Page 75 of Falling for Keeps

I step behind the desk. “Seth mentioned it’s time for your break.”

“Finally,” she mutters. “Oh hey, there was a delivery with your name on it this morning.”

I lift the small box as she slips away, noting the return address, and my smile grows. My stickers are here.

The doors open and a tall man walks through, wearing a plaid long-sleeved shirt over a heathered green tee. Once the sunlight isn’t shining in his face, I can see it’s James Carver, the third contestant for Kiss the Pig. “Your smile looks dangerous,” he says. “Did you already count the money?”

“No. Those jugs are open until we close today. I got a delivery.” I open the box and pull out a stack of shrink-wrapped oval stickers, the same shape and size as the I Voted ones we get every November, only these don’t sport the American flag. They’re pink, with a heart where the O should be. I think they’re cute, if I do say so myself. Who wouldn’t want to cast their vote about the mayor’s love life and sport an adorable pink sticker?

Have I lost my mind? Is this too small-town? I’m pretty sure if the bigwigs from Burlington cared enough about our branch to stop in, they’d put a kibosh on it right away. Like Seth, they would find it cheesy and weird. But I can see the townspeople finding it fun. That’s all it’s meant to be: fun.

I lift my gaze to James and show him the stickers. “They’re for people who vote on my bulletin board.”

His brow lifts. “They’re very pink.”

“It’s romance-themed.”

James laughs, glancing over at the board. “Oh, wow. I bet Mr. Monroe loves that.”

“I don’t know if he knows about it yet. But Juliet gave her approval.” I nod down to the jugs. “Those look awfully close.”

“Too close.” He pulls out his wallet and makes a donation in each of the other jugs.

Carson walks up, holding a stack of books, and Penny is looking through one just behind him. “Saw that,” he says.

James gives a hearty laugh. “Whoops. Caught.”

“Hey, man.” Carson shakes his hand. “It’s been a while. I thought you lived off the grid somewhere.”

James eyes Penny. “Who’s this?”

“Penny Price, my nine-year-old.”

She glances up. “Hi. Who are you?”

“I’m going against your dad in Kiss the Pig tomorrow.”

Penny cracks a grin that shows her missing tooth. “I hope he wins.”

“You and me both, kid.” James folds his arms over his broad chest.

“On behalf of the library, I want to thank both of you for putting your lips on the line for the sake of our kids.” They look at me in time to catch my blush. “By tomorrow night, it’ll all be over.”

“Thank heavens,” Carson mutters, but his expression is amused. He shifts his attention to James. “How’s it going?”

“Good. I heard you moved home.”

“I took over Vance Dental.” He points to the logo on his shirt. “We’re still trying to figure out if it was a good move or not.”

“I’m sure it’ll be great.”

“How’s your mom doing?” Carson asks.

I feel weird eavesdropping, so I snap a picture of the stickers and send them to Juliet, our mayor’s daughter. She’s helping my sister run the entire festival this week, so I imagine she’s swamped.

Emma

Too much?