Check You Out (The Summerville Romances #1)

1 Charlotte

“Damn,” my best friend, Nicole Bennett, announces as she gazes around the meeting room of the Summerville Public Library.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many people at a town meeting.

” Her red hair is pulled up into a messy bun, and she’s wearing a gray shirt with a black cat holding a cup of coffee that reads: “You smell like drama and a headache. Please get away from me.”

I shrug and peer around. “Me neither. But I guess this is what happens when you have an emergency meeting for the first time in like forty years.” The only seats left are the ones in the front row, flanking us.

There’s a long table on one side of the room, where a few town council members mingle with other town officials, including the mayor.

Nicole chuckles and shakes her head. She glances at her phone and frowns. “This better be fucking worth it. I’m missing tips. If this is because the port-a-potty vendor backed out before Pride, I’m going to do something.”

“And that something is?”

“I will complain loudly, leave, and go to bed,” she replies.

I roll my eyes and shrug. Ladies and gentlemen, Nicole, the town grump and the best barista/bartender in the county.

She once shoved a potato in an ex-boyfriend’s muffler after he cheated on her.

It broke a window. She’s mastered resting-bitch-face to the point where small children shy away from her.

I nudge against her and swivel around in my seat to see if anyone else I know has arrived.

Someone is sitting next to me, and I didn’t even realize it. That someone is a tall, devastatingly handsome man. I let out a short, stifled yelp and nearly fall off my chair. Really smooth.

Aidan Talbot.

He is one of my customers who comes in every few weeks and buys a couple of books.

He’s tall, at least a head taller than my five-foot four frame.

Dark, wavy brown hair falls over his forehead and lands around his ears.

His deep brown eyes are enhanced by a pair of wire-rimmed glasses.

His square jaw is emphasized by a mustache and a dusting of a five-o'clock shadow. He’s wearing a gray sweater-blazer with a red, blue, and white checkered shirt, collar popping out at the neck.

And he’s carrying a library copy of Legendborn by Tracy Deonn.

A gorgeous man with great taste in books? Yes please.

I’ve wanted to ask Aidan out, or at least I have no idea what he thinks of me. He’s so quiet and reserved. I once asked his roommate and he only shrugged.

“Oh hi, Aidan,” I squeak out after coming back down to earth.

Aidan’s eyes grow wide with concern and his mouth parts.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.

I-I-I just sat down. Um… hi, sorry again.

” His velvety voice trails off before he looks down at the ’90s Lisa Frank rainbow cat-barf carpet.

A sheepish smile creeps up on his face and a dimple pops.

Holy fucking shit, he’s got dimples.

He has yet to smile at me.

My next words come out like sandpaper. “Oh, uh, no worries.”

Actually, I have many worries.

“Hello Charlotte,” says a voice just beyond Aidan. Xander Bennett, Nicole’s older brother and Aidan’s roommate of one month. He’s tall with brown hair and wears glasses. “Hey Little Nicky,” he says to Nicole. “Do you know what this stupid meeting is about?”

Aidan’s smile turns into a wince.

“Hey Lurch,” Nicole calls over my shoulder. She pulls a paper bag out of her satchel. “I brought brownies.” She hands them to Aidan and me. “I used a different combination of chocolate. Let me know what you think. Except you, Xander. I don’t give brownies to assholes.”

His face melts into a smolder. “Don’t I deserve a crumb of kindness in my life?”

Nicole studies him for a few seconds. “Alright, fine. Only if you name your firstborn child after me.”

“I can’t. Gromit is my firstborn,” Xander says as he reaches over us and grabs a brownie, stuffing his face with it. “Oh my god. These are fucking amazing!”

“Your dog is not a child,” Nicole corrects.

In between chews, Xander replies, “At least he doesn’t poop in a box like your possessed goblin masquerading as a cat.”

She gives him a death glare and flips him off.

Rolling my eyes, I take a bite of the brownie. It’s rich and fudgy and oh so delightful. “So, how are you, Aidan? It’s been a while.” I immediately regret saying that. What if he thinks that I’m stalking him?

He nods. “I’ve been busy with school and moving.” He takes a bite of his brownie. I watch his jaw move and flex as he chews. “How are you?”

“Good, good. It must be nice to live closer to school.” I knew he had moved because Xander told Nicole, who told me. “It was a busy day in the store, but overall, I can’t complain. I just got a new shipment of books. You should come in sometime.”

Xander lets out a huff and says mockingly, “I’m fine, Charlotte. Thanks for asking me. I’ve been sitting here the entire time.”

Nicole leans over before I can apologize. “Hey Lurch, do you have my 1989 CD? I lent it to your girlfriend. I can’t seem to find it, and I didn’t donate any CDs.”

