Page 9 of Summer Kisses

I refocused on the kids who were seated around me in a circle for story time. Their parents sat on small chairs arranged around the tables. We had a room for story time, but I preferred doing it in the open. That way, a child who didn't feel comfortable coming into the meeting room could still enjoy the story.

I turned the page, changing my voice for the toad character, when I spotted Brady walking the perimeter of the room. I knew he used the podcast booth for his video games, but I hadn't realized that he'd filmed them, streaming them online.

He smiled at me, and my entire body heated. I hoped none of the parents noticed. I waved, then forced myself to look at thebook, to engage with the kids. I couldn't be distracted when my fake fiancé showed up at my job.

When I finished the last page, I said, "The end," and then stood. "I picked out a few more toad books the kids might enjoy." I gestured at a table by the window where I'd propped books on the ends so everyone could see the covers.

The parents made their way to the table, and the kids dispersed, some to play with the toys and others to pull out books to read. I knocked on the door to the booth.

"Come in," Brady said.

When I closed the door behind me, he turned to face me, his legs falling open.

I locked the door. I wasn't sure why I'd done that except it was the only way to show the patrons this booth was occupied.

"Can I see what you do?" I asked quietly, not wanting to interrupt whatever he was working on.

"I'm filming today, and this place is small. If you're here, everyone will see you."

I moved toward him so I could see the screen. "I watched a few episodes last night."

He raised a brow. "You did?"

"I wanted to know what you did." There was a storyline that played out on the screen, and Brady commented in real time. It was a little bit cheesy, but then again, he was talking primarily to children.

"This is the only available seat." He patted his thigh, and I sat gingerly on him.

He reached around me to work the controls. "I'll hit Play on the video and then talk about what's happening on the screen. I like to make it as real as possible. If it's a strange new character, then I might be curious about why he's here and what's special about him, or I might even be afraid."

"What should I do?" I asked nervously.

"Act natural. Say whatever comes to mind. You're animated when you read those stories to the kids. It's similar to that."

I wasn't so sure about that but nodded. "I can do this."

Brady's body was relaxed, and he seemed genuinely happy that I was here and interested in what he did. I wondered if it took a toll on him to keep it a secret from the people most important to him.

He hit Play, and the game appeared on the screen. A box in the right-hand corner showed me perched on his lap.

Brady grinned. "I have a guest with me today. My new fiancée. She's a librarian and wants to play with us. So be nice to her and protect her from the monsters."

I waved at the screen. "Hi, everyone. Happy to be here and to see what this is about."

Brady shifted so that I was cradled against his chest while he worked the controls, scanning the scenery until he found a large cavern and a new character. "Well, for one, we seem to have a guest. Who's this scary dude? I've never seen anyone who looks like this before. You guys have any idea?"

The only thing that was weird was that he had to interact with the viewers without any response. There was no chat function either. I assumed this was a show that would be played again and again. Hopefully, that meant he could cut it if I wasn't entertaining.

I looked at Brady. "Should I be worried? Is this guy going to harm us?"

Brady shifted me slightly on his lap. "He might, babe. Stay close."

I bit my lip to keep from laughing because I was perfectly safe with him in the booth. But I could see what he meant when he was talking about the drama required for this job. "For one, he has gleaming red eyes. I don't think we can trust him. But whatdo you guys think? Should we run away? Or see if he's here to help us?"

"I don't know. I think we should probably get out of here. And what's the deal with that cavern?" I asked, trying to get a better look at it.

Brady panned over to the cavern again. "I swear this wasn't here yesterday. Right, guys? It's new. I don't know about you, but I'm suspicious of anything new in the game. Why is it here, and why now?" He swung back to the new character, who was standing closer than before. "What's this guy's deal? Is he following me?"

Instead of running, Brady decided to stick around and test the new character to see what his powers were and whether he'd be helpful to us. Somehow the intrigue filled forty-five minutes of time. Then he hit Pause. "You need to get back to work?"

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