Second Chance by Audra North Read Free Book Online Page B

curious look. “Any luck?”
    He shook his head. “I called three places and all of them are shut down because of Halloween. Two of the guys are taking their kids out trick-or-treating and one of them is at a Santería ceremony.”
    Okay, maybe not completely 1950s.
    She let out a surprised laugh. “They actually said that?”
    Collin nodded, laughing then, too. “I know. I’m not sure whether to be frustrated or amused or a little afraid, but maybe I’m all three. Never mind, though. I can call someone to come from the city, but it’ll just take a while. Do you mind my imposition for a little longer?”
    “Not at all. In fact, I’ll be finished soon. Why don’t I drive you home?”
    He’d almost kissed her earlier, against the main doors to the library, just before sense had kicked in and made him behave like a gentleman. Half an hour alone in a small space with Marnie? Probably not the best idea. He shook his head. “Thanks, but—”
    “It’s the least I could do. You’ve helped me so much today. Driving you home is no problem.” She had such an earnest, almost pleading look on her face, that he felt bad saying no. Certainly he could keep his thoughts clean for the span of a car ride.
    He raised a brow. “Are you sure?”
    She grinned in response.
    Fuck. He was fucked. The car ride was going to be torture.
    “Positive. Besides, I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to since high school. I’ll just finish putting these away.” She gestured to the cart of books that needed reshelving, “and then we can be on our way.”
    “Do you want some help?”
    She laughed. “I’m sorry. No offense, but I think it will go faster if I just do it. There’s a pretty strict system when it comes to reshelving.” Her eyes twinkled as she looked over at him. “That’s why they call it library science .”
    He smiled. “Fair enough. How about I just follow you around and keep you company, then? Or annoy you. I’m not sure, really.”
    He hadn’t even realized he’d been hoping she tell him that she wanted him around, until she ducked her head a bit and said the words, a bit shyly, “You never annoy me.”
    Damn.
    It made him want her even more.
    He grabbed the cart, grateful for something that could occupy his hands, so he wouldn’t reach out and touch her and likely make a fool of himself. He nodded with his chin, gesturing for her to lead the way, which she did so a bit awkwardly.
    She probably wasn’t used to someone else driving the cart. The thought made his smile even bigger. “So, what made you become a librarian?”
    She looked back at him over her shoulder, and his blood started pumping a bit harder.
    Christ, she was so sexy.
    “You probably don’t remember me in high school, but I was a pretty solitary kid.”
    His eyes dropped to the curves of her hips and bottom, barely outlined by the fluttery skirt she was wearing, so different from the skintight spandex numbers that the women he dated usually wore, and yet it made him hotter than he’d ever been.
    “I remember.” His voice had gone low and guttural, and the only indication that she might have noticed that change was a slight—very slight—stutter in her step as she walked forward.
    She led him to the row between two shelves and helped him guide the cart into the narrow space before pulling a book from the end. She spoke as she searched for its place. “I was alone a lot, growing up, and I found a lot of comfort and escape in books. My mom had tons of them, since she was an English teacher and all, and we would come here on the weekends and get books that would carry me through the week. Do you remember the former librarian?”
    Collin gave a mock shudder. “How could I forget? She hated me.”
    Marnie snorted. “She hated everyone. If there was ever someone less suited to being a librarian than her, I don’t want to meet that person. But she knew everything, and she was a great resource for books, if you knew how to ask exactly the