Read It and Weep (A Library Lover's Mystery) by Jenn McKinlay Page A

Charlene said.
    “Oh, well, than definitely ask Robbie,” Lindsey said. “He seems to thrive on awkward spots.”
    Charlene tipped her head and studied Lindsey. “He likes you, doesn’t he?”
    Lindsey glanced down at the top of her desk. “I have no idea what you mean.”
    Charlene laughed. “Yes, you do. Robbie likes you and he’s got you all flustered, doesn’t he?”
    “Ugh.” Lindsey thumped her head down on her desk. “I feel like such an idiot. He probably does this to every woman he meets, and let’s not forget that he’s married.”
    Charlene reached across the desk and brushed back the long, curly strands of Lindsey’s blonde hair in a comforting mother-to-a-child sort of way.
    “Robbie’s marriage has been over forever,” she said. “Just not legally.”
    Lindsey turned her head to the side and gave Charlene a baleful look. “And he has a girlfriend.”
    “Oh, no, they broke up months ago,” Charlene said. “Lola is just sort of a barnacle. She’ll keep clinging to Robbie until she finds someone else to attach herself to.”
    Lindsey sighed and pushed herself back into a seated position. “Still, it’s too complicated for me.”
    “Maybe,” Charlene said. She stood and crossed to the door. “But maybe you don’t need to get involved with Robbie. Maybe having him interested in you will motivate a certain boat captain we know to get his act together.”
    Lindsey clapped her hands over her face. “Oh, horror. That scenario requires entirely too much drama.”
    “Well, it is theater season,” Charlene said with a laugh. “Thanks for listening, Lindsey.”
    “Anytime,” she said. “Let me know what happens.”
    “I will,” Charlene promised.
    She closed the door softly behind her, and Lindsey forced herself to get back to work. It was a relief to have her brain taken up with concrete matters like dispensing the budget and cataloging old issues of newspapers and magazines. Lindsey found it very comforting to be able to instill order in at least one part of her life.
    • • •
    “Y ou will bend to my will,” Lindsey muttered. “Or I will use the snips on you.”
    “Do you find that threatening chicken wire makes it more pliable?”
    Lindsey whirled around to find Robbie standing behind her. He was grinning, and she tried to ignore the way it made her heart skip. She was determined to maintain a healthy boundary with the actor.
    “Well.” She cleared he throat. “I tried bribing it with the immortality of being a donkey’s head, but that didn’t seem to work.”
    “Perhaps it finds the prospect of life on Brian’s buggery head more than it can bear,” Robbie said. He was holding his usual bottle of coconut water, and unscrewed the cap and took a long drink.
    “I inadvertently overheard your tiff the other day. Brian seemed unhappy with you,” Lindsey said.
    “He thinks I slept with his wife,” Robbie said. “Ridiculous!”
    “So you didn’t?” Lindsey asked before she could think better of it.
    He gave her an exasperated look. He crossed his arms over his chest, and she noted that his long-sleeved T-shirt sat well on his broad shoulders.
    “Is that what you think of me?” he asked. He wasn’t smiling now; Lindsey wondered if she had hurt his feelings.
    “You do have a reputation,” she said.
    “Most of which I haven’t earned,” he said. His green eyes studied her face and he leaned close and whispered, “Now, if I could earn the reputation of being the plunderer of pretty, blonde librarians, well, that’s a reputation I could live with.”
    A small squeak came out of Lindsey’s mouth, which she tried to cover with a cough. His grin was decidedly wicked now, and she had the sinking feeling that she was in way over her head.
    “Lindsey!” a voice called from behind her.
    She turned to find Sully striding toward them. Robbie straightened up, and Lindsey felt a hot heat fill her face. Again, she had a twinge of guilt, which was ludicrous, since she