Trouble When You Walked In (Contemporary Romance) by Kieran Kramer Read Free Book Online Page B

out whole armies.”
    Cissie turned her wince into a helpful smile. “No, tonight’s gathering is a peaceful protest. We stay here after hours and say we don’t like the library being moved.”
    “Oh,” they replied in unison, their shoulders drooping.
    Cissie felt like a failure of a rebel at that moment, but she was quickly distracted when Frank and Becky Lee Braddock walked in.
    She immediately noted that Boone’s face was the perfect blend of his parents’. He had his father’s square jaw, dark brown hair color, and brown eyes, along with his mother’s prominent cheekbones, thick lashes, and straight nose. If he got his mouth from either one of them, Cissie couldn’t tell. Becky Lee’s was thinned out. Frank’s was scrunched up.
    Boone’s lips were wide and sculpted. Sensitive. Maybe even soft. But that was just Cissie’s guess. She’d hardly been near him for years. Yesterday, she’d noticed how expressive his mouth was as he’d listened to her. If she hadn’t been so angry and upset, she might have been flattered that everything she’d said he’d reacted to without even having to use words.
    Kind of like when she poked Dexter’s belly, and the cat turned to grab her finger. There was something charming about two separate beings who really had no place together joining up for a moment.
    Yes, she hadn’t cared for Boone’s opinions about the library, but at least she didn’t feel invisible around him. She felt connected. She wasn’t sure what it was, exactly, but it came from the same space as that sharp-clawed paw with its soft pads, curled possessively around her finger. Maybe that was why she craved him coming back.…
    Would he tonight?
    Or would he stay away?
    Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Frank’s burly chest visibly expand beneath his navy blue golf shirt with fancy gold embroidery on the chest pocket. He was a tall man, even taller than Boone—maybe six-four, and he wore his tan slacks well. No gut hanging over his fine leather belt, and his arms were well muscled.
    Becky Lee’s dainty chin came up a fraction of an inch, and her hands grasped her chic ivory handbag even closer. She was dressed for the country club in her silk emerald blouse, pearls, straight skirt, buttery pale ivory boots, and the fluffy ivory wool shawl draped around her shoulders.
    Uh oh.
    They weren’t here to browse the bookshelves. And they certainly hadn’t brought food.
    “So will I see you tonight?” Cissie asked the two girls. Her heart pounded, but she managed a warm smile.
    One of the teenagers shook her head. “ Project Runway ’s holding a marathon, and I have algebra.” She inhaled a gulp of air. “But about Fracture the Universe , Miss Rogers, didn’t you love when Penday stabs World Leader Number Four through the heart with a poisoned barb she pulls out of her metal corset?”
    “Oh, yes,” said Cissie, nodding. “That … that was splendid.” She did love reading the books her teen readers read.
    The girl beamed. “I can’t wait for the next one in the series.”
    “I know, right?” said the other one shyly, then looked at Cissie. “If my mother will let me, I’ll try to come. How long will this sit-in run?”
    “I don’t know,” said Cissie. “Maybe all night.”
    “I wish tomorrow weren’t a school day,” the second girl said, her braces glinting.
    “Yes, my timing wasn’t great.” But Cissie didn’t know when timing would be good. You couldn’t hold a sit-in during business hours, or it wasn’t a sit-in. Friday nights were football nights. Saturday night was date night, not that she had a clue about that. But the bowling alley, movie theater, and the few restaurants were buzzing. And a lot of Kettle Knobbers went to church the next morning.
    She said her good-byes to the girls and mentally shook herself out. This was her space. She knew who she was at the library. She had to approach the Braddocks and find out why they were here, not run and hide behind