creaky wooden door.

As I stepped inside, a slightly musty smell hit my nostrils. Old photos and trophy cabinets lined the walls, which I assumed were once a shade of white but now looked like a greyish-brown colour.

Although it was a little dark, the hallway was long and wide, and along it I spotted a set of large double doors which I guessed must open up into a big hall that maybe they used for assemblies.

The scuffed wooden flooring had a few sections missing, but considering how old this building must be, that was to be expected.

Although this place had been well maintained, whoever took this project on would still need to do a lot of work to brighten it up and make it feel like a warm and welcoming romance library. Which was a challenge I definitely wasn’t up for.

After wandering down the hallway and finding the room where I’d spotted the light, I knocked on the door.

‘Come in!’ a voice called out.

I opened the door and relief washed over me when I saw Cecil.

‘So sorry I’m late! I had car trouble and then my phone died and…’

‘You must be Miss Johnson,’ the man behind the desk said as I stepped inside, wiping the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand. He was wearing a green jumper and had a full head of dark hair and clean-shaven white skin. ‘I’m Edwin Dickinson, the vendor. You’ve met Cecil. And this is—’

‘Theodore Eaves,’ the man interrupted and turned around.

As I caught sight of him, I froze.

It was the parking space thief I’d argued with when Mrs Davis had first brought me to see the building. He was dressed in another perfectly fitted suit. His crystal blue eyes caught my gaze and for a second my heart flipped until I brought myself back to my senses.

‘You!’ I shouted. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘Hello again.’ He smirked, flashing his annoying dimples. ‘I’m here to buy this building.’

4

Theo

It was her.

The feisty woman I’d run into the first time I’d come to do a site visit.

---