Page 4 of The Romance Library

‘So am I!’ Anger bubbled in my stomach.

‘You snooze, you lose, sweetheart.’

‘Don’t call me sweetheart!’

Ignoring me, he turned away, then leant back in the car. His suit jacket rode up, giving me a prime view of his toned arse, which I immediately chastised myself for looking at.

He pulled out a slim black leather briefcase, then closed the door.

‘Anyway, you should be thanking me.’

‘What?’ I frowned. ‘Why the hell would I want to thank you?’

‘Now next time you see a parking space, you’ll remember not to dilly-dally and be quicker off the mark. You’re welcome.’

The corner of his mouth twitched as he locked the car, then strode off.

My jaw dropped.

The audacity.

How could he be so brazen? Whatever happened to road etiquette? This was Britain: a country famous for its queuing system. He knew I was first in line for that space and he just jumped in front of me anyway.

And who the hell used the word dilly-dally anymore?

I went back to my car, steam pouring from my ears.

‘We’ll need to find another space,’ I huffed.

‘He was rather handsome.’ Mrs Davis grinned.

‘He was a cocky arsehole,’ I replied, trying to ignore the fact that with his square jaw, muscular frame, dark hair and hypnotic blue eyes, he could pass as Henry Cavill’s identical twin.

‘Sometimes they’re the most fascinating ones…’

I pushed her comment out of my head. I’d put up with enough of his type to know she was wrong.

Twenty-minutes later, we found a parking space and Mrs Davis led me down to the large, striking two-storey red-brick building. The car park was empty and the imposing iron gates were chained up.

‘What is this place?’

‘Nothing, at the moment. But it’s what it will become that’s important.’ She paused. ‘This is where my library will be.’

‘Your library?’ I frowned.

‘Yes. This is where I want my books to go. I want to create a romance library. A place where readers will come together and find love between the pages. And hopefully between the walls too.’ A large smile spread across her face and her eyes instantly brightened.

‘That sounds like a great idea!’

I might not believe in love anymore, but I still remembered the joy that reading romance used to give me. And creating a library dedicated to the genre was genius. If you asked me, romance novels didn’t get the credit they deserved.

‘Thank you. And it needs to be right here, in this building. It’s one of the best locations in town. I’ve been waiting years for it to come on the market and now it finally has. Look at the views.’

I turned around and in the distance I spotted a beach with golden sand and sparkling blue sea. She was right about the views. They were pretty impressive.

‘I’m sure you’ll make it happen, and when you do, send me an invite. I’ll be your first member. I’d love to get back into reading again.’

I swallowed the lump in my throat. Reading used to be my passion. Until it was ripped away from me.

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