Page 54 of I Met Him At The Library

“Besides all the relationship stuff, have you plotted your next series?” Meghan asked with a grin.

Her curiosity was a hint she finished the first read through of my book. Once she had the book, we didn’t talk about it until she handed me her notes. Then we’d spend a few hours going over those notes and her suggested adjustments, before I made changes for the final version. It was also a hint she liked what she read and was looking forward to the next book.

Poppy was originally the glue holding us together, when she left for college we had parted for a couple of years, and those were tough years for me. Then one day I ran into Meghan at the diner, she sat with me, and our friendship bloomed. It was her support that helped me get past the imposter syndrome and the low self esteem which prevented me from publishing my first book.

It was because of her and Poppy that I didn’t give up after my first bad review. They held me up when I wanted to break. When they needed me, I was there for them too. The three of us were a team, even if Poppy and Meghan never talked due to some massive awkwardness. They still loved each other. Meghan would drop anything for Poppy, and if Meghan needed Poppy, she’d do the same.

One day our team would come back together. I hoped so at least.

Chapter 31

Ryan

Iwasn’t sure how to handle the whole Nick situation, so I worked in my office instead of venturing out into the library. Logically, it was clear Emily didn’t have feelings for Nick, and as much as I tried to focus on how she had told me she had feelings for me, I was struggling to accept it.

He was an ex and didn’t even live in this town, but she couldn’t even reveal our relationship to him. How seriously did she take our relationship when she wouldn’t even tell him about us? She was it for me, but was I the one for her?

I tried desperately to push the incident from my brain, taking comfort in how she said she never had feelings for Nick. We had a mostly wonderful evening, but when I got home yesterday, doubts flooded my brain.

Was she hiding me? Was she embarrassed to be with me? Was she with me because of a lack of better options? With Nick now working an hour away, maybe they’d pick up where they left off?

I mean it would make sense. I wasn’t a bad looking guy, but I was a little dorky. I wasn’t built like Trey, Levi, Preston, or Nick. I was more lean instead of bulky and strong, like a man pictured on a harlequin romance novel cover. I wore glasses and didn’t have tattoos. I was your average nerd.

Maybe I wasn’t her type? When I confessed how I was falling for her, maybe she said what she said so I wouldn’t feel bad? She didn’t seem like the type of woman who would lie about her feelings, but it’s not like I hadn’t had the “You’re a really nice guy, but…” conversations in the past. Not that I blamed any of the women who had those conversations with me. Sometimes the person wasn’t right no matter how great they were.

Which was why I was so confused now. For me, Emily was the one, and I felt like I was it for her too. But I wasn’t so sure anymore.

Ugh, I hated when these old insecurities popped up. I couldn’t let it go, either … at least not until I had a chance to talk to Emily privately.

Emily had a girls day with Meghan yesterday, and while she’d be at the library, it wasn’t the most private place to have this discussion. Plus, I didn’t want to interrupt her work. She planned on starting the first book in the new series today. She had goals to reach, and if I was worried for nothing, I didn’t want to derail her writing.

There was a time and a place, and the library was not it for this conversation. So instead, I stayed hidden away with a do not disturb sign on my door. I had texted Emily and told her I had a few phone calls I needed to deal with today so she should focus on her work instead.

Pushing my concerns over the impending conversation aside, I focused on checking the ticket sales to see how we were doing. Unfortunately, it made me feel worse. Even with the bump in ticket sales after Addison March posted about her being a signing author at the event, it still wasn’t enough to keep the doors open for more than an additional quarter.

I spent the next few hours going over the marketing plan, looking for ways to tweak it and make it more interesting. Emails were sent to a few authors hoping they’d join me on a live event on social media. We could talk about the impact libraries had on their lives and careers. Emily could help me come up with good questions to ask them, too, to help them promote their books and the event.

Which meant, I needed to suck it up and sit down with Emily soon. I’d message her later tonight asking if tomorrow we could talk about the event some.

Since I’d already seen the bad news of the numbers, I checked on the availability for accommodations in the area and we were nearly booked solid. Checking the concert’s event page, there was a post about half the tickets were sold and to get them fast before they sell out completely.

Groaning, I clicked out of the page and leaned back in my chair. It was well past six at night and the guys would be bothering me if I didn’t get to the bar soon. After clicking the security cameras throughout the library, I didn’t see Emily anywhere. Which meant for at least tonight I was safe from making a complete fool of myself or finding out any more bad news.

Rising, I grabbed my bag and left my office, turning off the light before closing the door behind me. As I walked down the hall I adjusted the strap on my shoulder and, once again, tried to shove my worries over this thing with Emily from my brain. However, Betsy had other plans when she opened the hall door and stepped in, blocking my exit.

“Are you avoiding Emily again?” She asked, crossing her arms and staring at me over the rim of her reading glasses.

“Betsy, I’m busy with things, and I don’t want to interrupt her writing time. Stay out of it.”

She clucked her tongue in irritation, but changed the subject, “Fine, how’s the ticket sales?”

“We sold a bunch more, but based on preliminary numbers we’ll only be able to keep the doors open for an extra quarter, maybe two if we budget hard.”

“Can we do another event in the summer?”

“You have picked up the slack, but planning these events takes a lot. If we have to run them more than once a year I’d have to hire someone to handle it, which takes more money from the budget. What we need is an endowment and state funding. I’ve sent the application in but it could take awhile and I doubt it’ll cover everything.”

“Well, please try to keep your hopes up. I’m sure something great will happen soon.” Betsy patted my shoulder as she walked back out of the hall and toward the front desk.

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