Page 68 of Twilight at Croftwood Library
‘Oh, okay. So is it a coincidence that she hasn’t been in here since the morning you apparently went to the wholesalers?’
‘What? How would you know that? Have you been sitting there twenty-four-seven waiting for her to appear?’ But she was right, it was no coincidence, but he hadn’t realised that until he went to the library. How had Amy realised? Was he being stupid, and something was going on that everyone else but him could see?
‘I’m pretty sure she has not been in here, Oliver. If she doesn’t turn up even for the precious book club, she hasn’t been in at all!’ Her voice was getting louder, a sign that she was about to blow but at least it would soon be over.
‘Well, I don’t know why she hasn’t been in.’ He hated blatantly lying but he had no choice. ‘You’re reading too much into stuff that’s just not there.’ He reached out and took her hand. ‘It’s just a dinner with a hundred other people, it’s work.’
She looked at him and tilted her head to one side. He’d won her over.
‘Okay. You’d better be planning to take me out to dinner to make it up to me.’
‘You’ve got it.’
After he’d been to the library to see Lois, he’d felt sorry not to have realised that she was finding it hard to stay friends. It was understandable. He’d moved on with Amy which had made it easier for him to forget what might have been between him and Lois. It was different for her, and he was an idiot for literally asking her to explain herself. But now that they were going to the awards ceremony in London, was she going to be okay with that? He was pretty sure it wouldn’t have been her idea and if she wasn’t happy about it, he didn’t know what he’d do. He was looking forward to it and determined that Lois was going to enjoy what would hopefully be a very special night.
37
Lois was loitering at the information desk in the Hive waiting until it was time for her meeting.
‘What are you going to do then? Go in and tell them it’s your gig and you’re going to choose who gets to go.’ Andrew got on his high horse so easily.
‘I can’t do that.’ That was exactly what she wanted to do but she wasn’t very good at having to stand up for herself at work. It seemed risky. All the other risky things she’d done recently were very much under the radar.
But the alternative was that she was stuck going with Oliver. That in itself wasn’t bad but given how they’d left things last time she’d seen him, it was going to be awkward having to spend the evening together as well as having to cope with the rest of the group from County Libraries who she didn’t know very well. She also felt bad that Linda and Rosemary had been overlooked, and she’d have taken Steph as well because it was no mean feat getting the mobile library customers involved.
‘Christ Lois, you don’t want to spend an evening in London living it up with that lot.’ He tipped his head and looked upwards even though the only person who had an office in the Hive was Robert and Lois wasn’t sure he was invited either.
‘No, I don’t really and if it was Robert making the decision, I might have the nerve to say something but David is a bit intimidating, to be honest.’
‘Well, you’re going to have to suck it up and hang out with Oliver. Why’s that so bad anyway? What’s wrong with him?’ Andrew paused mid-scan of a book and looked at Lois with narrowed eyes.
‘Nothing’s wrong with him. He’s really nice. But…’ It would be a mistake to tell Andrew. It would invite a lot of advice that she didn’t need. ‘He’s a bit boring, to spend a whole evening with… you know.’
‘Hmm. Maybe you will end up spending the evening with that lot then.’ He was scanning books like a demon again, so Lois decided to take the opportunity to cut the conversation short while she was ahead.
She climbed the stairs to Robert’s office. The door was open, and she was the first to arrive.
‘Lois! Lovely to see you. How is life in Croftwood?’ Robert took his glasses off and made a steeple with his fingers.
‘Great, thanks, Robert. Things have picked up on the borrowing front over the past couple of weeks and the new teenage library is working out well.’ The beanbags had been in full-time use over the weekend, and they were starting to get people calling in after school now as well.
‘Excellent. I did have a quick look at the figures, and it is certainly doing very well. Well done.’
‘Robert, before David comes, do you think I’ve got any sway at all with trying to have some input into who gets invited to the awards ceremony?’
Robert sucked in a breath and pursed his lips. ‘You could try by all means but, in my experience, the ones who do all the work rarely get the glory.’
‘Morning, Robert. Lois,’ said David as he strode into the office, folding his coat and laying it carefully on top of a pile of books. ‘Fantastic news about being shortlisted for the award, Lois, really fantastic.’
‘Thanks, David.’
‘You must send our thanks and congratulations to your team.’
It was now or never. He had paved the way for her. ‘I was hoping that some of the Croftwood staff could come to the awards ceremony.’
‘Yes, of course, we’ve allocated two tickets to Croftwood. Did you not receive the email from Sue about it?’ He started tapping his phone with a frown on his face.
‘We did, I just wondered if there was any flexibility. More people have had a hand in this than me and Oliver, it would be nice for all of them to experience the evening.’ Lois’s heart was beating so loudly she was sure he’d hear it.
