Page 14 of I Met Him At The Library

“Yeah, well, in case you need a brainstorm buddy, I should probably do some research of my own,” Ryan said with a shrug before he glanced at me and clarified, “Reading research of course.”

Raising my eyebrows, I smiled and nodded. “Of course. Well, since you’re also into Sci-Fi, I’ll throw you into the deep end here.”

Walking to a different section, I picked up a book with a big blue alien and a woman on the cover and handed it to him.

“This is a series?”

“Yes. There are twenty-one of them and there will be a quiz,” I teased.

His eyes widened as he stared at me, and I laughed. Reaching for the book in his hand, to put it back on the shelf, he pulled it out of my reach.

“Do you think I won’t read them?” Ryan questioned, the corners of his mouth tipping up into a grin.

“I’m saying you don’t have to,” I clarified.

“Well, I like a challenge.”

He walked toward the shelf and grabbed a copy of every single one in the series. It was clear he was a completionist, and he wasn’t going to walk out with one and have to come back every time he finished a book in the series.

“What else?” He asked.

He held the stack of books a bit awkwardly and I laughed a little, “After you finish those we’ll dive into fantasy, but those should keep you reading for a while.”

“Alright, but when I finish these, you need to promise to come back here for the next assignment.”

“Deal.”

As we walked through the store, we continued talking about different books, and I grabbed a few he recommended, as well as a couple of new releases I hadn’t yet added to my shelves.

After we paid for our books, I turned to Ryan, “I’m supposed to meet Meghan at the diner. Do you want to join us?”

His smile grew, and he nodded. “Sure.”

Preston’s Jeep sat outside of The Blue Plate diner and Ryan gestured to it as we approached. Inside, Preston was sitting with Meghan in a booth. Her eyes rose to us and widened slightly before she smiled and waved us over. After we approached, I slid in next to Meghan, and Ryan sat across from me.

“Slow again?” Ryan asked Preston.

“Yep,” Preston answered, then glanced at the bags we placed under the table. “Shopping?”

“Yep.” Ryan answered.

Turning to Meghan, I said, “I found some good frames for your office. Trudy is holding onto them for us.”

“Your office?” Preston asked Meghan.

“Yeah, I’m going to redecorate it and Em’s going to help. Her apartment is fantastic.”

“I didn’t know you had a knack for interior design,” Preston asked.

“I write a lot of home decor posts,” I said casually.

Ryan’s lips thinned as he tried to mask a smile. Meghan caught it and her head turned to me with widened eyes. I kept my face neutral as Preston’s gaze flicked between the three of us.

“What am I missing?” He asked, but then was distracted as Dylan Anderson and Rachel Mills passed the table. “Are those the cookies?”

“Yep, and you’ll have to wait until we give them to Sadie,” Dylan responded and Rachel glanced at Preston.

I was going to have to grab a few of those before they sold out. Rachel’s cookies were amazing, and they were the talk of the town when she started bringing them into the diner to be sold.

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