Chapter Five
She gathered some books and headed toward the shelves to put them back. When she caught sight of Sean sitting at one of the study tables reading a newspaper—or pretending to read—she came to an abrupt stop. It was hard to read when his eyes were looking at her instead of the words.
Ava knew she could spend the day just staring at him. He was so handsome in a rugged kind of way. His hair was dark, and his body was big and very muscular, and he didn’t seem to have an ounce of fat anywhere. His eyes, as dark as his hair, were intense like his personality.
She looked up at the clock, amazed it was just about time to lock up. Having an excuse to talk to him, she walked over to Sean.
Ava had to make an effort to keep her eyes on his face when all she wanted to do was scan his body. His size made the regular chair look like a child-sized one. The faded jeans he wore weren’t tight, but from where she stood, she could pick up the thickness of his thighs and the heavy bulge between his legs. The gray t-shirt he wore molded to the contours of his muscular chest, and his biceps stretched the arms of the shirt to the max. She wondered if he ever tore them when he flexed, kind of as the Hulk did. She bit her lip to keep a smile off her face.
“I’m sorry, sir.”
“Just Sean,” he reminded her and grinned.
She almost rolled her eyes. “Sean. But it’s closing time, and you’ll have to leave now.”
He sat back in his chair, draped his arm across another chair, stretched his leg out, and smiled. “But I’m here to take you to dinner. Remember?”
She held the books tighter against her chest.
“But we decided it wasn’t going to happen.”
“No, you talked about not being ready for a relationship, but we’re going out as friends. So that doesn’t pertain to us, now, does it?”
She gritted her teeth in annoyance. “Don’t you have a business to run?”
“Yes, baby, but I work a lot, and there are also good people I own the business with and that work for us. If I need to take a little time, they’re good with it.”
She scowled, and her lips tightened in irritation. “Look, I don’t want—”
When he stood and towered over her, she stepped back.
“What are you afraid of? I’d like to be your friend. Why is that so bad?”
“Because I don’t think that’s all you want from me.” And, oh, God, she wanted more, but she knew another relationship like her last one would destroy her.
Sean made Alan look timid. Alan tried extremely hard to be an alpha male, but it only came out as abuse. Both physical and emotional. Sean was alpha with a capital A. His whole demeanor screamed dominance. If she barely survived a fake alpha, she knew Sean would chew her up and spit her out.
He stepped up close to her and looked intently down at her. “You’re right, but we can start off as friends and see where it takes us. What’s the harm in that?”
She didn’t know how to answer him. She found him extremely handsome, but her experience with men was bad. Very bad. Her heart was saying go for it, but her head was yelling run.
“I can’t, Sean. I just can’t yet. I’m sorry.” She turned, walked briskly to the back office, and decided she’d let Phyllis close the library. At that moment, she just wanted to hide.
Twenty minutes later, a knock at the door sent her heart rate soaring. Surely, he wasn’t still here. The fact that she was excited in a good way didn’t escape her notice.
“Come in,” she croaked.
Rigid and stiff, Phyllis strolled in and handed her a piece of paper, disapproval in every motion of her body.
“The library is locked up, and I’m going home.” Phyllis turned and walked away without waiting for an answer. Ava knew Phyllis resented her. She’d thought she would get the librarian job, but the town council had brought Ava in. She didn’t know why Phyllis stayed. Maybe it was just to make Ava’s life difficult.
“Thank you, Phyllis. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Ava sighed and rubbed her head where a headache lurked. She needed to take her medication before it got out of control, or she would end up in the ER again. Distracted, at first, she didn’t understand the words on the piece of paper Phyllis had handed her.
She concentrated on the strong handwriting.
I’ll be back tomorrow. Maybe by then, you’ll realize I’m not giving up. Sean.