Page 8 of Dear Bookworm Beauty
I wait for him and hold out my hand to him before we walk together towards Mr. Waters.
Grant squeezes my hand just as I notice the faint pink of embarrassment on Mr. Waters’ cheeks. He doesn’t make eye contact with us but stares at his feet when he tells us Evangeline’s message.
“Ms. La Monte has been called away unexpectedly,” he begins.
“Is she okay?” I ask.
Mr. Waters looks up at me with kindness in his eyes. "Yes, her call was concerning another matter. She asked that as her guests, you spend the night, and she will be back first thing in the morning."
I turn to Grant to see what he thinks of the offer. I know my answer. The thought of getting to spend the night in Josephine La Monte’s family home is a dream, but I can’t keep him from his life.
"Thank you. The offer is very generous," Grant says. “We’d be delighted to stay.”
“Very good. I will prepare your rooms.”
“No need,” Grant says. “One room will do just fine.”
I choke on the laughter that bubbles up in my throat, and Grant turns to give me a tiny wink. Mr. Waters tries to hide his smirk but is unsuccessful.
“Very well then. Follow me.”
5
GRANT
I can’t get the taste of Laurel’s lips off my mind, not that I want to. It's just hard to concentrate on the book in front of me. I've read the same paragraph fifteen times, and I'm not retaining a damn thing.
She’s within arms-reach of me, and I can't hold her. So as much as I'd like to be spending this time finding all the spots on Laurel's body that make her squirm, we don’t have much time to utilize this unchaperoned opportunity to find out the identity of G.A.D.
“Nothing in any of these books,” Laurel sighs, closing the last book in front of her. “This is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.”
“Don’t give up just yet.”
Laurel stands up from her end of the sofa and raises her hands above her head to stretch. “It’s getting late. We should think about heading to bed.”
I nearly drop all the books in my lap in my rush to stand up. Laurel chuckles at my eagerness.
"So, have you read anything at all, or have you just been counting down the minutes until this moment?”
I quirk my eyebrow up at her. “Is that a trick question?”
Laurel closes the space between us and runs her hands up my chest. Her eyes widen slightly when she feels the wall of muscles beneath my shirt. I've never been more grateful that I’ve kept up my routine of swimming laps every morning at the university pool—a product of my days on the swim team in high school and undergrad.
“No trick.” She shakes her head. “Just looking for an honest answer.”
“Both.”
“Really?” She smiles, and it sets my heart thumping rapidly in my chest.
I lean down and rest my hands on the curve of her hips. “And you?” I breathe against her lips.
“Both.”
Thank fuck.
I lean down and lift her onto my shoulder. She squeals, but I don't put her down. I'm on a mission.
“You are going to hurt yourself,” she whispers loudly as I walk us both out of the library and down the hall to the room Mr. Waters instructed would be ours for the night.
