Page 47 of Hottie on Her Shelf
“No.”
“I appreciate your due diligence, but you never need to make a call about this again. Those checks will always be signed and on your desk by noon as long as I’m mayor, without any poking necessary.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
Fitz counted it a win that he simply disconnected the call. He wanted to chuck the phone across the street, right through the window of the chocolate shop.
Dealing with Derek wasn’t a one-step process, though. Anything he said to him would lead to certain and immediate blowback from his father. Culminating in the often-repeated lecture about how it was the duty of the Montgomery family to look out for the town and do everything with its best interests at the forefront.
He knew that.
Most days, it was easier not to fight than have the same fight for the thousandth time, because no matter what he said or did, his dad ended up shoving that duty line down his throat. Like a goose being force-fed for its eventual transition to foie gras.
Fitz absolutely wanted to do right by the town. Swan Cove had its quirks and issues, but it was his home. All he wanted to do was help its citizens live a good, happy life.
A lot of days, though? It didn’t feel like he was accomplishing that via his daily sojourns to the mayor’s office. But yeah—one problem at a time. He was on a mission. And it wasn’t speed-walking through downtown.
Pedestrians had already stopped him four times to chat. Mary Alice, the vet who kept watch over the eponymous swans in the pond, made him detour to point out how glossy their feathers were since adding musk grass to their diet.
Seth was on the sidewalk, checking in a big shipment of hops for the brewery. He told Fitz about the new bellini-esque ale experiment rolling out over the weekend and secured a promise to drop by for the keg tap.
That was the best part of his job. The one-on-one interactions. Fitz didn’t begrudge a single extra minute of his walk.
Maybe…also…because he had no idea what sort of a reception he’d get at the library.
His pissyness with Derek must’ve reflected on his face. Nobody stopped him on the final block as he turned off of Main Street. Fitz didn’t let himself pause under the library overhang with the purple and pink filled flower baskets. No need to officially gird his loins, right?
When he made a mistake, he owned it. Then he fixed it.
A quick scan of the bright room didn’t reveal Hallie behind the desk or among the shelves. He peered into the glass-walled magazine reading room. Then into the conference room, full of babies and moms. Ah. Signage announced it as the La Leche League meeting. A different group of moms, and some dads, were in the kids’ area doing story time on a rug that fit together as primary-colored puzzle pieces.
Still no Hallie.
This was good. He wanted privacy. And the perk of being mayor was that nobody blinked an eye at him going anywhere in town. So, Fitz nonchalantly walked right behind the checkout desk and through to the hallway where he hoped to find her office.
Whoops.
Not an office.
Fitz had entered the big room where all the books were processed. It was crowded with carts, long tables, and innumerable short stacks of books. A water cooler and coffee station made him assume it doubled as the break room, too.
Hallie had her back to him, filling a mug. Because he was alive and awake, Fitz took a moment to enjoy the view. Her long brown hair centered down her back in a braid that made his fingers itch to undo it. A silky pink blouse was tucked into brown pants that outlined the shape of her ass—which also made his fingers flex with the urge to squeeze it.
Ignorance really was bliss.
Now that he knew how soft her skin was, the scent of her, the taste of her…well, it made sneaking this look at her a study in frustration.
Not just because he couldn’t grab her and kiss her now. Because he didn’t know if he’d ever get to again. That thought had kept him tossing and turning all night. Last night with her had been hands-down great.
Until it wasn’t.
Until he’d ruined it by kissing her.
Hallie turned around, startled when she spotted him, which sloshed water out of the mug in her hand.
“Shit. Did you burn yourself?” Fitz rushed across the room, dropping his bag on the table and quickly taking the mug.
“No. It just got my shoe. No updating the OSHA stats for the city over my jasmine tea incident.”
