Right Kind of Wrong

by Sara Rider

  Wallowing in her worries was pointless. She needed to snap out of it. “Hey, what do you all think about organizing a Valentine’s Day book club event this year? We could do a catered dinner and maybe a book exchange?”

  Her question was met with silence. Awkward, pitying silence. She looked at every one of the book club members around the table and was met with apologetic winces, sympathetic frowns, and other expressions rooted in pity.

  “Sorry,” Clem said softly. “I’ve got plans with Jake. But I’m totally in for Galentine’s.”

  “Same,” Nora added. “We definitely need a Galentine’s Day event.”

  Julia nodded. She wasn’t the only single person left in the group, was she? She looked at Lisa, one of the newest members in the book club. Lisa smiled coyly, then snuck a quick glance at Lorenzo across the table.

  Oh. Julia hadn’t seen that coming. She was happy for them—genuinely. After all, this was a book club for romance lovers. How could she not be happy for a romance blossoming among the members?

  “Galentine’s would be great,” Julia said, then quickly smiled at Lorenzo. “Men included, of course.”

  Looks like she was on her own for Valentine’s Day.

  Again.

  The Books and Brews Club had ended half an hour ago and Julia was just bringing the last of the glasses and plates down to the kitchen when she heard Jake and her brother, Eli, talking in Jake’s office. There wasn’t anything unusual about that in and of itself, but she recognized the hissed inflection of Jake’s curse and Eli’s frustrated groan. There was something bothering them—something business-related.

  She paused, balancing the tray of dishes on her hip, and leaned closer to the half-opened door.

  “I can take a salary cut. It’ll be fine,” Jake said.

  “No way. You did that last time. We can cut costs another way,” Eli replied. “Hell, I’ll take the hit this time if someone has to.”

  Julia’s heart stumbled over itself. Eli was the brew master for the Holy Grale brewpub where Julia held the Books and Brews Book Club every month. Jake, Eli’s best friend and business partner, was in charge of the front-end operations while Julia had finagled herself a job doing the marketing and event planning. The Holy Grale was housed in a gorgeous old church with incredible architecture and a one-of-a-kind courtyard that made a great venue for weddings and other events. On top of it all, Jake had built a library room for his fiancée, Clem, on the mezzanine level where they hosted the book club.

  She understood the business. There were good months and bad months, and February was almost always a slow month at the brewpub. Things would pick up again soon. It was the natural cycle of the industry. Getting the brewpub off the ground had been rough—though she’d still been living in Los Angeles when Eli and Jake had started it all. Since she’d moved here two years ago and starting working for them, the Holy Grale had been on solid ground. The good months now far outweighed the bad ones, and the business was constantly growing. It was all going to be fine. It had to be.

  “Have you talked to Julia yet?”

  She almost dropped the tray hearing the tension in Jake’s voice.

  “No,” Eli said in a rough growl. “I can’t do it. I know I should, but I can’t.”

  “It’s the right thing to do,” Jake said, sounding less than convinced.

  “I know, I know. Let’s talk about it later. I gotta get back to work”

  Heart racing, Julia quickly scooted away from the door before she was spotted, and ducked into the kitchen. She waited a few beats before sneaking back to the mezzanine to tidy up the rest of the dishes.

  Eli knocked on the doorframe before coming into the room. “Need a hand?”

  “I’ve got it.”

  “I know, but you could humor me once in a while, you know.”

  Julia tried to remind herself it was silly to fret about the overheard conversation, but she couldn’t help the anxious feeling creeping up her skin, so softly and insidiously she barely knew it was there until it swarmed her like a colony of ants. The feeling that told her she needed to do more, work harder, be indispensable.

  Lately, though, she’d been wondering if she’d been taking on too much. Her sleep had been poor and her memory not nearly as sharp as it used to be. But she still couldn’t bring herself to say no. Not even to herself.

