Page 24 of That Rush

Rowan shakes her head. “Paige is kind. She’s good with kids, she knows more about books than anyone I’ve met, and she keeps to herself unless she’s working.”

“What else?”

“She hikes. She lives outside town. She drinks coffee. She usually has a book with her.”

None of it explains how a woman who knows half the town’s children has stayed nearly invisible in local gossip. The less I find out, the more I want to know.

“Is she seeing anyone?”

“I have no idea.”

I wait.

Rowan lifts her eyebrows. “Would you like me to invent a secret husband?”

“I expected an answer.”

“You expected us to have a file on her just because a beautiful woman didn’t fall at your feet.”

“She knows who I am.”

“Which makes this even worse for you.”

I take a drink to keep from responding. Paige knew exactly who I was. She didn’t care. She looked me in the eyes, cut off my temper, and told me how to help my daughter. Then she watched me do it with that satisfied curve to her mouth.

I’ve thought about that mouth more times than I plan to admit.

I’ve also thought about how quickly she noticed Josie was overwhelmed, how she lowered her voice instead of making the situation bigger, and how she didn’t linger for praise after helping us. She returned to work, leaving me to ask when she would be there again.

Most people offer a polished version of themselves when they meet a Slade. Paige gave me her unfiltered opinion and expected me to improve.

Axel watches me over the rim of his cup. “You like her.”

“I met her once.”

“That wasn’t a denial.”

“I’m trying to decide whether she’s always that difficult.”

Rowan smiles. “She probably thinks the same thing about you.”

I can picture it: Paige behind the checkout desk, amusement in her eyes, already certain I would find a reason to come back.

Movement outside the front window catches my eye. White tents line the street for the farmers’ market, and families wander between tables carrying produce, flowers, and paper cups from Pike’s Perk.

At the library booth near the corner, Paige crouches beside a little boy while he points at a row of brightly colored books. She listens with complete focus, then says something that makes him laugh.

Her head lifts as she stands.

Even through the glass, I see the instant she recognizes me.

Then Paige smiles.

“That’s her?” Axel asks.

I keep my attention on Paige through the window. “Who?”

“The woman you’re interrogating half the town about.”