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“Yeah, you should have,” a teenager with purple hair says, oozing attitude. “Book Talk with Byron is the reason I started reading.”
“Me too,” adds a woman holding a toddler on her hip.
“I just bought some Bookish Perfume,” Millie, an elderly lady who never misses a book club meeting, says, tilting her neck so the man standing beside her can smell it. “I used your affiliate link, Jane.”
“Thanks for your support,” I tell her absently as I turn back to Bryan. He has his arm extended toward me, hand open as if I’m supposed to shake it. I reach for him and feel a magnetic connection.
“Hi. My name is Bryan. I fell in love with you and your passion for books nine months ago when I saw your very first video. I know I’m not perfect, but I’d like to believe that I can be perfect for you, if you’d give me a chance to prove it.”
“I…” I swallow nervously as I struggle to put my thoughts into words. “I’ve missed you, Bryan. I’m sorry I pushed you away. And I…” I take a deep breath. “I fell in love with you before we ever met. I read every single one of your quotes and looked at every photo of your abs?—”
“So did I!” a woman in the audience cries. A few others chime in agreement.
Bryan looks decidedly uncomfortable at their admission, and I start to smile. “I’m not perfect either, Bryan. But I would like to try.”
He whoops—far too loudly for a library, but with the size of our audience, we’ve abandoned those rules a long time ago—and then I’m in his arms.
With just one kiss, my entire body ignites. I wrap my arms around Bryan’s neck, forgetting all about the video I’m supposed to be filming—and our cheering audience—until someone gives a pointed cough.
“I’m going to have to ask you not to do that in the library,” Amelia says, but she’s grinning.
I turn to Bryan. “How about we do this Book Talk with Byron episode together? You did read the book, didn’t you?”
Bryan grins. “You know it.”
JANE
Two Years Later
“And that concludes today’s episode of Book Talk with Byron. Don’t forget to tune in tomorrow as we chat about Juniper, a hilarious romance by Eva Delaney that features some unusual shifters, including none other than the Bard himself.”
“Be sure to like, comment, and subscribe,” my husband adds from his spot on the couch next to me.
Yes, I married Bryan. How could I not when he’s handsome, well-read, and just a little nerdy? I mean, who else proposes by hiding an engagement ring in a hollowed out copy of The Two Towers and says, “Marry me, my precious.”
“I love you so much,” I tell him as he pulls me into his side. My heart races at his proximity, and I tremble at his touch.
“I love you, too, my precious.” He tilts my chin up to kiss him. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“And you’re the best thing that ever happened to me.” But my belly flutters, like pages blowing in a windstorm. I pull away.
“What’s wrong?”
“I guess I’m just nervous about the Library Book Bash,” I lie. Because that is not even remotely close to what has my nerves on high alert.
Bryan gives me a questioning look, so I dig deeper into my temporary omission of the truth. “I’ve just never given a speech to this many people before.”
“What about your videos? Millions of people watch those! And your library conference lecture? There were hundreds of people there.”
“Yeah, but that’s different. I can re-record videos if I screw up, and the conference was all librarians. There was no reason to be nervous around other librarians.”
Bryan stares at me like I’ve grown a second head.
“They’re librarians, Bryan,” I repeat.
He chuckles, pulling me onto his lap. “Whatever you say, gorgeous.”
“Careful,” I cry as my fuzzy slippers crash onto the floor.