  “So…” Eli started with unusually forced casualness for an already very casual guy. Her heart raced as he fidgeted with his hands. Was this it? Was this the moment she got fired? “Got any plans for Valentine’s Day?”

  Oh. That wasn’t want she was expecting. “Not really. Just about everything’s set up for the Holy Grale’s Hearts and Darts event.” They’d run the same event last year. The combination of a romantic set menu and dartboard tournament, fueled by Eli’s specially crafted Saintly Sour Cherry Stout, had been a huge hit. It had all gone so smoothly she didn’t really even need to be here for Valentine’s Day this year.

  “You could join Nora and me for dinner.”

  Julia turned to her older brother and leveled the hardened glare she’d long ago perfected for moments like this. “I’m not crashing your romantic Valentine’s date.”

  “Why not? Nora loves you.”

  She supposed she ought to be grateful her brother wasn’t here to fire her, but instead to rub it in that her love life was as exciting as a pile of spent grains. “Besides the fact that most older brothers are trying to get rid of their annoying little sisters when they have a date, not bring them along, this is your first Valentine’s with Nora. I really like her, so don’t you dare screw this up.”

  Eli rubbed the back of his neck with one hand and gave her an equally practiced who, me? grin. “You make a good point. I really don’t want to screw this up…”

  Julia rolled her eyes. “So you’re asking me to plan your date for you?”

  He grinned. “See? You’re not an annoying little sister at all.” He grabbed the last pint glass from her hand and slipped out the door, leaving her alone once more.

  She knew exactly what to plan for Eli and Nora—a romantic dinner where they’d gone on their first date. There wasn’t any fun in that. She sat down and dropped her chin into her hand and stared at the rows of books lining the shelves. Another quiet Valentine’s Day was for the best, really. Between the Hearts and Darts event, the Kiesselburger anniversary party, and now Galentine’s to plan, she had enough on her plate right now. This was probably fate’s way of telling her to slow down and relax a little.

  Her phone rang. When she pulled it from her purse and saw it was the Shadow Creek Library calling, her blood went icy cold and a million worst-case scenarios raced through her mind.

  She answered the call. “I’m so sorry. It was an accident, and I promise never to do it again. Please don’t ban me from the library.”

  “Uh…is this Julia Hardin?”

  She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the verbal thrashing that was surely to come. “Yes.”

  “This is Nadia Khouri,” the woman on the end of the line said in sharp, confident tone.

  “Mayor Khouri?” Oh god, was it so bad that even the mayor was getting involved?

  “Indeed. I’m calling because we’ve had a bit of an emergency.”

  Julia frowned. She wouldn’t exactly call her lewd drawing an emergency… “Okay.”

  “And we need your help. Desperately.”

  “Wait, what?”

  “We’ve been planning a fundraiser for the library on Valentine’s Day and our event planner just quit on us. We’d like to hire you.”

  Excitement perked her head up. “Really? I mean, yes, I’d love to.” This was a chance of a lifetime. How could she say no?

  “Wonderful. We are going host a cocktail party for our donors. In the past we’ve done casino nights, trivia contests, bachelor auctions. The details of the event are up to you. I can have a contract prepared ASAP. The event budget is modest, but I trust you’ll find the commission within industry standard
s.”

  This was huge. She was being handed total control over a major event. “This is fantastic. I promise I won’t let you down. Do you have a venue yet?”

  Mayor Khouri laughed. “Of course. We’re going to host it at the library this year.”

  “The library?” Her excitement faded like air slowly leaking from a hole in a balloon.

  “Yes, we decided that would be a way to highlight the vital programming our library provides while cutting costs.”

  “Of course. That makes sense.” Except that libraries weren’t a place that compelled people to loosen their ties and open their wallets.

  “Perfect. I’ll be in touch with the contract soon.”

  Julia hung up and dropped her head into her hands once more. This was a huge deal, one she really couldn’t afford to screw up. One she absolutely did not have time for.

