Page 13 of Never To Forever

“Back to work,” I order, pointing toward the computer station across from the one I’m setting up for Garrett. Ally’s books and study materials are spread out on the desk around the monitor. “Go on, before I make you scrub down the fairy tale house in the children’s section.”

Ally scrunches up her nose in disgust. “Ew, gross. No, thank you. I’d rather study.”

She moves back to her chair, plops down, slips her earbuds in her ears, and turns her attention to one of the SAT study books opened in front of her. I make my way back to the front reception counter, where Kathy is helping a couple of patrons check out their books. Sitting in one of the roller chairs, I focus on work for a while and try to distract myself so I don’t keep glancing at the front door for Garrett.

It’s about twenty minutes later when a deep, familiar voice says, “Hey, Marie. I’m here.”

Startled, I look up and meet Garrett’s green gaze. He’s standing on the other side of the reception counter, smiling at me, a messenger bag slung over his good shoulder. His dark brown hair is a little longer than he would usually wear it, and his scruff thicker, but it gives him this rugged appearance that makes my stomach flip with instant desire. Swallowing, I give him a friendly smile and make my way over to him.

“Hey! It’s good to see you on your feet. Feeling better?”

He shrugs and glances down at his arm, which is out of his cast and in a stabilizing sling.

“Mostly,” he answers. “Gotta wear this thing for a bit yet. Still have some achiness, but nothing major. Feeling pretty good overall.”

“That’s good to hear.” I push to my feet and hurry around the counter to reach him. Wrapping my hands around his good arm, I press myself against him. “Right this way. There’s a place set up just for you.”

He lets me steer him toward the table I’ve prepared for him. Ally looks up as we approach and gives Garrett a chin jerk in greeting before dropping her gaze back to her book. Letting go of Garrett’s arm, I pull out the desk chair for him.

“Get comfortable,” I tell him. “We need to get started.”

He arches a brow at me. “Thanks, Marie, but you don’t really have to help me that much. I don’t want to take you away from work.”

“Don’t worry,” I reply. “I’m happy to help, and I’ll just kind of be around when you need me, okay? Let’s be real. With your arm like that, you won’t be able to type or write properly. So, come on. Show me your syllabus. I want to get a better idea of what you need to get done for this English class.”

He sighs, but then shrugs his bag off his shoulder and hands it to me. I pull out his laptop and turn it on, and then he directs me to his school’s website and we log-in to his student portal. The syllabus is a PDF, so I download it and we go over the assignments listed. Since he’s in an English class, there are a lot of essays he’ll have to write, and a few research papers.

“All right, so I know you can’t look at a screen like this for too long,” I say, “and typing with one hand will be slow, but you can stay here as long as you need. Ally and I will both be around to help you when you need us. Just don’t push yourself too hard, okay?”

I stop, realizing I’ve been blabbering nonstop for a while, and I glance at him. Garrett is watching me with an amused grin.

“What?” I ask, frowning. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

He chuckles. “It’s nothing. You’re just taking charge so naturally.”

My cheeks flush. “Oh, crap. I’ve totally taken over, haven’t I? Sometimes I just get carried away. I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize,” he tells me. “You’re cute when you’re like this.”

“You… you think I’m cute?”

“Of course you’re cute.” He leans back in his chair and tilts his head as he looks at me. “A bit of a control freak, but I’m used to Haven bossing me around, so hanging with you will be a breeze.”

I stare at him, totally taken aback. Is he flirting with me? He’s never reciprocated my flirting before. We stare at each other for several long moments, and something crosses his face, softening his expression. His eyes suddenly dip. Is he looking at my lips? I instinctively lick them and his gaze narrows slightly. My heart is racing and I can’t help wondering what would happen if I were just to lean in closer and…

“Marie?”

Startled, I jerk back at the sound of someone calling my name. Who the hell…?

“Marie!”

Oh, shit. It’s my stepmother, Meredith. I’d recognize that grating, entitled tone anywhere. I can only imagine what she’s doing here, but she’s just going to keep causing a disruption in the library if I don’t hurry to see what she wants. Sighing, I stand and give Garrett an apologetic look.

“Sorry, I’ll be right back,” I tell him before slipping past him and hurrying toward the front of the library.

I spin around and find Meredith is standing by the front desk, her brown eyes narrowed with impatience as she gazes around. She’s dressed in a green wrap dress and high heels, her honey blonde hair pulled back into an elegant knot at the back of her head, and her face is smoothed out with just a little too much makeup. She’s tapping her foot on the floor, clearly annoyed. I glance down and see that she’s holding the hand of one of my youngest siblings, Stevie. The four-year-old has the same honey-colored hair as his mom, but my dad’s dark green eyes. When he sees me, his face lights up with a wide smile.

“Marie!” he exclaims.

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