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The clatter of books hitting the return counter was too dramatic to be accidental.
Raine didn’t even bother to look up from her desk– she already knew who the misfit was. “You’re four days late.”
“Four days early, if you consider my usual record,” came the sing-song reply.
With a sigh strong enough to shake the building, she finally looked up– only to find Zelos Wilder leaning against the counter like he was posing for a portrait, a tall stack of books between them and a grin that spelled trouble in five different dialects. His hair was slightly damp from the rain outside, the collar of his shirt unbuttoned one too many times for indoor etiquette. He looked infuriatingly pleased with himself.
“Let me guess,” Raine said flatly, “yet again, none of these were finished?”
He gasped. “My scholarly angel! How do you know I didn’t just absorb everything through osmosis?”
“Because the only thing you absorb is attention.” She snapped the inventory binder shut and narrowed her eyes. “This is your final warning, Zelos. Return anything else late, and your borrowing privileges are getting revoked.”
“Revoked?! But then I’d have no reason to come see you!”
“Exactly.”
With a huff, Raine turned away quickly, hoping he hadn’t caught the small, traitorous smile trying to sneak its way onto her face.
She had no reason to find the situation in any way amusing, especially considering that every tardy return forced her to work twice as much as a regular one. It was particularly frustrating when each one had obvious signs of damage that she would have a grand time explaining to her boss. He’d already threatened to dock her pay cheque to buy new copies as replacement for the defective ones if she kept letting this particular patron borrow and return less-than-pristine books, but she couldn’t find it in herself to deny this particular man service.
“ History of Ancient Spellcraft ?” she scoffed, flipping the cover open. “There’s no way that he knows even a singular spell. Even the illustrations must be too challenging for his brain to comprehend.”
Methodically, she worked through the pile, checking condition, stamping dates, flipping pages to make sure nothing had been torn or spilled on. They were damp and they’d clearly been manhandled, but somehow they were still in better shape than some of his other loans. A miracle, really.
The last of his returns was a small, pocket-book format of Elven Poetics: A Collection of Love Songs Through the Ages . Her brows furrowed in question– when had he borrowed this? Actually, when had this ever been part of the library’s collection?
Upon further inspection, she noticed that there was no barcode, no borrow slip, nothing tying it back to their establishment. How the hell…
About halfway through, nestled between two pages detailing a particularly florid serenade from over 1,500 years ago, was a folded sheet of parchment. Not a receipt, not a scribbled note. It was thick and deliberate, creased down the middle with the kind of care that said whoever placed it there had meant for it to be found.
Against her better judgment, she unfolded the paper and began to read.
For the woman who makes overdue books feel like divine punishment (and I mean that in the most flattering way possible).
I know you’re probably going to lecture me for hiding this in here because it’ll have slightly deformed the spine or something like that. I dunno. But I also know you’d never let me say any of this out loud without roasting me alive first, so here we are.
I’m not good at this. But I think about you. A lot.
And not just in the “hot librarian fantasy” kind of way.
…Okay, that too. (To be honest, I do that a lot. You’re gorgeous.)
But mostly in the “you intimidate the hell out of me and somehow I still can’t stop showing up here” kind of way.
If you don’t hate this, maybe… just maybe… meet me in the poetry section?
PS : This book is for you. I’m convinced the song on page 42 was written about you.
Raine stared at the letter in utter confusion, her face burning up. Surely, this had to be a joke. It couldn’t be anything else. Zelos always flirted with her, always teased and played the fool, but this felt… different.
She glanced around in uncertainty, knowing fully well that this was likely just another prank. The nerdy girl always was the one to get picked on by the handsome man in every cheesy novel ever written. That’s just how the world worked.
The front of the library was quiet, a few readers settled at random tables, but there were no clients otherwise. Outside, rain tapped against the windows in soft, rhythmic drizzles– the perfect calming melody when invested in a good book.
