Page 43 of Love is a Game
Sadie tugged at the sleeve of her sweater, avoiding eye contact. She hadn’t slammed the door on him yet. That was a good sign.
“It’s a shame,” he went on, “because before I put my foot in my mouth, it kind of seemed like we were having a good time.”
A small smile tugged at her lips. “It did seem like that,” she agreed.
She glanced down at the paper in her hands and her smile widened for a brief moment. He watched the tension ease from her shoulders as she looked up at him.
“I know I’m a little touchy about my job,” she conceded. “Every time I come home, I have to hear my family complain about it, and I think all these weeks of their little comments just built up. I shouldn’t have let my frustration out on you.”
“Okay, how about this . . .” He leaned in and rested his hand against the doorframe. “I won’t criticize your job if you don’t criticize mine.”
She let out a heavy sigh, her shoulders drooping in defeat, then nodded. “That’s fair. I guess I owe you an apology as well.”
“Apology accepted.”
“Also, those things I said about my sister.” She winced. “Please don’t repeat that to anyone. I really didn’t mean it.”
“I won’t,” he assured her. “We both said things we shouldn’t have. Let’s just forget it.”
She looked relieved. “Deal.”
“So, what do you say? Friends?”
“Friends?” Her face twisted into an exaggerated cringe. “Oh, gosh, I don’t know. That would be a big step for us.”
Andrew winked. “I think we can handle it.”
“Why don’t we ease into it?” she suggested. Her lopsided grin made a dimple appear on her cheek. “How about friendly acquaintances, then we’ll see where things go from there.”
“I can accept those terms,” he said, smiling.
It was a start. He was relieved that she’d accepted his apology, but he knew he wanted more than her friendship. There had even been a few moments when he thought she might want more than that too.
Sadie read over the invoice again and asked, “So does this offer immunity from future late fees?”
He straightened. “Absolutely not—one time only. I run a tight ship at the library. I’m pretty sure your library card is expired anyway.”
“What?” She wore an expression of mock surprise. “I swear I just got a new one, like, fifteen years ago.”
“Maybe I can pull some strings and get it reactivated for you, now that all those delinquent charges are taken care of,” he offered.
She rolled her eyes. “Thanks.”
“Are you coming to the library later?” he asked. “It’s been a few days.”
“I know.” She waved a hand dismissively and leaned against the door. “I ended up working until way late on Tuesday, so I just stayed the night in Port Angeles, and then Wednesday was just as crazy.”
“Oh yeah, how did that go?”
She shrugged. “About as well as those things always go. He was pretty upset, but it’s hard to argue when faced with written complaints and documented warnings. The manager put on a good show of loyalty, but I think she was glad to be rid of him.”
Sadie kept her voice even, but he could see how much it must have bothered her. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, to feel her head resting against his chest, but that wasn’t the kind of thing a friendly acquaintance would do.
“I’m sure she was grateful you didn’t make her do it,” he said gently. “That was really decent of you. I know it’s hard to be the bad guy.”
She slid her toe back and forth on the tile entryway, her arms crossed tight over her chest. She cleared her throat and said, “Anyway, yes, I’ll be by sometime today. I’m not sure when. I really need to finish up there but I’m kind of swamped here too.”
“Well, I’ll be working late at the library tonight, so if it would help, you can stay after I close up.” He swallowed, searching her face. “If you want to.”