Page 2 of A Novel Seduction

“The Boxcar Children?”

“They were some of my favorites as a little girl, and there is a whole series, so you have future gifts as well. It’s a pretty universally liked series, so I would be surprised if it wasn’t a hit.”

“Awesome. Thank you.”

“No problem,” she shrugged as she turned to walk away.

She still has no idea who I am, Drake thought to himself.

“Let me buy you a book as a thank you,” he said, the words sounding rushed as they left his mouth. He jogged a couple of steps to catch up with her.

“That’s not necessary,” she said, still heading toward the stairs.

“No, really, I want to. I insist.”

“Okay, well, if you insist,” she said, blushing. She looked around her, suddenly seeming out of place. He hadn’t wanted to put her on the spot, but he would do pretty much anything to make her not leave right about now.

Wandering a few more steps forward, she grabbed a thick paperback from an endcap. She glanced at it briefly before turning back to him.

“Okay, then,” she said nervously.

Drake took the book from Evie and glanced down at the cover. “Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. Sounds…mind numbing.”

“It’s supposed to be excellent,” she said, still sounding nervous. “It’s been on my list for forever.”

“Well, that might be so, but I know for a fact that this isn’t exactly what you’re into,” he said slyly.

Evie’s eyes got wide and Drake could see her cheeks start to flush at his statement. He let an impish smile form on his lips as he turned down a different aisle, grabbing the first book with a half-naked man he saw. Spinning back around to face the beauty he’d left holding a book on God knows what, he handed her the paperback he’d just grabbed.

“I believe this is more to your liking, Evie.”

***

“I didn’t tell you my name,” Evie blurted, caught off guard by the use of her name. “And how do you know what I like to read?”

“Haven’t you always wondered who highlighted all the good stuff?” he asked in return, a panty-melting smile spreading across his face.

How could this guy possibly know about that? She’d never told anyone about that semester in college, not even her roommate at the time. Very few people even knew about her love of romance novels. That was something she kept to herself. Her own private, guilty pleasure.

“Are you some kind of stalker?” She took a few steps back from the gorgeous guy standing in front of her. She looked around to see if anyone else was up here, but it seemed like they were all alone.

“You really don’t recognize me?” he asked, almost sounding hurt.

“No, should I?” She looked closer. He looked familiar, but nothing stood out as to where she would have met him. She had just assumed he had one of those faces.

“Wow, I somehow would have thought I was a little more memorable after all those hours spent reading to you in the library,” he said with a shrug. “I certainly remember you.”

“Drake? Drake Harkins?” she said, taken aback. She looked closer, and now that she was concentrating, she could see it, but he still looked…off. “You…you look…different.”

“I took a fastball to the face about a year ago—had to have reconstructive surgery.”

“Oh my God, that must have been so painful!”

“It was not the most pleasurable experience of my life,” he laughed. Then lowering his voice and stepping closer to her, he whispered, “Unlike highlighting those passages for you.”

Evie froze at his words. Drake had done that?

The moment stood out in her mind like it had been a scene in a movie she’d seen a hundred times. It had been cold and wet outside and she’d wanted nothing more than to get back to the dorm, curl up under the covers, and snuggle in with her book. After all, things were starting to heat up. When she’d finally made it into her pjs and into bed, she was startled to find that someone had tampered with her book. Evie had flipped through the pages to find many of the steamy scenes highlighted, with notes in the margins.