Slowly, almost without realizing, she turned toward the back of the library, and sure enough… There he was. In the poetry section, just like he’d promised, casually leaning against the far shelves without a care in the world. The look on his face was, strangely, one that she’d never seen on him before, and she struggled to place it: hopeful, earnest, yet unmistakably serious.
Suddenly, Raine’s heart wasn’t doing something inconvenient anymore. It was doing something downright terrifying.
And kind of wonderful.
Against her better judgement, she made her way over, the letter still clutched in her hand. Her boots made light clicking sounds on the wooden floor, and for a moment she worried it may disturb the customers, but her intrigue about what this annoying redhead could possibly want from her was strong enough to drown out any true concerns she might have had.
Zelos didn’t look away. He straightened as she neared, but didn’t speak, patiently awaiting their meeting. That, more than anything, rattled her.
“Care to explain yourself? You ruined more of our precious books, and the only one you turned in that wasn’t water-logged doesn’t even belong to us.” Raine whispered angrily. Holding up the note between two fingers like it was evidence in a trial, she continued, “And this ? What is this all about?”
He shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pockets. If she didn’t know any better, she would have said he looked nervous. “Didn’t know where else to leave it. Figured a love letter deserves a little poetry around it, don’t you think?”
“You mean besides the poetry inside the letter?”
“Okay, in hindsight, maybe the hot librarian fantasy line wasn’t the strongest opener—”
“—but somehow still very on-brand for you,” she muttered.
That earned a more genuine smile from him. “You did read it, though.”
“Hard not to when you leave it in a book that I think I’m supposed to inspect for damage.” Her voice softened. “But, to answer your question, yes, I read it.”
For a moment, he said nothing and she wondered if she should have elaborated further. But, really, what was she to say in response? It was no secret that she wasn’t particularly well-versed in these kinds of situations.
“I meant it,” he said, finally breaking the silence.
Her heart did that twisty thing again, as she found herself asking “All of it?” before she could even realize that that was how she wanted to reply.
Zelos stepped closer, not enough to crowd her, but enough to shorten the distance into something warmer. “Every word. Even the parts I rewrote five times.”
“Even the part about showing up here because you can’t stop thinking about me?”
“Especially that part.”
She exhaled sharply as she rolled her eyes. “So what– you’ve been checking out books for weeks just to work up the courage to flirt with me again?”
“I mean technically I was flirting from day one, but the books were a cover. A very poorly executed one though, which you definitely saw through.”
“I did. I caught on rather quickly.”
Zelos rubbed the back of his neck. “Then why didn’t you kick me out sooner?”
“Because some part of me was hoping you’d do exactly this.” A small smile broke out on her face at his taken-aback expression. “You caught me off-guard. I didn’t expect sincerity, or whatever you’d like to call this.”
“Too much?”
“Maybe.” She looked him up and down. “But also… maybe not.” And before he could try to deflect or joke or do any of the things he usually did, she added, “You said I intimidate you? Good. That just means I’m doing my job right.”
He laughed at that, genuine and delighted. “Then is this where I apologize for the overdue returns? Or ask if I get another shot?”
“Considering I’m about to have to start paying out of my own pocket to replace all the books you’ve ruined and lost over the last few months, I would say that an apology won’t exactly cut it.”
Zelos had the decency to look ashamed for what he’d done, but before he could get a single word in, she was speaking once more. “You can start by showing up tomorrow with coffee and no overdue books to make it up to me.”
He grinned a dazzling smile, “Yes, ma’am.”
The front desk bell rang out, signaling that a customer was ready to check out their selection. Without another word, she turned to go help the older woman (crap, how long had she been waiting?), but before she could even get a foot away, a hand grabbed hers.
He didn’t pull her back or force her to stay, but the meaning was very clear– a question had been left unanswered.
Raine paused, considering her options, before settling on the simplest answer she could think of: she leaned in… and pressed the softest kiss to his cheek.