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“Oh.” That was good. Except, her mother wasn’t the sort who got quiet when she grew tired. She got louder, a lot louder. And her complaints grew both strident and irrational.
So something was wrong. But what?
“Did you have a nice chat with Mrs. Peterson?”
Her mother’s lips pressed together. “Eve Peterson is about to become Mrs. Jerome Watkins.”
Sam blinked. “That’s what, her fourth husband?”
“Fifth.”
Five husbands and only one divorce. She was either the unluckiest woman alive or a very successful black widow.
“Where does she find all these men?”
“She found Jerome Watkins at the center.”
“The senior center?” She’d have thought Mrs. Peterson would rather die than admit she was old enough to get a membership there. Much like her mother.
Her mother nodded. “Apparently, they have a new manager. It’s not all arts and crafts while you wait to die anymore. They’ve started a lecture series, an investment club and other things.”
“Do you want to swing by after we get Toby’s gift? They probably have fliers printed up with all their events on them.”
“Actually, I’m feeling rather tired. Why don’t you just bring me home? You can get the gift and pick up the fliers.”
Sam frowned. “Are you sure?”
Her mother nodded but refused to meet Sam’s eyes. She wasn’t tired, she was guilty.
“What else did Mrs. Peterson say, Mom?”
“Her granddaughter Rebecca is having a birthday next week. She was looking for a specific plastic slide, shaped like a medieval castle and Toys ‘R’ Us had one in stock. She was going out with Jerome to pick it up this afternoon.”
“And you don’t want to run into her?”
Her mother flushed. “Not looking like an old cripple, I don’t.”
Right. The electric shopping carts. The whole reason they’d planned on going there instead of to the Gray Goose.
“Not a problem. I’ll take you home then go back out and pick up Toby’s gift.”
Her mother nodded then bit into her sandwich, her appetite apparently restored by the news she wouldn’t accidentally run into Eve Peterson a second time in the same day.
Sam took a huge bite of her own sandwich, hiding her grin behind a wall of turkey, lettuce and bread. She hoped she did run into Mrs. Peterson. Because she intended on stopping at the library first and getting Master Giacomo. And the only thing better than strolling about town with a charming hunk was having a notorious gossip see them together.
If he was going to be gone soon, she needed to make sure people saw her with him before he disappeared.
Chapter Six
Sam pulled open the library door and strode inside, trusting that the foyer would be empty of obstacles as her eyes adjusted to the dimmer, book-friendly light. Her sandals slapped against the terra cotta tile as she hurried across the foyer and through the second set of doors into the main stacks.
She glanced quickly to her left, her eyes drawn to the primary-colored foam seating groups for the children’s area and the low, round tables and chairs behind them. Turning to the right, she passed the shelves of new books and periodicals and spotted the ring of computers on their tall tables. Two college-aged young men stood in front of terminals, no doubt making quick search queries before diving back into the stacks. An elderly woman in an electric scooter was using the accessible terminal mounted at a lower height.
Sam’s heart plummeted. Master Giacomo wasn’t here! Where could he have gone?
One of the patrons doing a search cleared his computer screen and turned away, allowing her to see across the top of his computer. A dark head of hair was bent over the computer on the other side of the ring.
It was him. Her blood grew heavy, making her hyper-aware of the pulse in her neck and throbbing through her pussy, and her chest tightened, making it hard to breathe. She felt so light she practically danced around the computer ring to join him. Or maybe she was just feeling lightheaded. Whatever it was, she could hardly contain her eagerness to see him again.
