Checking Out Love by R. Cooper Read Free Book Online Page A

have time to keep returning here to look at one journal. You know who I am.”
    Benj drew his eyebrows together and swept one scornful, devastating look up from the man’s pointy-toed shoes to his face. He snorted. “I know who you are. You’re like every other local big name who comes in here and thinks my rules don’t apply to them. You wait for those scans because that journal is over one hundred and fifty years old, and delicate. You wait out of respect. But you don’t have any, so you took a picture.” Benj lowered his voice even more, transforming his next words into the epitome of quiet fury. “You used the flash.”
    Jeremy put a hand to his mouth.
    “It was necessary—” the man started to insist, stupidly because he probably saw that lavender cardigan and saw a pushover instead of the guardian of an entire family’s legacy.
    Benj took one step forward and the man shut up. Benj, or whoever he was, Leland Barrett, IV, lifted one eyebrow. “You didn’t have time to wait? You should make time. It would improve your writing. I read your last book, a feat that took all of three hours, with breaks. At least when they make it a movie, the actors will have a chance to breathe some life into your cardboard characters. You spent all your energy on pointlessly elaborate mysteries and clues, and no time on making anyone care what happens to the people you write about. In ten years, copies of your books are going to take up entire shelves at thrift stores and garage sales. They’re forgettable, no matter how much money you make.”
    Every word was complete and utter, ice-cold, white-hot brutality. Take no prisoners, leave no survivors, honest truth. Anyone dumb enough to risk damaging an antique book with a flash for his personal benefit probably did write terrible characters.
    Bad Writer seemed to disagree. “I’ve been on the Bestseller List. I’m a regular patron here. You can’t ban me.”
    “Watch me.” Benj pushed up his glasses the way some a movie cowboy would have fingered his trigger, and Jeremy came close to expiring on the spot.
    The other guy sputtered. “You think because your family owns this library you can do what you want.”
    “I know I can,” Benj responded, after raising his other eyebrow. His eyes were so green they were practically lasers. “In addition to owning it, I’m the one in charge of the Canales library. You’re not to set foot in it again. Now get out.”
    All the cool snark and intelligence. That scathing book review. Jeremy felt his legs go weak and stumbled into the corner of one of the bookshelves. Both men turned toward him. One too embarrassed and furious to do more than make objecting noises and then storm past him. The other going very still.
    Jeremy wondered if Benj was going to blush at being caught, then considered the idea with real pleasure. He had no clue what it meant that he wanted a blushing Benj and a meanly clever Leland but, God, he did. He wanted the total package. They’d move in together while Jeremy worked on his doctorate, and then get married the following May or June. Maybe June, when the kids were out of school and Benj would have more free time.
    He realized he was breathing hard and closed his mouth.
    Benj put his shoulders back. Then he cleared his throat but didn’t say anything.
    Jeremy wanted to see more of the Beast. He smiled. “All he did was take a picture,” he remarked, knowing perfectly well the damage a flash could have caused. Maybe one picture with a digital camera wouldn’t have done much, but the principle stood to protect the item in question. Anyway, the item belonged to the library. That author should have waited for permission to get scans.
    But he didn’t say any of that, and Benj’s mouth fell open in a small, disappointed circle.
    “Jeremy,” he murmured, taking Jeremy by surprise. “I never thought you would agree with him.” He said it like he expected better from Jeremy. He said it like he’d imagined