“Which one?” he asks.

“Ivy?”

Xander replies with a one shouldered shrug. “No. I didn’t keep anything from a girl who broke up with me over a decade ago, Little Nicky.”

“Damn,” Nicole hisses and scrunches her nose. “Hey, any theories on what this is about? I think it’s because the port-a-potty vendor backed out for Pride and we need to find another one.”

“I think it’s something serious,” I add. “Like maybe someone’s lost or maybe there’s twenty-four Easter Eggs still missing from the Egg Hunt.”

“Maybe there’s a murderer on the loose,” Xander chimes in. “Or riots, like the last emergency town meeting.”

Aidan’s anxious gaze shifts to Xander. His brows furrow. “What happened at the last emergency meeting?”

I chuckle. “According to the town elders, there was a rumor of riots in Baltimore because the Colts left. Of course, there were no riots.” Aidan swivels back to me as I talk. He chews on his lower lip.

“The Colts?”

Nicole’s brows knit together. “The Baltimore Colts? They were the football team here before the Ravens and left in the middle of the night.”

Aidan shakes his head. “When did this happen?”

“1984,” Nicole, Xander, and I say simultaneously.

“We’ve heard the story a lot,” I add. “Georgie tells it every March 28, at Little Bennett’s. I’m surprised he hasn’t written a song about it like The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.”

“I purposely avoid the bar that day,” Xander remarks and shoulders Aidan. “I swear this is the last time I agree to come with you to one of these things.”

I tilt my head to the side. “You come to town meetings?”

Aidan nods.

“Oh really? I haven’t seen you at any of the meetings. I go to all of them. I’m also part of the Chamber of Commerce Committee, the Events Committee, and the Beautification Committee.” I grin. Oh god, is he going to think I’m some sort of weirdo who likes to watch C-SPAN?

“I get here late and stick to the back.” He gestures toward the back of the room, which is now occupied by multiple groups of people.

“Gotcha, I sit in the front and pay way too much attention to notice who else is here.”

“You’re always early,” Nicole grumbles.

I turn to her and place my hands on my hips. “You don’t have to come to every single meeting with me. You have free will.”

“Not when you bring out Sad Face.” Nicole jabs a finger at my chin. “See, there it is! Your eyes get all wide and you look like you’re about to cry.”

“I didn’t even realize that I was doing Sad Face.” I turn back to Aidan and Xander. “Am I doing it right now?”

Aidan moves his head a centimeter but doesn’t say anything.

Xander looks me straight on and replies, “Yes. You look like my dog when it’s four-thirty and his dinner time is five.”

Nicole smirks. “Cats are so much better.”

Xander mumbles something that sounds like, “Cat people.”

Rolling my eyes and ignoring their discourse, I turn to Aidan. “I’ve been meaning to ask, what’s it like living with Xander?”

He lifts his shoulder. “It’s fine. He’s quiet. Clean.”

“Why haven’t you brought him to Trivia Night?” Nicole asks, shaking her head.

“I don’t go to Trivia Night,” Xander replies, crossing his arms.

“You don’t have to go,” I say to Aidan with a lowered voice. “Sometimes I go, but not often.” He doesn’t reply and I continue talking to fill the space. “Would you be interested in book trivia? I’ve been thinking about starting on up.”

He nods and flashes a faint smile. “Sure, I guess.”

I purse my lips and study him for a few seconds. Am I doing this wrong? Why isn’t he getting my subtle hints that I find him attractive? I know I’m not the best at flirting, but I feel like my middling attempts have worked in the past. Am I just annoying him and he’s too polite to say anything?

Am I the problem?

Mayor Zelda Harrington calls the meeting to order, wrangling my mind back into focus. She’s a petite woman, with curly black hair and dark brown complexion.

“Thank you all for coming to this last-minute meeting.” She stands at her place of honor in the center of the long table in front of us.

“The subject of today’s meeting is a rather serious one.

The Douglass County Proposed Operating Budget was released for the next fiscal year by County Executive, Stephen Gott. ”

There’s some murmuring in the crowd.

Nicole nudges me hard in the ribs. She does this every time my high school boyfriend is mentioned. My ribs are still sore from when he was elected County Executive last year.

That’s the problem with staying in your hometown, everyone remembers the stupid mistakes you made when you were fifteen. It’s even worse when that mistake gets elected to represent the entire county.

I shrink in my chair, willing myself to disappear into the Lisa Frank cat-barf carpet.

Mayor Harrington looks at the gathered crowd. She continues, “The new budget has very steep cuts. Especially for the Douglass County Public Library System. As a result, the Summerville Branch Library will close permanently on June 30.”

My mouth drops.

This can’t be happening.

What in the actual fuck?