Chapter Four #2
Tess gasped. Not like she had when she’d stepped into the library, but rather like she’d trodden on a piece of glass. Now she was looking at Gabe like he’d just admitted to kicking puppies for fun.
Tess Hardy had already proved herself to be a very difficult person – no wonder she and Ella had instantly bonded – but Gabe couldn’t help but notice again that she was very pretty. All lush curves and velvety skin wrapped up in a blue-and-white gingham dress.
She was what Gabe’s distinguished Grandpa Sharma would have called ‘a pocket Venus’, and what his mother’s father, the rakish Papa Geoff, would call ‘a pocket rocket’.
‘Look, Tess, just ignore my brother, that’s what I always do.
’ Ella was now leading Tess to the octagonal desk at the centre of the room, where his former students were toiling away.
Or rather, Patrick was glued to his phone – Gabe would be having words with him later – and Mona was filing.
‘Let’s get you set up with your first Love Library loan before Gabe ruins everything for you. ’
‘How does this Love Library even work?’ Tess asked with a frown.
This was why they couldn’t have random people wandering in off the street …
‘It’s probably easier if I show rather than tell,’ Ella said, shooting Gabe a warning look. ‘Which character from a book do you fancy going on a date with? Except, this is just a little fun quirk of the scheme, the book and the character have to be out of copyright.’
‘Out of copyright?’ Tess queried with another frown. Even the frowns couldn’t take away from her pink sparkliness. ‘So, that’s a no then to whatshisname from Fifty Shades of Grey?’ She allowed herself a small, sly smile. ‘Well, that’s a relief. Whips and chains and whatnot, not really my thing.’
Gabe should really leave them to it. He certainly didn’t want to think about this woman in relation to whips and chains and giving her the thorough spanking that she richly deserved.
Besides, once Ella got an idea, it was impossible to get her to change course and this Tess Harding, no Tess Hardy, seemed to be of a very similar disposition.
Then again, they both clearly needed close supervision.
‘UK copyright law extends to seventy years after the death of an author,’ he explained.
‘Well, that’s not a problem. Still plenty of out-of-copyright hotties to choose from.’ Tess closed her eyes for a brief second. When she opened them again, her expression was dreamy. Soppy. Moony. ‘Fitzwilliam Darcy from Pride and Prejudice, please.’
‘Of course, right away.’ Ella turned to Patrick. ‘We’d like to take out Darcy from P the last thing they needed was a lawsuit.
‘You have to say Heathcliff’s name out loud and open the book.’
‘OK. Very Hogwarts,’ she muttered.
Gabe had never read any of the Harry Potter books but the highlights had seeped, unwillingly, into his consciousness.
If he had a pound for every time someone mentioned Hogwarts and the library in the same breath, he’d have so much money that the roof would be fixed, the damp in the cellar would be bone dry and they wouldn’t have to undertake utterly ludicrous and doomed-for-immediate-failure schemes like this one.
But no matter how many times Gabe had witnessed a library loan, and he’d first stepped through the doors at the tender age of five, it never got old.
Never lost its wonder.
Its magic.
Now, he watched intently as Tess closed her eyes. She has very long eyelashes. He’d never really noticed anyone’s eyelashes before.
Then she whispered Heathcliff’s name and opened the book …