Read Trouble When You Walked In (Contemporary Romance) for Free Online Page A

fine .” Cissie put her hand to the side of her tightly wrapped bun—it was hair colored, the forgettable hue that never made it onto color wheels at the beauty supply store—and vamped for an invisible camera from behind her glasses. “Maybe I’ll face the door and do this all day, like you in Jailhouse Rock . To heck with my librarian duties. I’ve got a man to catch.”
    Mrs. Hattlebury chuckled. “I didn’t meet my perfect man until later, either. I was all of twenty-four. An old maid in those days. But I had to compare everyone to Elvis. So what was a girl to do?”
    “You hit the jackpot with Colonel Hattlebury.”
    Mrs. Hattlebury smiled dreamily. “The colonel’s a younger man, too. By three years.” She patted Cissie’s hand. “So don’t limit yourself, dear. Writers’ conferences abound in this area. Surely we’ll get some luscious male scholars visiting Kettle Knob in the next six weeks. And you can count on me to help tonight. I’m bringing a tuna casserole.”
    “You are?” Cissie began. “Food’s not really necessary—”
    “I’m bringing my favorite pickled beets.” Laurie’s mother, Ginger Donovan, came around the corner. Her new hobby was spending time in the archives room researching local family history. “Just to be nice, really.”
    “That, um, is nice.” Cissie couldn’t stand pickled beets.
    “But the truth is,” Mrs. Donovan went on, “I like the idea of picking up milk and eggs and my books all at once. A library next door to Harris Teeter sounds mighty fine to me.”
    Cissie placed a hand over her heart. “But this building—it’s been our library forever.”
    The lights flickered on and off, as they were wont to do. Even Cissie didn’t believe it was a sign from the library gods that they were displeased. No, ancient wiring was the cause.
    Mrs. Donovan smiled pityingly at her. “You always were a sentimental thing. I remember you changed the name of your favorite Barbie doll after Laurie cried and said she wanted it for hers. What was it again?”
    “Kathryn MacKenzie.” Cissie had always wanted to be a Kathryn MacKenzie, a woman with a beautiful, breezy name and perky smile. Instead, she’d named her Barbie Polly—Polly Seymour, which now that she thought about it, was a prescient choice. It sounded like the name of a girl who said underpants instead of panties and didn’t have many boyfriends.
    A girl very much like Cissie.
    “I hate to tell you, but we need a much bigger movie section, darlin’.” Mrs. Donovan shook her head. “I can’t figure out how to rent a movie from my TV. That’s just too much for this overstressed brain.” Before Cissie could answer, Mrs. Donovan pointed at Cissie’s flat, un-Barbie-like chest. “Back to you and this legend. The dean at Tech is mighty cute if you don’t look at his profile. And he’s available. I’ll call him right now and see if he’ll come in. And then the magic”—she winked—“will happen.”
    Mrs. Hattlebury tut-tutted. “Cissie doesn’t want to marry a man with three chins who’s twice her age.” She looked expectantly at her. “Do you, dear? Would you consider it?”
    “No,” she said firmly. “Besides, doesn’t the legend says this romantic hero has to be from out of town? So ladies, that’s enough matchmaking for today. You had your Elvis Presley fixation, Mrs. Hattlebury, and I have my own for Mr. Darcy.” And an aging high school football star turned mayor who until yesterday had never entered the library in his life—anathema to any woman with half a brain . “I’ll just have to hold out for someone who really suits me. Okay?”
    “Oh, that’s fine, that’s fine,” Mrs. Donovan said, and laid a book and two DVDs on the desktop. “Who needs sex anyway?” She lowered her glasses. “Jay-kay. That means just kidding, according to my grandsons.”
    Sam and Stephen, Laurie’s two handfuls.
    Mrs. Hattlebury chuckled. “I need a new Dick Francis for the colonel. And