  3

  Wednesday mornings were always busy at the library. Between the toddler story time group and preschool Lego club, the children’s section of the library felt more like a petting zoo. Not that he minded. The kids were always cute, even the ones who preferred to practice their cartwheels and ninja moves instead of listening to the stories. Luckily, his manager, Alice, was on deck today as well as one of their best library technicians, Mia. Both were great with kids, which allowed him to focus on the other work that needed to get done.

  Except he couldn’t really bring himself to focus on much of anything. Between Emily’s upcoming visit, Nicole’s insistence he start dating again, and Julia’s strange antics last Friday night, his brain had the consistency of a sieve. Every action, every idea, every conversation was filtered through thoughts of the women in his life.

  Not that Julia was in his life, exactly. He just couldn’t get her out his mind. Her brilliant confidence. How her red hair seemed to rebel against any attempt to pin it up. The way she’d looked up at him when he’d trapped her against the door and whispered please in that sultry voice…

  He ran his hand through his hair, vaguely aware that he was in desperate need of a haircut but not particularly inclined to do anything about it, and tried to shift his attention back to his work. He’d meant what he said to Nicole. He wasn’t dating again until Emily was a fully-grown adult—even if it meant spending an entire evening hanging out with Uncle Arthur and his pet hedgehog.

  Still, he found himself thinking of Julia and those big brown eyes. Those soft, full lips…

  “Got my copy of Torrents of the Heart yet?”

  He looked up to see Julia standing across the desk from him. There were plump, white snowflakes on her hair and shoulders that made him want to reach out to brush them off.

  Instead, he just said, “No.”

  He turned back to his computer, not wanting a guilty expression to give away the fact he’d been thinking about her. A clear plastic bag bursting with small change landed in front of him with a thud, forcing him to turn his attention back to her. He raised his eyebrow.

  She cleared her throat. “Payment for my late fees. I’ve been saving up my change. There should be fifty dollars in there.”

  He lifted the bag. It was heavier than it looked. “There’s a bobby pin and at least two sticks of gum in here.”

  “Really?” She leaned toward him, eyeing the bag, then snuck a glance at him and sniffed. “Consider it a tip.”

  He shook his head, doing his damnedest to suppress a laugh. Why did he have to be attracted to the most inscrutable woman on the planet?

  “So does this mean you can order Torrents of the Heart for me now?”

  He dumped the contents of the bag onto the desk, scattering the pennies and nickels over the surface. “When I finish counting your late fee payment.” Slowly, he dragged a single penny toward him. “One. Two. Three.”

  She snatched up one of the sticks of gum, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth. “Consider your tip cut in half.”

  “Oops. I lost count.” He dragged another penny over, grinning while she rolled her eyes. “One.”

  She drummed her fingers against his desk, pulling his attention back to her. Not that it ever really left. “Is Alice here?”

  “Why?” He hadn’t meant to sound quite so harsh, but he’d been completely surprised by her question.

  “I have a meeting with her.”

  “She’s in the back office. Last door on the left.” He pointed in the direction and watched Julia with an uncomfortable mix of fascination, annoyance, and lust as she walked behind the desk and carefully scanned the area around him like it was riddled with landmines. She even leaned over and poked her head inside the returns box.

  Strange, strange, woman.

  When he was gone, he counted up the rest of the change. She was a couple dollars short. He silently debated the pros and cons of his options before pulling out a few bills from his own wallet and adding it to her count. When he settled the account, he was met with a group of four-year-olds eagerly waiting for their turn to check out their weekly stack of picture books. It took about three times as long as normal to scan them all through since each kid insisted on lining up the barcode beneath the red light by themselves.

  He’d just finished a checkout for a well-worn copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar when Julia and Alice emerged.

  “This all sounds great,” Alice said, shaking Julia’s hand. “I’m glad you’re on board.”

