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About an hour later, the door behind her opened and quietly closed. She wasn’t visible in her overstuffed chair, so she kept reading quietly. She heard a chair being pulled out on the wood floor and then the weight of a person sitting down in the chair. The sound of writing shortly ensued, so Evie figured it was one of the other ladies writing in her journal or writing a letter.
Evie’s side got stiff, so she quietly moved to her other side, trying to keep the blanket over her.
The person in the chair must have heard her shift around because the chair moved and Evie figured the person wanted to see who else shared the library.
“Hi,” Evie said still hidden in her chair. “It’s just Evie! Don’t mind me. I’m only reading.”
“What are you reading?” came the deep enticing voice that increased her heart rate.
Evie jumped up from her chair and whirled around to see Matt staring in amusement at Evie’s disheveled look.
Matt walked around the chair and stole a look at the book she was reading. “Holes?” he mused. “You’re reading Holes?”
“Yes!” she proclaimed, as she lifted her chin in defiance.
“It’s a children’s book,” Matt replied.
“But no pictures!” Evie retorted. “It’s a chapter book!”
“I know. I read it to my sisters when they were little.”
Evie softened her gaze. “You did? That was sweet. Or did they force you to read it?”
“Nope, I chose to. That was in my gentler years. I’m not so kind to my siblings anymore.”
“I don’t believe it. My younger brother is having his bout with stubbornness, but there are times when I still see his tender side. I’m confident that his former self will emerge eventually… if my father doesn’t kill him first,” Evie laughed.
Matt reached out and ran his fingers through Evie’s wet hair. “You run and your hair looks like silk. Even with wet hair, it feels like silk. Your hair is absolutely stunning.”
Evie blushed. “Thanks,” she whispered. “Wait, you saw me running earlier?”
“Yes. You ran right by my trailer. You looked like you enjoy running.”
“I do. It helps to clear my mind.”
“Then we should run sometime together as running helps to clear my mind as well.”
They stood there for a moment, staring at each other.
“Do you need to finish what you’re doing?” Evie asked as she looked at the desk where he was writing. “Should I even be in here?” she suddenly asked.
“You’re fine, sweet Evie. If you want to go back to reading, go right ahead. I can finish elsewhere if you’d like.”
“Stay,” Evie requested. “This library is big enough for the both of us… just barely… but big enough,” she teased.
“Oh, sweet Evie,” he admitted. He grabbed her head and kissed the top of it. “I could stay, but I wouldn’t get a thing done.”
Matt walked over to the desk, pushed his chair in, gathered what appeared to be the invitations for the night, and then walked to the door. Before he opened it, he turned and faced her. “See you tonight!” Matt winked at her and then left the library.
Chapter 11
Matt smiled as he left a beautifully stunned Evie in the library. But that smile turned to concern as he saw a flash of someone female turn the corner quickly. Did someone hear the private conversation he had with Evie? He knew the cameras had been rolling in the library and that conversations were never completely private, but he had grown very protective of Evie.
He noticed a few of the women who befriended Evie, two of whom he had connections with, and the three of them seemed genuine with each other. Some of the other ladies he had apprehensions about. He wasn’t ready to address his concerns just yet, but he kept a close eye on them.
There was an old adage that stated, “Keep your allies close, but keep your enemies closer.” He just might be entering a certain kind of war if he wasn’t careful.
However, at this moment, he needed to finish his invitations for the night. He knew two of the women he would send home that night, but he needed to add three more to that list. This was truly getting harder by the hour.
