Chapter 1
Delilah
Music blasts through my headphones as I finally get to the last box. I’ve been buried behind a wall of boxes in the library’s storage room for the past four hours, finally sorting through over a decade’s worth of paperwork.
I adore Katie, but she’s not the most organized person and she loathes spending any time in the storage room. Not that I can blame her. It’s dark, dirty, and mostly used as a dropping point.
It was quiet today, so I decided to tackle a job no one else would while in my element of organizing and decluttering.
The last box is only half full and fairly recent, so I sort through it quickly and file away the papers into the newly emptied and organized filing cabinets. I have a mountain of shredding to get to, but that can be a problem for another day.
Feeling good with my progress, I slip off my headphones and head out to check on Bertie.
The library is dark, all the lights are shut off, and I finally notice the time. Fuck. Bertie would’ve locked up ten minutes ago, thinking I left for the day. It wouldn’t be the first time I headed out in a hurry, so she wouldn’t think anything of it.
Grabbing my cell, I try dialing her number but it goes straight to voicemail.
Damn. It. I don’t have a key, which means I’m stuck in here.
Katie is on vacation with her husband and there’s no one else.
I knew I should’ve pushed harder to be given a spare key, but I’m not at that level yet and I’m usually done about thirty minutes before the library closes.
“Hello?” The metal gate at the front door rattles, a deep male voice sounding frustrated as the doors rattle again. Something about the voice sounds familiar, that odd feeling niggling that I know that voice. “You’ve locked me in here.”
I hear a muttered curse word followed by, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Sighing, I make my way to the front.
The man trapped inside with me is tall, his broad shoulders filling out his T-shirt in a way that has my heart fluttering a little. They remind me of—no, I cut that thought off. I won’t let myself fall down that rabbit hole.
“Hello. I’m sorry, I’ve—” My words cut out as he turns around, a flood of memories surfacing as those familiar brown eyes meet mine. I guess I am falling down the rabbit hole. “David.”
Taking a step back, I cross my arms. I haven’t seen him in four years. Not since he ripped my heart out. It was my fault, but it still hurts.
The frustration clears from his gaze, shock replacing it as he stares. “Delilah. It’s been…a long time.”
Inhaling a sharp breath as his eyes look over me, heat blooming in my belly, I dig my fingers into my side.
Ignoring his comment, I finish what I had been starting to say.
“I tried calling my colleague to unlock the door. Unfortunately, I don’t have a key, so unless she decides to turn her phone back on, we’re stuck here until morning. ”
My chest aches as I stare at him. If anything, he’s grown more attractive in the last four years.
When I moved from Edmonton back home to Thistle Creek, I thought for sure my chances of running into him again were zero.
Yet here he is, in my small town library, staring at me like he didn’t break my heart four years ago.
The rational part of my brain knows he wasn’t wrong for ending things.
He’s ten years older than me and I was still in university while he was looking to settle down.
It doesn’t help that I let him think I was twenty-six instead of twenty-four, but I was crazy about him and wasn’t thinking about the consequences.
“I see.” He bends down, picking up a bag with a wet shirt hanging out of it. “I was in the washroom trying to clean up. A kid dumped some grape juice on my white shirt. I was trying to save it.”
Moving around him, I head behind the counter, relaxing a little.
It’s a mess, things not put where they’re supposed to be.
Bertie is a few months away from retirement and the woman has definitely gone into “get through it” mode.
“Bertie isn’t that great about checking all the areas.
Thankfully, this is the first time anyone has been trapped inside. ”
We fall silent as I clean up the desk until all the returned books are on the cart and everything is set for the next day. I can feel his eyes watching my every move.
Why did I forget to set my timer? I could be at home, snuggling on my couch and reading a book. Instead, I’m trapped in here with David.
With nothing left to do, I turn to face him, tucking my hair behind my ear with my left hand. His eyes immediately lock onto the ring finger.
Something flashes in his gaze, but it’s gone as quickly as it came. “Congrats on your engagement.”
Lowering my hand, I look at the ring. My lips tug up into a smile. “Thanks, but I’m not engaged. It was my grandmother’s. She passed away a few years ago. I just wear it on this finger.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.” His voice is soft. I need to look away from him. The kind way he’s looking at me is one of the things that made me fall for him in the first place.
Needing a minute, I excuse myself and head to the staff room to grab my bag. I dawdle there as well, tidying up. I wish I could say he doesn’t hold the same pull he did four years ago, but I would be lying to myself. I clocked his empty ring finger, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything.
Taking a deep breath, I grab a couple bottles of water from the staff fridge and head back. He’s sitting in the central area of the library on one of the couches, scrolling through his phone.
“Here.” Holding out the water, I jerk my hand back when his fingers brush over mine.
It’s like a volt shoots straight up my arm.
He’s the only man that’s ever solicited that reaction and apparently he’s the only man who ever will.
I’ve dated on and off since we broke up, but no one held the same appeal.
Not to mention, not a single one of the men I’ve dated could find my buttons like David.
Clenching my thighs, I open the water and take a deep drink, before sitting on a couch opposite from David. “I’m surprised to see you in Thistle Creek. It’s not exactly close to Edmonton, and there’s not much around here that draws in tourism.”
His lips twitch. But I’m right. Aside from the old grain elevator that’s being redone into a museum and the best Thai restaurant I’ve ever eaten at, Thistle Creek is incredibly tiny.
“I had a job interview this morning. I came to the library to pass time and look at housing options if it pans out, which it did. You’re looking at the new vice principal of Thistle Creek Central School.” He grins.
My stomach explodes with butterflies. He’s moving here.
To my tiny town. Where it’s impossible to avoid anyone.
“Congrats.” My voice sounds off, but I pretend everything is fine as I grab my phone and try calling Bertie again.
I can’t be trapped in here all night with David.
My heart and my head aren’t on the same page, my heart aching for him in a way that hurts.
My body craving him. And my head telling me not to read into the warmth in his eyes or the way he’s watching me.