The Nice Guy Next Door (When In Waverly 1)

I scramble for something to say and wind up blurting out, “Probably because it’s an old lady name!” Nana’s mouth falls open, and she reaches up on her tippy toes to smack the back of my head. She can’t quite reach, so she smacks the back of my neck instead. “Why are you so violent? I was just making a joke.”

“It was rude, young man.”

“I’m thirty-one years old, for crying out loud.” I glance at Millie, and she looks relieved to have the attention taken off of her for the time being. I wonder how well she’ll do walking into the room full of nosy old women who have been retired too long and have nothing better to do than dig into the life of someone new.

“It’s okay. It’s true that that is why she doesn’t like it. Should we head into the book club meeting, Eilleen?” She gestures to the door of the conference room. It looks like they’re about to get started, and I don’t want to make her late.

I start to turn toward the bookshelves next to me but then decide to ask, “You didn’t lose my number already, did you?”

She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and shakes her head no. “Nope. I put it in my phone,” she says. This brings a grin to my face—a huge, cheesy one that goes from ear to ear—until she says, “You are related to my landlord and are my next-door neighbor, after all.”

“Right. Of course. Like I said, call me if you need anything,” I mutter. I give her a quick wave, grab the first book I see off the bookshelf, and check it out. I drive home in a fury. I get home and realize I checked out a massive romance book with a shirtless man on the cover. No wonder Colby’s sister, who works the desk at the library, asked if I was okay.