Chapter 25
One week later …
Arianna
When the bell rings, indicating someone is stepping into the library, I look up from my perch behind the desk. The moment I see who it is, I jump off my stool and round the counter.
“Melody. I haven’t seen you in forever,” I say as I cross the distance before hugging my friend.
When we release each other, she’s smiling. “I came by last week, but there was a sign on the door saying the library was closed for repairs. What happened?” She holds up a hand. “But wait. I digress. More importantly, is it true you got married?”
I hold out my hand and wiggle my fingers. “I did.” I’m beaming. I’m always beaming, so this is nothing new. I don’t even recognize myself when I look in a mirror.
She gasps as she takes my hand to look closer. “Holy shit. It’s true. I didn’t believe it. To one of the Wilde heirs?”
“Yep. His name is Dallas, and?—”
“Did I hear the bell, baby?” Dallas says as he emerges from the archive room behind the check-out desk.
Melody’s breath hitches. “Damn…” she utters under her breath. “Now I understand.”
Dallas wraps an arm around me. The man is so possessive he feels the need to make sure every man, woman, and child in Wilde knows I’m off the market.
I set a hand on his chest. “Dallas, this is Melody. Melody, Dallas.”
Dallas holds out a hand to shake Melody’s.
I’m pretty sure she swoons. I can’t blame her.
“Well, fuck me,” she mutters. “Are all the Wilde heirs sexy hunks? So far, I’ve met three, and you’re all carved from the same stone.”
I giggle. “Actually, Dallas’s brother, Brody, has arrived, too.”
Melody waves a hand dismissively through the air. “Well, keep him away from me. The last thing I need is a man.”
I lift my gaze as Brody approaches from behind Melody.
He’s been wandering the aisles, making sure he agrees that the library is structurally sound.
The local inspector gave me the okay to reopen today, but Brody’s in construction, and he’s made it clear he’ll be the one to decide if the library is safe.
Brody clears his throat. “Sounds to me like you’re in desperate need of a man; otherwise, who’s going to control that potty mouth of yours?”
Melody spins to the side and gasps. “Pardon?” The funniest part is that she gasps yet again as her eyes widen.
Brody smirks as he holds out a hand. “Brody Wilde. And you are?”
She doesn’t blink as she lets him take her hand. “Not interested in having someone tell me what words I can say.”
Brody chuckles deeply, notably not releasing her hand. “A pretty little thing like you should not be using such naughty words. I didn’t get your name.”
Melody tugs her hand, but she has to do it a few times before she’s able to shake free from Brody’s grip.
She shakes her head. “You don’t need my name.
I’ve heard the rumors. There’s something in the water up at that mansion.
You men show up, sweep some woman off her feet, and drag her down the aisle.
No, thank you. I have a demanding career. ”
Brody chuckles. “Don’t you fret, little lady. I’m not staying in Wilde. I’m just here to help get renovations started for the local businesses. Your name?” He leans closer to her, grinning.
Melody’s hands go to her hips, and she shakes her head again. “Nope.”
He laughs. “Do you think if you say your name out loud, I’ll cast a spell on you?”
She shrugs. “Not taking any chances.” She spins back to face me, gives me a quick hug, and turns toward the door. “I’ll come in another day, Arianna. I’ll call first to make sure no unmarried Wilde is visiting before I come in.” She practically jogs out the door.
Dallas wraps his arms around me from behind, pulling my back tightly against his chest.
“Who was that whirlwind?” Brody asks, staring out the front windows as Melody gets in her car.
“Melody Thorne. That’s her real name, anyway. I think.”
“What do you mean by her real name?” Brody asks, still watching as she pulls away.
“She’s an author. No one in town knows her pen name. I assume her real name is Melody.”
Dallas is silently laughing at my back. His body is shaking. “How long did you say you were going to stay in town, Brody?”
Brody finally jerks his gaze back toward us. “A few months, tops.”
“You sure about that?”
“Positive.”
I bite my lip to stifle my giggles. Brody and Melody… Interesting combination. She’s got spunk. I’m pretty sure all the blood drained from her face when Brody suggested she needed to be punished for cussing. That is certainly what he implied. Melody didn’t miss the innuendo.
He grunts. “Why was the front door unlocked, anyway? I wasn’t done inspecting the structural integrity of the building.”
Luckily, Dallas answers for me. “Chill. The damage was in the attic above the second-floor apartment. I saw it myself. You can go look. The ceiling hasn’t been repaired yet, but the pipes are fixed.
There’s no risk. Do you think I’d let my wife come into this building if I thought there was any chance in the world she would be in danger?
” He narrows his gaze, but his eyes are dancing.
Brody grunts again and marches toward the back of the library. “I assume I can reach that second floor from somewhere back here?”
“Yes,” Dallas tells him.
As soon as I hear Brody stomping rapidly up the stairs, I turn in my husband’s arms. “He’s never leaving Wilde.”
Dallas chuckles. “Nope. Looks like he met his match, too.”
“Poor Melody.”
Dallas tugs my hair, forcing me to tip my head back.
The only reason it’s not up in a bun is because he has convinced me to drop the matronly librarian act.
I’m not sure when he might let me start working alone here.
I suspect he will come with me every day for a while.
He’s not done looking at the building specs for the entire town yet.
Now that he’s here, Brody will be joining him.
He gives me a harsh look. “You saying it’s tough being married to a Wilde?”
I flatten my palms on his chest and pat him. “Nearly impossible.”
He bends down, tucks his shoulder into my stomach, and lifts me into the air.
“ Dallas .” I shove at his back from over his shoulder.
He swats my butt. “I figure we have a few minutes before Brody gets back downstairs. I think I’ll spread you out on the table in the archive room and?—”
I gasp. “You are not spreading me out anywhere in this library for any reason, Dallas. Forget it.”
He laughs as he lowers me so I’m sitting on the check-out counter. His hands trap me by landing on either side of my hips. He bends to kiss my stomach. “We should try again.”
I giggle as I thread my fingers in his hair. “We do not need to try again, big guy. You’ve already filled me with your potent seed three times today, and it’s not even noon.”
Call it intuition. I don’t really have any definitive reason to believe I’m pregnant yet, but I know I am.
It’s a feeling. I won’t say anything because I don’t want to get Dallas all excited when I have no proof whatsoever, but I’d bet my library books that the virile man knocked me up on our wedding night.
I shove against his shoulders. “Put me down. I need to get to work. I have a library to run.”
He lifts me to the floor but keeps me pinned to the front of the counter. “Half your regular library visitors won’t bother coming in now that you’re off the market,” he teases.
I roll my eyes. “I have plans to make this library vibrant and draw in more people, you know.”
He kisses me briefly. “Fine. Fine. Books. Whatever. Go organize them.” He turns me toward the aisles and swats my ass.
I squeal as I jump out of his reach and point toward the back room. “Go look at your blueprints. Stop harassing me at my workplace.”
As I back away, Dallas smirks, but it quickly turns into the warmest, most loving smile I’ve ever seen. The man teases me relentlessly, but he indulges me at the same time, and I know he always will.
I stare into his eyes for a long time as I slowly put distance between us. I joke, but I don’t like to be separated from him any more than he likes to part from me. We’re sappy and disgusting, just like Reagan and Tiago, plus Claire and Ryder.
I suspect that sappy and disgusting will extend to Melody and Brody before the end of the week. Now that Emilia is in town, she’ll probably fall under the mansion’s spell, too, perhaps catching Haden’s eye when he arrives.
There’s definitely something in the water in Wilde.