Madeline put her hand against her forehead and shook her head. “Then review a book you’ve already read.”
“That would be cheating.” Abby crossed her arms over her chest to ensure Madeline understood how adamant she was about it.
“First, reviewing a book you have read isn’t cheating. Reviewing a book you haven’t read would be. And—”
“I would never—”
“Second.” Madeline waved two fingers at Abby, cutting her off. “You could consider doing something other than a review. Everyone is dying to hear you speak.”
Abby crinkled her nose. “No. My voice is too weird.”
“Are you kidding me?” Madeline sat across the desk and framed Abby’s face with her hands. “Look at you. The sweet, demure librarian. Everyone’s expecting you to have a high-pitched whiny voice. But—”
“That’s just mean.” Abby straightened the pile of books again, even though they hadn’t moved. “Why would people think that?”
“Stereotypes. Everyone does it. Judging a book by its cover and all. Look at me.” Madeline adjusted her glasses. “Nobody would ever guess what a freak I am in bed.”
“Eww, stop.”
Though Madeline was right. Abby had seen no one who epitomized geeky librarian more than Madeline. But the things Madeline shared about what she enjoyed in bed with the men she dated made Abby blush. So much so that Abby declared talk of sex off limits. Not that Madeline obliged her, but still, she’d set the boundary. Perhaps set was too strong of a word. Suggested the boundary was more fitting.
“The internet would go wild if they heard you speak,” Madeline continued, ignoring Abby’s reaction to her mention of sex. “Your low gravelly register would have women throwing themselves at your feet.” Madeline leaned forward and slapped Abby’s desk. “Shit. I forgot. That’s one reason I stopped in.”
“To talk about my voice?”
“No! Have you checked your accounts today?”
Abby scowled. “Of course not. I’ve been working.”
“Well, you’re off the clock now. Pull ’em up.” Madeline extracted her cellphone from her purse. “You’re gonna love this one. That mischievous dyke is flirting with you again.”
Abby stiffened at the worddykebut then relaxed. After all, dyke was part of her handle. Well, sort of. The Dykonic One. The clever name still made Abby smile.
She’d not mentioned to Madeline that @The_Dykonic_One, aka Blythe Willoughby, had reached out to her. If Madeline found out, she’d never drop it, and Abby was still uncertain about her next move.
Abby opened her desk drawer and dug around in her bag until she found her cellphone. Madeline’s wrist flicked in an upward motion across her own phone. Madeline’s fixation on scrolling gave Abby the opportunity to click on the picture of Blythe she’d downloaded a few days ago.
She couldn’t explain why she’d kept it, but there was something about the impish brown eyes and the sexy smirk that kept drawing Abby back. Blythe’s shock of brown hair, which was styled to stand up on one side, added to her carefree demeanor. Tattoos covered her arms. A bad girl? Was that what appealed to Abby?
“Are you listening to me?” Madeline said, jolting Abby from her daydream.
“Huh, yeah. Just checking my accounts.”
“And you haven’t seen it yet?”
Shit.What was she supposed to have seen? Evading the question seemed like the best response. “Messages and notifications flood in, so I don’t know where to start.” It wasn’t a lie. It just wasn’t what had distracted her.
“Check this out.” Madeline thrust her phone across the desk.
Abby’s cheeks heated. It was as if Madeline knew since Blythe’s face filled the screen.
“Hit play.” Madeline scurried around behind Abby’s desk. “If I were a lesbian, that crooked smile of hers would melt me or make my panties fall off.”
Abby glanced over her shoulder and gave Madeline a disapproving look before starting the video.
Blythe’s eyes danced as she said, “This is for my favorite librarian.”Then she brought her hands together in the shape of a heart.
“Swoon-worthy,” Madeline said.
