Page 13 of I Met Him At The Library

“So, what are you looking to pick up at Ruby’s?” Ryan asked.

“Nothing in particular. I wanted to browse the romance section. I’m sure she got a new shipment this week.”

“So you not only write romance, but you read it?”

“Of course I do. Market research or something like that,” I half joked, and he thankfully laughed.

“I would imagine your research would be more hands-on than simply reading books.”

My jaw dropped and I turned to look up at him, he smiled down at me rolling his lips.

“Did you just make a sex joke?”

“Oh, the …” he paused and checked around us before whispering, “Sex book author is offended by a racy remark?”

“Not offended. I’m surprised we reached that part of our friendship.”

He laughed, “I’m pretty sure we reached that part of our friendship when I started a conversation asking about penis enlargement.”

“Did you ever figure out if it was a real thing? I know you were awfully curious about it,” I teased.

“I’m never going to live that down,” he muttered with a laugh.

We entered the bookstore and were immediately greeted by Ruby, who practically dragged me over to the romance section to show the new arrivals. I was a regular customer and Ruby often catered her purchasing decisions of romance to me. It worked out well for her, because many people in the town liked the books she stocked.

Ruby had remodeled the bookstore several years ago, and it even inspired some of the decor in my own home. She painted the walls white but color was splashed everywhere else. It was a beautiful eclectic mix making the store a must stop on any tourist’s itinerary.

“I got a bunch of new titles this week,” Ruby started, and in a horrible segue added, “And are you and Ryan together?”

“Ruby,” I admonished, “We are friends. He’s best friends with Trey, I’m best friends with Meghan, we ran into each other at Trudy’s and are simply doing our weekend shopping together.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean anything by it, sweetie. You know I adore Ryan, he’s such a great man. I think you two would make a wonderful fit.”

I gave Ruby a slightly annoyed look, and she waved me off before she turned and walked toward Ryan. No doubt to see if he’d spill any information, but Ryan peered over her head toward me and gave me an expression that told me he’d respond much like I had.

I truly didn’t know what gave old women the courage to pry into another person’s life the way they did. Was this unique to small towns, or were they all like this?

They’re all like this. My aunt used to pry me for information too. Tabitha said in my brain and I chuckled.

It goes beyond earth too. Raldek muttered.

You’re not real.

That hurts. Raldek responded, and I chuckled to myself.

But an image of a large feminine alien potentially adding some tension to their relationship entered my brain. As the scene started coming together, I reached into my bag and pulled out my phone. Typing up the scene quickly in a notes app, my heart skipped in my chest as exhilaration filled me. I was giddy, it’d been so long since my characters spoke so freely to me.

A presence at my back had me spinning around to see Ryan peeking over my shoulder.

“You are just as bad as they are,” I hissed out in a whisper.

Ryan chuckled and shrugged, “I’m invested, I need to know how it’ll turn out.”

“I’ll make sure to get you an advanced reader copy,” I whispered with a smile before closing out of the app and shoving my phone in the back pocket of my jeans.

“So,” he started as he turned to the bookshelf, “What do you recommend?”

“You want me to give you a romance book recommendation?”

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