  Fergus frowned. He’d been working here for almost eighteen months, and in all that time, Alice hadn’t kept much from him. She was a collaborative boss and sought input from her staff on almost all her decisions. So what was she doing with Julia Hardin?

  Alice turned to him. “Fergus, I have great news. Julia has been hired to coordinate this year’s Love Your Library Valentine’s Day fundraiser. Isn’t it great to have someone who actually loves the library running the event?”

  He nodded slowly, not quite in agreement that having Julia around more than usual was a good thing for his concentration, especially with the new database to be unveiled at the event. Then again, he wasn’t involved with the planning. It shouldn’t impact him much. “Yeah, sure. Is that why you climbed—”

  Julia’s eyes widened like they were about to explode and she shook her head frantically.

  Okay, so that was not the right track. He attempted a smile and tried again. “Nice to have you on board.”

  Julia didn’t look any more at ease by his attempt at cordiality, but at least she wasn’t gesticulating wildly.

  “Oh no,” Alice said, looking down at her suddenly ringing phone. She answered, speaking in a series of quick, clipped responses, leaving Julia and Fergus standing there, awkwardly looking anywhere but at each other.

  When Alice hung up, she turned to them with a blanched expression. “Well, Fergus, it looks like you’ll be working with Julia to organize the event.”

  “What?”

  “My son-in-law just called. Beth just gave birth two months early and I’ll need to catch a flight to Chicago right away. I’m going to be off for a few weeks at least. I need you to cover for me.”

  The look of panic in Alice’s eyes was all too familiar. Emily had been born a few weeks early and he’d never felt so terrified that she would be too small, too fragile for this world. He couldn’t imagine the stress and complications of a baby coming two months early. “Yeah, sure. I’ll take care of everything. I hope everyone is okay.”

  “Thank you. Julia, I’ll leave you in Fergus’s capable hands.” Alice hurried out the door without a single look back.

  “So…” Julia said. “I guess we’re working together.”

  “I guess we are.”

  She brushed the lapels of her trench coat and straightened her back before looking up to meet his eyes. “Look, I know you don’t really want to work with me.”

  “That’s not true,” he answered quickly. Too quickly.

  She raised an eyebrow. “You’re saying you want to organize a Valentine’s themed event?”

  “No,” he admitted. �
�But it’s my responsibility and I want to make sure it goes well.”

  “Then you can trust me to take care of everything. I’ll plan it all and you just have to rubberstamp my decisions. You won’t even have to see me. We can do it all by email. Okay?” She held out her hand.

  He looked at her it—so small with perfectly manicured pink nails. “No. Alice just asked me to cover for her. I’m not handing over free rein to you.” The library fundraiser was the most important event of the year. It provided the vital funds necessary to support the programming for their patrons and finally launch the new catalogue he’d been working on for the last year. As much as he hated the idea of planning anything, it was his job in Alice’s absence.

  Or maybe you don’t want to pass up an excuse to spend more time with her.

  “If you care about this event succeeding, you will. I know what I’m doing and it’s best if you stay out of my way. I work best when I don’t have distractions.”

  He tilted his head down, eyes locking harder on hers. “I’m not a hands-off kind of guy. This will go a lot better if you accept that now.” He slid his palm against hers, wrapping his fingers around hers. Her skin was soft but her grip was tight and fierce, sending a ripple of unwanted desire through him.

  “Fine,” she said through clenched teeth. “I’m sure we can come to some kind of understanding.”

  She didn’t let go, and he had to admit he didn’t exactly want to either. He liked the way her hand felt in his, a little too much. She met his look with an equally hardened one, tightening her grip as though she could intimidate him. They were a fraction of a second from holding on too long, turning this from an exercise is obstinacy to something else entirely. And then she looked at him with a strange smile.

  “What?”

  She let go and brushed his hair off his face, startling him so much he took a step back, banging into the desk behind him. “Why do you have glitter in your hair?”