Chapter 8 Books and Banter
Chapter Eight: Books and Banter
Hannah had smiled like a lovestruck teenager every time she thought about the forehead kiss.
He’d been at some kind of end of year conference in Richmond all week and she’d wondered if he’d accept her invitation and actually show up.
But here he was at the December meeting of the Willow Creek Wantons in a navy blue cardigan, pressed slacks and his wire-rimmed glasses.
Instead of looking out of place, he looked like he’d walked straight out of the pages of a romance novel about a naughty professor.
“Tell me again why I’m here?”
“Because you need to read something besides biographies and non–fiction. We’re having a book swap after tonight’s discussion.”
“I can’t participate in the discussion because I haven’t even read the book and I didn’t bring anything to swap.”
“The books are a framework to discuss broader issues affecting our lives. Sometimes they can be cathartic, and quite a few couples have worked past a misunderstanding. And don’t worry about the swap, I brought some extras so you’d have something to trade.”
“I’ve never read a romance book in my life and I don’t even know what I like.”
Hannah looked over her shoulder at him, trying to hold in her snigger. “That’s a loaded comment. You know what you like and those are the books you should look for.”
She wondered what his kink was as they took their seats in the circle. She knew he had one because he was too strait-laced not to be suppressing something naughty.
When he sprawled in the chair, slouching a little, and draping one leg over the other, his knee brushed against her thigh. The pressure from that light touch sent her thoughts spiraling, just like they had when he touched her wrist that morning.
She breathed a sigh of relief when the circulation desk librarian strode gracefully to the center of the room. Laura’s cheeks were flushed and Hannah could tell she was giddy with excitement.
“Okay, everyone! This is the first time we’ve done a freestyle read and I can’t wait to hear about the Christmas romances everyone found.
As you know, once we’re done talking about the books we’ve read, we’re going to have a swap.
Feel free to take notes when others are talking about what they read, just in case you want to look for that book during the swap.
Sam’s working on unloading the boxes you’ve dropped off this week, and they should all be laid out by the time we finish our discussion. ”
“So everyone read a different book?” Graham muttered.
“Yep,” Hannah said cheerfully. “That’s why it didn’t matter that you weren’t ready for a discussion. I think today’s going to be pretty chaotic.”
“What did you read?”
“I have five recommendations and I hope I get the chance to talk about all of them.”
“How did you manage to find the time to read five books in one month?”
“I actually read twenty, but I’m just going to highlight the ones I can’t stop thinking about.”
“No wonder you’re an English teacher.”
“And the fact that you’re astonished by the number of books I read just reinforces the fact you’re a math teacher.”
“I read books, Pi.”
“Oh, I’m sure you do. Dry, boring ones with musty pages.”
“I like the occasional epic fantasy. I re-read Jordan’s Wheel of Time series last year.”
She turned her head so she could wink. “There’s romance in that series, so maybe you’re not hopelessly irredeemable after all.”
“I didn’t know you were trying to redeem me,” he said as he crossed his arms and raised his brow.
Hannah bit her lip as she looked away. His broad shoulders stretched the knit of the navy sweater, and she more than half wished he’d push the sleeves up his forearms. She sighed in relief when the librarian clapped her hands again, bringing the meeting to order.
“Now that you’ve all had the chance to settle in, we’ll go around the room. I ask that each of you talk about at least one book and tell the group why you loved it so much. If we have time, we’ll go around the circle again.”
Laura pivoted so that she was facing Hannah. “Since you’re on the end, do you mind going first Ms. Snow?”
“I don’t mind, but I wish you’d just call me Hannah.”
Laura smiled brightly. “Fine, Hannah. Why don’t you tell us about one of the books you read.”
“It’s not technically a Christmas book, but it’s a winter one and the hero is definitely a grinch.
The title is The Winter Princess by Keira Dominguez, and it’s about art restoration and slowly falling in love with someone you thought was your complete opposite but is actually your other half.
The Winter Princess is a painting and the focal point is a girl who was frozen until a kiss infused her with color and warmth.
The heroine sees herself as the other depictions of that same folktale, frozen in time and wearing a mask of politeness befitting her role as a royal.
She doesn’t want those depictions and she secretly admires a man who’s gruff, rude and territorial and the antithesis of everything she should want.
She secretly thinks he might hold the key to unlocking her icy cage. ”
As she wrapped up her summary, Hannah was suddenly aware how much Graham Hollister resembled the intractable Oskar Velasquez.
“What are the tropes?” The wildflower farmer who’d only recently started coming to the meetings, asked.
“Grumpy vs. sunshine, but he shows her she can be grumpy too when she wants. Forbidden love, forced proximity and opposites attract. There are sharp words exchanged at times, but it’s not really an enemies to lovers story.
It’s more like a slow reveal of their true characters as the masks and lies they’ve told themselves are stripped away. ”
“What’s the heat level?” Taren Hayes asked.
“There’s so much tension between Freja and Oskar it’ll make your head spin, but it all ends in kissing that makes them feel like birds stuck on a livewire in the middle of a storm.
They have this impulse to fly away because the perch is dangerous, but they can’t help loving the way the wind musses up their feathers. ”
“It sounds amazing,” Annika the wildflower farmer sighed.
“I’ll add it to the library catalogue,” Laura said before she focused her attention on the other side of the room. “Annika, why don’t you tell us about one of the books you read?”
Once everyone was distracted by Annika’s description of the Jane Austen retelling she'd read, Graham leaned forward and propped his elbows on his knees. He was much closer than he’d been two minutes ago and Hannah gulped.
“Snow, is that what the tension between us feels like to you? Like you’re a bird on a wire?” He whispered into her ear.
She gave him a one shouldered shrug. “Sometimes maybe.”
“I think we need one more planning session to go over the details.”
“That can be arranged,” she said and ignored the way her pulse quickened.
Since the forehead kiss in her kitchen, she’d been hyperaware of everything about him.
The rustle of his clothes. The way he loosely clasped his hands together when he was nervous.
The tic in his jaw she now suspected had nothing to do with anger.
“Does your brother have the kids tomorrow?”
She’d told him that her brother Raine and Cindy had planned a bunch of holiday activities with the kids.
Whenever Wagner had been on leave for the holidays, they’d gallivanted around looking at every local light display and doing every single goofy Christmas thing they could find.
Raine was determined to keep up the tradition and he knew it gave her a much-needed break.
“Yeah, he and Cindy are taking them on a Polar Express train ride tomorrow.”
“I love that movie,” he confessed. “If I break into that hot chocolate song do you think the librarian will eject me for causing a disruption?”
Hannah laughed quietly. “She’d definitely eject you. Why’d you ask me if Raine has August and Sophie tomorrow?”
“This time I’m inviting you to my house. I met your kids, and now you can meet mine. A grumpy cat named Max.”
She wanted to clap. “We can’t have one because Sophie’s deathly allergic. Hence the Houdini gerbil. What time should I be there?”
“Is ten too early?”
“No, that’s perfect.”