Mr. August by Jan Romes Read Free Book Online Page B

over.
    She had to get the heck out of the cabin so she could screw her head back on straight. She needed a fresh start from her fresh start. No more whining about losing her job. No more trying to befriend or entice Maxwell August, which she’d unwittingly had been trying to do since she arrived in Celina. More importantly, no more clothes removal for any reason. If he fell in the lake again, he was on his own.
    Libby gathered Max’s clothes and coat and tossed them in the dryer.
    Still without meeting his eyes, she moved toward the door. “I-I’m going into town. Your clothes should be dry in about fifteen minutes. Your coat will take a lot longer.” She held up his soggy sneakers. “I’ll make a pit stop at your cabin to get you some different shoes.” Before he could alter the plan, she left.
    ****
    It felt weird being in Max’s cabin. First order of business, she cranked up the heat to the fireplace so it would be toasty warm when he came home and placed the wet shoes in front of it. Libby traipsed to the loft and located a pair of black boots sitting by the suitcase Max had propped against the wall. Beside the boots was a stack of hard cover books with the name Zeb August emblazoned on the front. She grabbed one of the books and flipped it over. On the back jacket was a picture of Max, beardless and smiling. Max was Zeb August? Libby’s breath caught in her lungs. When he said he was a writer, she never dreamed he was award-winning author Zeb August. He was known the world over—writing royalty. She sank down on his bed.
    ****
    Max was in a haze. One minute he was chasing his dog, the next, he was in the lake. Epic fail. He knew better than to climb on those rocks. Even if they appeared stable, the continuous movement of the water was known to shift the rocks. As soon as he’d fallen into the icy water, his legs cramped. Panic didn’t set in until his shoulders followed suit. Thank God for Libby. If she hadn’t been there…
    He closed his eyes. Libby not only saved him from drowning, she tried to save him from hypothermia. It took a lot of balls to do what she did. In spite of the embarrassment and awkwardness, she’d had his best interests at heart. Max touched his chest where Libby’s nipples had pushed into him. That pure, unguarded moment would forever be etched in his soul.
    While he was holed up in the cabin the past several days, he’d mostly come to grips with his decision to stay away from Libby. Now, all the rationalizing he’d done about how things could never work out between them, amounted to a waste of time. Libby was beautiful and fascinating and when she was close he forgot about how different they were.
    Between shivers, Max smiled. He didn’t want to, but dammit, he did.
    ****
    Libby was in a mood to bite someone’s head off. She glared her way through the cosmetic department, tossing eye shadow, eyeliner, mascara, lip-gloss, twenty-four hour foundation and moisturizer into the basket. Some people devoured chips and chocolate to combat stress, she bought make-up.
    On her way to the cashier she spied a display of dark chocolate. Sure. Why not? It would take more than makeup to adjust this much anxiety. She grabbed two bags. Libby bit down hard on her bottom lip and grabbed a third bag. An issue of Cosmopolitan magazine was needed too. Hopefully there was an article on what to do when you screw up and strip for someone.
    A sales girl met her at the next aisle. “Ma’am, is there anything I can get you?”
    The phone number for a good shrink? Libby moved her bad mood out of the way long enough to answer. “No. I think I have what I need.” She sneezed. “Excuse me.”
    The friendly clerk didn’t miss a beat. “We have cold remedies on sale right now.” She pointed to a shelf with nighttime cold reliever, cough syrup, acetaminophen, and mentholated vapor rub. “If you buy three items we’ll throw in two boxes of tissues for free.”
    “Great.” Libby grabbed an assortment,