Page 6 of Library or Lattes?

“But like I said, you can take the road back out of here and just keep on going, all the way until the highway ends, and then you’ll find Oak Falls. Gorgeous. So quaint. If only we’d been lucky enough to live there, right, Mary?” Lennie looked at me and winked.

I waited till they’d walked away before punching Lennie on the arm.

“Ouch!” she squealed, then burst out laughing.

“Len, what the hell was that?” I demanded. I genuinely felt horrible for the group of people and the vacation they had planned. Leaf-peepers waited all year for weeks like this! “A murder house? Really?” I asked. But it was hard to stay mad at Lennie. She had one of those faces that looked like she was always happy at all times.

“Oh, come on, you were perfect! All mysterious and traumatized.” Lennie grabbed my hand and pulled me toward Pepe’s, where we managed to get the last free table. I didn’t care that it was the one right next to the bathroom—I was tired and starving.

“As perfect as your cosplay was, you can stop being Mary Peterson now,” Lennie said. She reached over and pulled down my hood.

I grinned as her shocked expression morphed into the biggest smile.

“Oh my God, Willa, it’s gorgeous. Like it’s really short. Did I know you were going to cut it this short? Did you send a pic to the group yet?” Lennie snapped a photo and I heard my phone buzz as our group chat got a message.

“You really like it?” I asked, basking in her positivity.

“Like? I love it. Très chic. Isn’t that what they say in France? Or in those French movies you watch?”

“Yes. Yes it is,” I said. I was glowing with pride.

The pizza arrived, we devoured it in two seconds, and Lennie said, “I forgot to get my book at the library. Mind if we swing by there next?”

I shrugged. “Sure.” I mean, I’d only be going home anyway.

The library was one of those buildings that looked way too grand for the town. Big stone pillars and a statue of some man author who’d lived here a million years ago. Being friends with Lennie meant I’d spent a lot of time here.

When we walked inside, I caught Jo’s eye. She’d been the librarian for as long as I could remember, and there was something warm and welcoming about her. Jo always kept books for Lennie under her desk, along with candy for both of us.

Jo was wearing one of her famous printed dresses, fuchsia with flowers. She was about Pop’s age, and unlike most of the people in Oak Falls their age, who dressed in jeans and flannel shirts, Jo had always stood out in her bright colors and patterns, refusing to let Oak Falls winters dim her shine. When we were little, Lennie and I used to try to guess what color she’d be wearing before we even walked into the library. Once Lennie made her mom get her this dress that looked just like one of Jo’s, a bright green one, and then she cried when she decided it didn’t look as good on her.

“Oh, did Pop manage to fix your leak? He said it was a tricky one,” I whispered. For a moment Jo looked at me as if she didn’t have a clue what I was talking about—and then she burst into life.

“Oh, he did, thank you, Willa. He’s a talented man, your pop.” She played with the scarf in her hair. Then she smiled, reached under the counter, and pulled out Lennie’s book.

“Football for Dummies?” I laughed, then stifled it, trying to keep my voice down. Lennie was really going all in on the sports-slash-Sara-impressing.

Jo turned to me. “Oh, don’t worry about the noise, at this hour there’s next to nobody here, except for Martin Gray. You could holler right in his ear and he wouldn’t hear you, God bless him. So … what about you, honey? Any books you have your eye on?”

I scanned the library, as if a book was just going to jump right out at me. “I don’t think so.”

“You could check out the romance section.” Lennie pointed to the corner she sat in every time she came here.

“So that’s why you sit there,” I joked. “Now it all makes sense.”

Jo handed me two caramels. “Something sweet for two sweethearts.” It was the same thing she had been saying to me and Lennie since we were eight.

“Thanks, Jo, catch you later,” I said. I put the caramels in my pocket and waved goodbye before catching up with Lennie in the new books section.

“So, how about you learn about football and give me a summary next Friday before the game?” I asked hopefully. “You owe me, after those Germans.”

Lennie shrugged. “Deal. And … nope. I really don’t. I’m going to stick around here to figure it out once and for all.”

I gave her a knowing stare. “You’re nothing if not dedicated in your pursuit of love. Fine … Catch you later, loser.”

The wind had picked up by the time I left the library and Lennie behind. It was strong enough to whip piles of leaves from the grass and send them flying around in front of me, threatening to ruin my new hair. I buried my face in my green scarf and reached into my back pocket for one of Jo’s caramels. As I struggled with the wrapper, I heard a voice.

“Do you mind?”