“Mr. Hawkins,” Doris Brown said in a strident tone as she came to stand next to him. “Two visits to the library in the same month?”
He looked down at the petite older woman and his smile widened. “Hello, Miss Doris. If I had known you were here, I would have sat next to you.”
Doris made a face but he saw the twinkle in her eyes. She may claim that she didn’t like bad boys but he knew she liked the challenge they offered.
“I didn’t realize you were a fan of poetry,” she said.
“I didn’t realize it, either.” Sean hadn’t actually paid attention to the poems but had spent most of the evening watching Isabel. He enjoyed seeing the delight, surprise and enthusiasm on her face.
Miss Doris’s lips twisted to the side. “I hear you have become a bibliophile.”
Sean frowned at her statement. He could take books or leave them. He wasn’t as attached to them as Isabel was. “Because I’ve visited the library twice?”
“Because you joined Isabel’s book club.”
Sean paused as he felt the punch of surprise. What else had the older woman discovered about that night? “Where do you get your information?” he murmured.
“Let’s cut to the chase,” Miss Doris suggested. “You are obviously interested in Isabel. And, for some reason, she can’t keep her eyes off you.”
He automatically glanced in Isabel’s direction and found her looking at him. Heat radiated from deep inside Sean as their gazes held. A secretive smile played on Isabel’s pink lips before someone pulled her attention away.
“Have you read the book that got her into so much trouble?” he heard Doris Brown ask. “The Secret Diary of an Anonymous Victorian Lady?”
“I’m not the book’s target audience,” Sean said carefully as he looked at Doris. He had read the erotic diary this week. He wanted to understand why it had been so important to Isabel and why it had changed the way she viewed her life. That diary, along with the books that lined her bookcase at her home, revealed a great deal about Isabel. All of them were about finally being noticed by one important person.
“Well,” Doris said in a drawl, “read it if you want to get into Isabel’s bed.”
Sean tilted his head back and didn’t try to hide his suspicion of Doris’s intentions. “Why are you trying to help me?”
“I’m not. I have a bet with the reading circle that you two are going to become a couple. After losing the last bet, I’m determined to win this one,” she said before she marched away.
Sean shook his head as he watched Doris Brown leave. All small towns were the same. There were meddlesome matchmakers and judgmental prudes. The powerful and the outcasts. The good girls and the bad boys.
Which group did Isabel fall into these days?
He remained standing in the back of the room as he watched how the other townspeople interacted with Isabel. As far as he could tell, everyone treated her with respect. The gossipmongers might be hoping she would become more like her scandalous mother but Sean knew they were destined to be disappointed.
It wasn’t long before the food was devoured and people started to leave. He glanced at his watch and noticed it was past the library’s closing time when Isabel guided the last volunteer out of the main entrance. He strolled behind her as she locked the doors and turned around. She smiled when she saw him. He felt a tightness in his chest as her eyes lit up when he approached. Her smile was worth the wait to be alone with her.
“Was Miss Doris stirring up trouble?” Isabel asked as she stepped away from the entrance. The closed library was eerily quiet with most of the lights turned off. “I can have a word with her.”
“I can handle Miss Doris.” But he liked that Isabel was looking out for him. He could get used to that. “She was suggesting we should date. Not that she approves of me, but she has money riding on it.”
Isabel rolled her eyes as they walked toward her office, their footsteps echoing in the cavernous hallway. “This town and their bets. Did you tell her she could collect?”
Sean jerked his head with surprise. “Why would I do that? What we have is private.”
“You mean secret.” Isabel’s mouth settled into a grim line. “Would it be so bad if we went public?”
“Yes, it would.” Because what they had couldn’t last. He’d believed he could dampen the fire between them, but it only flared hotter. Soon it would become uncontrollable. Based on his past history, Sean knew that he couldn’t let his emotions go unchecked.
There was a time when he’d acted on every thought and emotion. He had ached to be heard, to be understood. Instead, he had alienated everyone he’d cared about. He had become too much trouble, too much work.