Karina Bliss - What the Librarian Did

“Rachel, you have to tell him,” Devin said gently.

“I will, only…” She swallowed. “And this will sound silly, but I want him to like me first.”

Not silly, heartrending. For a moment Devin couldn’t speak. “Of course he likes you.”

“As your friend or Trixie’s.” She stirred the potpourri with her index finger, round and round, completely unaware of what she was doing. Faintly, Devin smelled orange peel and cloves. “If I spend a little more time with him, build a rapport, he’ll be more inclined to listen to my reasons for giving him up.”

“You’re scared,” Devin said. “That’s understandable. But waiting isn’t going to make it easier.

She pounced on him. “So you do expect fallout.”

“I don’t know how Mark will react,” he said honestly. “But I do think he’s more likely to read some conspiracy into a delay.”

Stubbornly, Rachel shook her head. “It’s my decision to make, Devin.”

“Not if you’re asking me to be monkey in the middle. I have a friendship to protect here, too, remember?”

“Obviously not ours.”

His own temper flared. “It’s because I care about you that I’m trying to get you to see sense, you obstinate woman!”

Rachel snapped on a lamp. Light flooded the room and illuminated the angry color in her cheeks, but her voice was level. “I don’t need you to care about me. I need you to butt out of what’s none of your damn business.”

Incredulous, he stared at her. “We just slept together. I’m a mentor to your son. Of course it’s my damn business.”

“Exactly. We just slept together.” She waved a finger at him, an intensely annoying gesture. “Now you’re trying to muscle in on my life. I should sue you for misrepresentation.”

“Oh, I get it.” Devin stood up. “I’m okay to fool around with, but God forbid we achieve any real connection.”

Rachel snorted. “Says the guy with two ex-wives.”

“At least I got that far.” He pointed his own finger to see how she liked it. “You balk before you get to the altar. And you think you don’t need advice on relationships?”

They glared at each other. “I know you’ve destroyed a lot of brain cells,” said Rachel, “so I’ll say this slowly and clearly. If you tell Mark, I’ll never speak to you again.”

“Here’s a better idea.” Devin flicked his gaze over her, as cutting as rawhide. “Never speak to me again and I won’t tell Mark.”

She didn’t even hesitate. “Deal!”

“Deal.” This time he was the one who slammed the door.

Devin took the 8:00 p.m. car ferry back to Waiheke in a blistering rage.

As he found a seat inside the lounge he decided he was glad Rachel had clarified where they stood before he made a fool of himself. To think that this afternoon he’d understood the allure of a relationship with a normal woman. He snorted. Rachel normal? “Ha!”

The old guy sitting opposite glanced cautiously over his newspaper, then got up and found another booth. Devin barely noticed. The librarian had more baggage than Paris Hilton.

When the boat moored he was first off, opening the throttle on the Harley as soon as he hit the island’s back-roads. He still couldn’t get his head around the fact that she was Mark’s mother. What had driven her to give him up? It had to be something bad.

Devin shook off the thought as irritably as a dog with fleas. It wasn’t his problem. The librarian had spelled that out loud and clear. Like he’d welcome this kind of complication in his life, anyway, when he’d just got things back on an even keel.

In his vast empty house, Devin turned on all the lights, then stripped to his boxers and pummeled the punching bag in the gym until his arms ached. Mixed with his sweat was Rachel’s perfume.

He took a shower and scrubbed himself with vicious thoroughness. It didn’t help. Hauling on clean clothes, he settled down to a class assignment, but shoved it aside within minutes and opened the final report from his forensic accountant. Devin read it and his mood grew even blacker.

Checking his watch, he saw it was four in the morning in L.A. Too bad. Devin dialed Zander’s cell and was again routed straight through to Message.

“Hey, brother,” he said pleasantly. “Just reminding you it’s Mom’s birthday next weekend and it would be nice if you called her. Oh, and I’ve had the results back on an independent audit of the band. Seems you owe me about five million bucks in royalties on four of our early hits.”

He opened the sliding door and walked out onto the deck, bracing himself against the buffeting wind. “My lawyers suggest I sue, but I figure there’s a rational explanation.” Far below the glass balustrade, white water boiled and broke over the jagged rocks. Gripping the rail with his free hand, Devin looked down until he’d conquered his vertigo. “I mean, only a lowlife would screw over his baby brother, right, Zand?”

Devin dropped the amiability from his tone. “You’ve got five days to make contact before I release the hounds.”

RACHEL WATCHED DEVIN walk down the path toward the fountain, his head down, brow furrowed. Nervously she stood up, smoothing her skirt against the gusty wind. From the swirling, slate-gray clouds overhead, it looked as if they were in for rain.

She’d barely slept with worrying. This was too important to hope for the best. And Devin had mentioned he had an early tutorial this morning.

Steeling herself, she waited for him to notice her. He walked right past.

Rachel blinked and called after him. “Devin!”

He glanced back, recognized her, and his frown deepened.

Now that she had been expecting. “Can we talk? Please?”

“No.” He kept walking.

Rachel forgot her diplomatic approach. Chasing after him, she caught him by the arm. “Look, I’ve got everything to lose in this. So quit sulking because I decided against following your advice.”

He glared down at her. “Is that what you think our fight was about?”

“Wasn’t it?”

He thought about it. God, she liked him for that. Even angry he was willing to question his motives. It made Rachel examine her own more closely. This wasn’t just about making Devin keep his word; she needed his understanding.

Scattered drops hit the concrete path, and one splashed cool on her face.

“Maybe my ego’s involved,” he admitted.

The shower became a deluge within seconds. He took her arm and they ran for cover to the vestibule of the gothic clock tower, built in the 1920s, that was the university’s most striking building. Rachel always expected to see Quasimodo swinging from one of the tall spires. At this time of the morning, seven-thirty, there were few students about and their footsteps echoed on the marble floor. Devin positioned himself near one of the massive oak doors and stared out at the pounding rain. Wanting to escape as soon as possible, she thought.

“About yesterday-” she began.

“What really shocked me,” he interrupted, still watching the rain sheeting onto the steps, “was how quickly I went from lover to enemy.”

“I’m sorry,” she said simply. Yesterday, she’d dropped her guard for the first time in years, and his dissent had felt like an attack. The thought of telling a hostile Mark the truth terrified her. She could never make him like her enough to overcome the fear of rejection. But admitting that would reveal her vulnerability. “When you questioned my decision to postpone telling Mark, it took me by surprise. I know you were only trying to help.”

All she needed was a little time to rehearse, to win Mark’s trust. Was that so much to ask? She was framing her argument when Devin turned his head.

“I’ve been trying to piece all this together…When did you find out who Mark was?”