Chapter 22
“All I’m saying is, Tolkien could’ve written a few more lead female characters instead of restricting the women in the book to the margins.
A female dwarf or elf as a member of the fellowship would have been nice.
Or think about how the quest would’ve been different if either Frodo or Samwise were women.
” Bella waved her graceful fingers as if casting a spell on the group.
Murmurs rippled around the room.
Tai waited to see if anyone would disagree. Not that he did, per se. The three main female characters—Arwen, Eowyn, and Galadriel—each had their moments of splendor, but not well balanced with their weaker moments, and no one could argue the books weren’t definitely male dominated. But . . .
“Not to play devil’s advocate here—”
Evangeline muttered something under her breath, and he could only imagine it had to do with the phrase that made it sound like he was on the devil’s side.
She was bound and determined to cloak herself with a low opinion of him even though he was trying to prove to her he didn’t deserve it.
It almost made him want to live up (or down, rather) to her expectations.
There were plenty of things she’d consider bad behavior that he could do.
Things like finding a dark, empty corner of this library, pressing her against a bookshelf, and kissing her senseless.
He may have let his thoughts drift there (he was no saint) and imagined how good her sassy mouth captured by his would feel, but he’d never actually do such a thing.
Some might argue he was already forcing himself on Evangeline, but coming to an agreement in which she had to spend time with him was different than stealing a kiss without consent.
He speared her a pointed look, raising one of his brows. “What was that, Angel?”
“Sorry, tickle in my throat.” She touched the base of her neck, feigning innocence. “Please, continue.”
Bella’s brother, Aiden, stood, then walked behind the circle of chairs. His hand landed on Evangeline’s shoulder, and he leaned down and whispered in her ear. She gave him a small smile and mouthed thank you before he strode to the beverage counter and poured her a glass of water.
“As I was saying . . .” Tai pulled his thoughts away from the exchange and back to the book discussion, although he kept his focus on Aiden and Evangeline.
“It makes sense that the series would be more male driven given the time period in which they were written—the 1950s—as well as the fact that Tolkien drew on his own experiences during World War One and the male bonds and camaraderie he was a part of during that difficult time.”
Aiden walked back and touched Evangeline’s shoulder again as he handed her the water.
The man was obviously interested in her.
Ever since the book club meeting had started, he’d done nothing but compliment her, steering the conversation in ways to drop clues that he found her beautiful and intelligent, essentially hitting on her in the most literary fashion.
Now he was conjuring up ways to give her small touches and secret moments even though they were in the middle of a group event.
The interesting part, however, was Evangeline’s response to Aiden.
She’d turned Tai down point-blank when he’d asked her out.
But if Tai was a dark figure in Evangeline’s eyes, then Aiden should be noon on a summer’s day.
While Tai’s tattoos and black leather apparel made him appear edgy, Aiden’s whole vibe was as wholesome as a Sunday afternoon PBS special.
But she wasn’t encouraging Aiden’s attention any more than she had Tai’s.
Even though she was single. Even though she was clearly obsessed with the idea of love and romance and marriage considering the lengths she was willing to go to in order to continue her matchmaking shenanigans.
Even though on the outside Aiden and Tai were opposites and therefore Aiden should be her type since she professed Tai wasn’t.
Evangeline Kelly, lover of love, didn’t seem to be interested in the experience for herself.
Why was that?
“That’s an interesting point.” Bella brushed her pink fingertips across Tai’s forearm. “I hadn’t considered such a thing before.”
Tai shifted in his seat, the movement enough to make Bella retract her hand, but not before he noticed Evangeline’s intense stare burning a hole on the spot of their connection.
Emotions warred with one another on the battleground of her face.
Longing with a hint of jealousy, although that last one may have been more his wishful thinking than reality.
Before he could analyze further, however, her mouth firmed into a thin line of determination and she ripped her gaze away, focusing on the participants on the other side of the circle.
“Ken, Samantha, did anything else stand out to either of you as you read the books that you’d like to discuss?”
This wasn’t the first time Evangeline had put Ken and Samantha in the spotlight.
Never separate, though. Always together.
Tai dipped his chin to hide a grin against his shoulder.
She was trying her darndest to spark a flame among the library patrons.
Too bad her efforts worked about as well as igniting a fire with wet wood and no matches.
Ken and Samantha might’ve been giving each other curious eyes over by the coffee maker before the discussion began, but after arguing about the lack of diversity in the books—Samantha saying more representation was needed while Ken defended the nearly all-white cast—they’d been giving each other cool glares.
“I think I’ve said enough for today,” Ken responded curtly.
Samantha mumbled, “More than enough.”
Evangeline looked around the room with a painted smile on her face. “Well.” She looked to Bella, then to Tai, then back to Bella, a calculated gleam in her eye to go along with the determined set of her shoulders.
