Page 63 of I Met Him At The Library

“I have friends in this town - good friends. The gossip brigade isn’t the one spreading the lies. In fact most of them are bummed out that you two seem to be on the outs since you haven’t been seen together since the whole scene in the restaurant.”

“I know Betsy would never spread those lies,” I said with a sigh, “Most of the rumors are still being spread by the Hills and others.”

Lacey nodded and then leaned forward putting her elbows on her knees, “And you know most of the town doesn’t believe anything they say? It is not like when you were in high school. The town has your back, and more people are talking about how the rumors have been lies this entire time.”

My eyes widened and my lips parted. Had I missed the changes in the town by hiding away so much? By staying out of it?

“Most people talk about how you stay out of the gossip because you know first hand how much it hurts when lies are spread. Things aren’t looking great for the founding families. Some of them are even trying to distance themselves from the Hills.”

“I didn’t know,” I murmured.

“You wouldn’t because you stay out of it, which on some level is smart. As long as it doesn’t leave you hiding away from your life.” Lacey stood and scanned me before she asked, “So, when are you going to reclaim your life?”

With a grin, she turned and walked out of my apartment. I started thinking about the people who I could count on to have my back. The people who wouldn’t believe anything being said about me and how much of my life I’d lost because of those who didn’t actually matter.

It was time to fight back, time to come out of hiding, time to reclaim my life and the man I loved. And I knew exactly how I was going to do it. Grabbing my phone, I opened my social media account and immediately pulled up a picture of me with Meghan and wrote a caption.

Me with one of my best friends and editor. You can see us both at Maple Creek Book Festival in two weeks where I will be signing books and finally meeting with my wonderful readers. Get your tickets now. Bussing and accommodations listed on the event page.

Reading over the caption again, my thumb hovered over the post button. I thought about saving the library, about how people would be shocked that I was finally posting a picture of myself and attending a signing, and finally, I focused on Ryan. How I needed to prove to him I was done hiding and ready to claim a life we could build together here in my hometown.

I pressed the post button and breathed out the last of the nerves. A small weight lifted from my shoulders with my secret out in the world. I was Donna Smith, and I wrote alien smut.

I wouldn’t be ashamed. My books were popular and I had loads of readers. Clinging to that truth, I jumped when an unexpected call came in.

Answering it, I said, “Hi Meghan.”

“You’re out? You’re in? You’re really doing this?”

“Yes, I’m doing this. Get a table reserved for me, it’s time for Donna Smith to go public and introduce her to the world.”

“That post was one way of doing it. Oh my god! I’m so excited. Oh shit, we don’t have enough time to get everything for your table. It’s fine, I have loads of author copies here already.”

“When did you get author copies?” I asked.

“I ordered them months ago thinking we could sell signed copies on the website. But with how stressful things became for the festival I was going to wait until after.”

“Okay, well, I will figure everything else out for you.”

“Nope, what I want you to do is to not think about this at all. You made a decision. Stay off social media. Stay out of sight. I don’t want you getting freaked out. Let me protect you then we will deal with your secret identity being made public after the festival. Go write,” Meghan insisted.

“Okay,” I huffed in a laugh.

After hanging up the phone, I listened to what Meghan said to do. I turned off my notifications on the post, turned my ringer to silent, and went to my desk. I was going to start writing the next series, but as I sat there, I could only think of one thing I actually wanted to write.

Chapter 37

Ryan

Festival day had arrived. I woke up knowing my fate was sealed. Either I was going to remain the library director or the doors would have to close in six months. We’d received some help from the state but it wasn’t nearly enough to keep us going.

Throwing the blankets off me, I pushed myself to get out of bed. Meghan had made me swear I wouldn’t look at anything regarding the event because of how the stress was affecting me. I was actually grateful she was so understanding, and yes the last two weeks had been easier on me by not looking for updates.

However, now that the day had arrived, I was more stressed and nervous than any day in the months leading up to this. The worst part was knowing Emily likely wouldn’t show and, fuck, I wanted her there. She made me feel at peace. Her presence would make this whole day better. But with the way the town was still whispering about us, I didn’t have high hopes she’d surprise me by showing up.

I showered, dressed, ate breakfast, and drank coffee in hopes of starting my day off right, even with the fear that it wasn’t going to turn out well once it was all said and done. The numbers hadn’t seemed promising last I checked two weeks ago. But what could have been done in those two weeks to change things?

We needed some kind of miracle.

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