Her face lit up. “Oh. Interesting. Do tell.”
Ethan chuckled. “She’s been on a few of my hikes. She told me she’s a romance author, and I asked if I could find her books in the Country Store. Then she changed the subject. Based on how evasive she was, I assumed that was a yes.”
“Maybe she writes under a pen name,” Allison said. Ethan turned toward the other woman in the library, who sat at a table with her laptop open in front of her. She was a regular at the library and was always there whenever Ethan went in, as few times as that may have been.
Mia nodded. “Maybe. Let me do a quick search and see if I can find a pen name linked to her real name.”
Allison stood and walked over to them. “Wouldn’t it be cool if she was some famous author? Like Lillian Taylor.”
Mia paused and looked up at Allison with her eyes wide. “I would die.”
The wheels in Ethan’s head turned. When he saw her at the Country Store, she was looking at the display, which had several Lillian Taylor books on it. Her name was likely short for Lillian.
“Where is Lillian Taylor from?’
Mia typed on the keyboard. “Texas.”
Ethan’s eyebrow raised. “Lily is from Texas too.”
“Oh, my God! Let’s confirm this.” She typed away quickly on her computer and then turned the monitor toward Ethan. “There aren’t a lot of photos around of her, but I found one from a signing a few years back. Is this her?”
Lily’s face stared back at him, smiling timidly beside a fan.
A small smile must have tilted his lips, because Mia’s eyes darted to Allison’s before meeting Ethan’s. She reached across the counter and gripped his arm. “I want to meet her!”
“All right. Calm down, turbo.”
“I’m serious, Ethan. I’m her biggest fan.”
“How cool would it be if Ethan married her?” Allison said.
Ethan’s head whipped toward Allison. “Excuse me?”
Mia bounced up and down, her death grip still on Ethan’s arm. “Yes! Ethan! You must marry her!”
“Okay. You women need to calm down.” He pried Mia’s fingers off his arm and backed up. “I’ve only known her for like three days. And only brief interactions at that.”
“So brief that you know she’s a romance author?” Allison asked. Her eyes twinkled, and he narrowed his eyes at her. Mia’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head, and a small smile played at Allison’s lips.
“Don’t encourage this,” he muttered to Allison.
She snorted, with Mia damn-near vibrating beside them.
“Oh, my God! Lillian Taylor might be my future sister-in-law!” Mia said.
“Okay, I’m leaving. Thanks for your help… or not.” Ethan shot a look at Allison, who smiled brightly.
“You’re welcome,” she called after him as he rushed out the door.
He got into his truck and pulled away before Mia could follow him into the parking lot to spout more nonsense about him getting married.
Married.He snorted.Right.He barely knew the woman.
Ethan pulled up to the resort and parked his truck before hopping out. Jackson sat on the lawn mower with it powered off while he was on the phone.
“Slow down,” Jackson said. “I can barely understand what you’re saying.” Jackson’s eyebrows were furrowed, and he shook his head. “What? I don’t understand. Ethan’s getting married? Are you sure about that?”
“For fuck’s sake,” Ethan muttered. Maybe going to Mia wasn’t a good idea, but he did find out more information than he would have on his own. It never occurred to him that Lily could be writing under a pen name. And now he knew she was Lillian Taylor.
