Page 35

He motioned vaguely toward the glass-fronted case containing a variety of sandwiches and pastries. “In our case, there is no such reason. There’s perfectly good food right there. It’s already been made and we can eat it on the way. It’s a no-brainer.”

I almost burst out laughing. This was so absurd that I honestly didn’t have the correct response, but at least Bobby handed over one of the cups of dark roast and I lifted it, taking a slow, cautious sip as he finally ran out of steam.

Those smoky blue eyes narrowed, like he was checking to see if I’d gotten all that, and a tiny, involuntary smile broke out across my lips. I didn’t even try to stop it though, just rolling with the outward expression of my surprise at his tirade. “Okay, then.”

For the briefest of seconds, it felt like there was genuine warmth between us, just a microscopic fracture in the icy wall we’d built around ourselves. Holden’s brow furrowed when his gaze dropped to my mouth, catching the smile there before he flicked it up to mine.

“What?” he muttered. “Why is any of that funny?”

“It’s not,” I said softly, tucking my purse under my arm as the barista handed over the bag of warm sandwiches. “Bye, Bobby. See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow,” she replied, casting a curious glance at Holden but thankfully not asking who he was or why I suddenly had company for my morning commute.

As we pushed back out onto the sidewalk, he gripped the bag, falling into step right beside me. “No, seriously. Why were you smiling?”

“Because you’re right, Holden. Thank you for the complex carbohydrates. I just didn’t take you for being such a health nut.”

He let out another short grunt. “I’m not a nut.”

I smiled again. “Of course, not.”

Part of me expected him to grunt, snap, or engage in another manner of behavior that hadn’t been seen regularly since the days of the cavemen, but instead, as we strode side-by-side to his car, I could’ve sworn I saw the tight line of his jaw relax just a little bit.

Well, well, well, would you look at that? Holden Thayer’s inner human can come out more than once in a blue moon after all.

CHAPTER 17

HOLDEN

The city library was not the quiet place I’d thought it would be. As far as I knew, public libraries were supposed to be sanctuaries of hushed silence, dusty shelves, and elderly women shushing anyone who breathed too loudly, but it turned out that I’d been wrong.

As soon as I pushed the doors open for Alicia, we were hit with a wall of lively, excited energy. I hadn’t even had the chance to peel away from her yet before a middle-aged woman stepped out from behind the main circulation desk and opened her arms, striding up to us with a brilliant smile on her lips.

“Alicia! You’re back,” she cried, embracing her like a long-lost child. “How was the honeymoon?”

Honeymoon? My eyebrows hiked a little, but I schooled my features and decided to just watch instead of asking the many questions I suddenly had.

Alicia flushed and hugged her back, keeping her response short and sweet. “Oh, it was great. Thanks, Marge.”

Within thirty seconds, three more library employees had appeared from various aisles, buzzing around Alicia like she was a returning war hero. A younger guy with a massive beard and a lanyard identifying him as some kind of researcher eyed me suspiciously from the corner of his eye.

“I still can’t believe we didn’t even know you had a boyfriend,” he muttered. “Let alone one serious enough that you married him.”

“I like to keep my personal life private, Marcus,” she replied smoothly as she hugged one of the other women. “This is our workplace, not the headquarters of a gossip magazine.”

The other woman chuckled. “I hope you have some wedding pictures for us. I bet you looked stunning.”

Alicia froze for the merest flash of a second, then flushed again. “I, uh, we don’t have any wedding pictures yet. It was a very intimate ceremony, but I’m sure someone will have taken a photo or two.”

As one of the others started asking her about her relationship with her husband, I shifted the bag on my shoulder and quietly backed away, still listening carefully, but not wanting to be too obvious about it.

From the staggered, slightly bewildered reactions of her coworkers, it was obvious that Alicia had dropped some vague hints that she was getting married, but it also sounded like she’d played it off like she’d had a long-term boyfriend-turned-fiancé. It didn’t sound like she’d given them a name, a date, or so much as a single detail about the wedding or the husband.

All of which made me realize that she was a quiet, insanely private person. Her coworkers clearly knew that about her and they respected her boundaries, but that reality only served to confuse me even more.

If she was truly this private, so averse to the spotlight that she seemed uncomfortable sharing personal details even with the people she worked with day in and day out, then why the hell had she agreed to a marriage that would inevitably thrust her into the formerly glitzy, intrusive world of our family?

What were her actual motives for chasing such perceived wealth and prestige?