A weight of foreboding pulled at Tai’s stomach. He felt a bit like a rabbit about to be caught in a hunter’s snare. Ken and Samantha weren’t cooperating, so it seemed Little Miss Matchmaker was going to pour her efforts onto him.
Too bad for her, he didn’t plan to be any more accommodating.
“There’s always a lot of discussion about who the hero of the story is, although there’s arguably more than one heroic figure within the pages.” Evangeline turned her deceptive smile on Bella. “Which character would you say bears the title of true hero?”
Bella tipped her head to the side in thought.
“Well, the most obvious answers would be either Frodo or Samwise. Frodo because he bore the burden of the One Ring and was willing to sacrifice himself for the good of the world. Samwise because of his loyalty and because without his help Frodo would have failed in his quest. Even Tolkien himself called Samwise the chief hero.”
“That’s true,” Aiden added with a confirming nod.
“However.” Bella flicked her gaze toward Tai. “Neither Frodo nor Samwise are the heroes I’d personally pick.”
“What do you mean?” Carla asked. “Who would you choose if not one of the hobbits?”
“I know Tolkien didn’t write the books as a romance, but I can’t help but look for love within the pages.” She shrugged her dainty shoulder. “I guess I’m a romantic at heart. So, for my book boyfriend, I’d choose—” She drew out the word to add a touch of suspense. “Gimli.”
“The dwarf?” Aiden asked incredulously.
Bella notched her chin, then looked openly at Tai. “He may’ve been short in stature, but his presence was larger than a giant. Besides, I like that he was a little rough around the edges. Explosive, even. A man like that is exciting. Imagine what he could do with a woman.”
Heat climbed up Tai’s neck, and he cleared his throat before the feeling strangled him. Tai was flattered by Bella’s attentions, but his interest lay elsewhere. The sooner Bella—and Aiden, for that matter—realized that, the better.
He turned his head and stared straight into Evangeline’s eyes. “What do you think, Angel? Do you prefer a layered antihero who may be misunderstood and wrongly judged by the world around him or a more patent, cliched hero who’s not only boring but also may be too good to be true?”
Evangeline’s throat worked as she swallowed hard.
She was an intelligent woman. She knew exactly what he was saying.
“Oh, look at that. We’re out of time.” Her voice held a nervous, breathless quality as she shot to her feet.
“Next month we’ll be discussing A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman.
There are copies at the front desk that you can check out.
” She turned and marched to the refreshment counter, her movements jerky as she began cleaning up.
“I’ll see you next month,” she called over her shoulder.
Samantha was the first to gather her things and storm out of the room—in a hurry to get away from Ken and his mildly racist comments, no doubt.
Hopefully the man ruminated on the discourse and the things Samantha had said about diversity and representation in fiction and how it weighed in the world they lived in.
Tai didn’t think Ken even realized how his comments had sounded or that he’d acted as a microaggressor.
Tai just hoped the man learned from the experience and did better in the future.
Carla took a little while longer to gather her belongings, hiding a yawn behind her hand as she exited the room, followed by Ken and his friend.
That left the siblings. Bella and Aiden seemed to be in some sort of heated argument, though they kept their voices so low that Tai couldn’t hear what they were saying.
Finally, Aiden shook his head and sighed, turning his chin so he could look at Tai.
Tai met his gaze head-on. Aiden shook his head again, but this time a smile cracked his lips.
Aiden leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Settle an argument for us. You and the librarian.” He jutted his chin toward Evangeline. “Are you two together?”
When Tai didn’t immediately answer, Bella swatted her brother on the arm. “See?”
Aiden held Tai’s gaze a second longer. “All right, then. I’m going to throw my hat in the ring.”
Tai’s jaw clenched as he watched Aiden stand and saunter toward Evangeline.
He wanted to bolt from his chair and block the other man’s path.
Tell him to back off and keep away from her.
He’d never had a possessive bone in his body before, but watching the golden boy approach his Angel had his instincts spiraling toward a primitive nature.
Every knock of his heart against his ribs seemed to be saying mine, mine, mine.
He gripped the edge of his chair to keep himself seated. He would not act the Neanderthal.
“She’s a lucky woman.”
Bella’s voice barely made its way through the thick haze clouding his mind. With great effort, he pulled his attention away from Aiden as he leaned against the counter, chatting Evangeline up.
“Excuse me?”
“I said, she’s a lucky woman. She may not realize it yet, but she is.”
Tai’s nostrils flared. “Because your brother is such a great guy, she should feel lucky he’d ask her out?”
Bella’s lips quirked. “She’s not going to go out with him.”
“How do you know?”
She rolled her eyes. “Because, you handsome idiot, she’s obviously already interested in someone else.”
Tai just stared at her.
“You!” She flung her arm in Evangeline’s direction. “She’s interested in you. Gosh, men are dumb.”
Tai couldn’t move.
“What are you doing still sitting there? Go interrupt them. Don’t let another guy hedge in on your woman.”
Tai didn’t need to be told twice.