Forever Love on Fireweed Island (Island County Book 4) by Karice Bolton Read Free Book Online Page B

stood with my butt pushed into Mr. Reclusive Fireman’s thighs, and every single tingle of the moment shocked me into believing I wasn’t completely dead to the opposite sex.
    Judging by how quickly he’d stilled, I’d like to think the sensation was mutual.
    The aisle had cleared, but I remained firmly planted next to him, his hands still gripping me and the connection zipping through us. I shouldn’t be feeling this level of attraction in the middle of a farmer’s market just because we were pressed up against one another.
    Yet, here I stood, unwilling to move and completely turned on by nothing more than his touch. His hands slowly fell from my hips, and I shoved away the disappointment, knowing full well we couldn’t stand here all day.
    I turned around to see him smiling as he took my popcorn from me and nodded.
    “Is that a yes to coffee?”
    “It’s a yes to coffee,” I told him, ignoring the warring emotions inside.
    On one hand, I wanted to have coffee like a normal human being and chitchat with the man who saved me from myself. But on the other hand, I wasn’t sure I was ready to put myself out there in any way whatsoever that didn’t involve handing someone their reserved book and sending them out the library doors.
    I had a hard time trusting men at this point, and I certainly couldn’t allow myself to believe one this good-looking could stay monogamous in a long-term relationship.
    And that right there was precisely the problem. The man innocently asked me out for coffee, and I’d already placed us in a monogamous relationship set in an imaginary future and still managed to fill it with pitfalls before I even took the first sip of coffee.
    “I’d love to find out a bit more about the mysterious librarian who only recently moved back to Fireweed and seems not to be paying attention to a word I said.”
    My gaze shot to his, and I bit my lip in embarrassment. I wondered how long he’d been talking.
    “Sorry. I get all wrapped up in myself sometimes, but if you think you’re about to go out for coffee with a mysterious librarian, you might be in for a letdown.” I laughed. “I should warn you. My adventures tend to happen within the pages of books.”
    “Impossible. You already had one earlier this week.” His eyes were bright with warmth, and it made me feel a little less ridiculous about dangling from a tree.
    “I don’t think I’ve ever heard the two words mysterious and librarian paired before.”
    “The article didn’t give me much to go on, so you’re definitely mysterious to me, and that’s all that counts.”
    I studied him, trying to figure out what it was about him that made him so appealing. Earlier in the week, I’d blamed the attraction on his uniform, but now that he was standing in front of me without one, I realized it had nothing to do with the goggles and boots. It was pure maleness. Every rugged inch of him exuded something I hadn’t experienced in ages.
    “I can’t get much out of people about you either,” I said.
    A surprised look flashed across his features at my admission, and I grinned.
    “Well, then, we should have a lot to talk about over coffee.” Jake gave me a long look, and a flutter of excitement ran through me.

 
     
     
    “So you grew up on Fireweed?” Jake asked, as we walked down the sidewalk lined with overflowing planters filled with red poppies and white anemones. The warm sea breeze circled around us, the softness caressing my bare skin with each step forward. There was nothing better than spending a summer day on Fireweed, wandering the town with no particular place to go.
    “I did, and I loved every second of it, so I’m not sure why I ever left.” I glanced toward the glittering water at the edge of town. I’d gone home and dropped everything off while Jake helped his mom shut down her booth at the farmer’s market. We’d met at a new tea shop that had opened up on Main Street, which also managed to serve drip