Between the Lines by Ella Linden

Author:Ella Linden [Linden, Ella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy Romance
Publisher: Peitho Press
Published: 2017-01-24T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Andrew sat on the worn, yet ridiculously comfortable sofa in Liv’s house, and the second she stepped back into the room he was struck by the urge, the absolute need, to kiss her again.

She gave him a shy, uncertain look, and he stayed where he was. The little glimpses she’d given him of what lay beneath her controlled, sarcastic exterior made him even crazier about her. They’d also made him want to be damn sure he was giving her what she needed. And what his gorgeous mermaid needed just then was a little space.

“Nice place,” he said, looking around. “It’s always a good sign when you go into someone’s house and they have books shelved and stacked everywhere.”

She smiled. “A home without books—”

“Is a body without a soul. Cicero,” he finished, and she nodded.

“I love that quote. My house growing up was just overflowing with books. Between my mom’s history books and my dad’s tendency to read just about anything he can get his hands on, there were books everywhere,” she said with a smile, and it was clear to him that she had a loving and close relationship with her parents. “And that’s not even counting ebooks, now,” she added.

He stood up and walked toward the wall of painted bookshelves, then glanced back at her. “May I?”

“Sure.” She settled into the overstuffed chair in the corner of the room and tucked her bare feet beneath her, watching him as he turned back toward the bookcase.

“Tons of history,” he noticed immediately.

“I am my mother’s daughter.”

“Lots of romance, too.”

“Lauren got me hooked on that when we were in high school. Haven’t stopped reading it since.”

He turned back to her. “Lauren Bailey? Our Lauren, who obsesses over superhero comics and plays roller derby? That Lauren?”

She laughed. “One and the same. We’re a very diverse group, romance readers.”

He nodded and turned back to the shelves. “Art, comics, more history. More history,” he murmured as he worked his way down the shelves. “Lots of French history.”

“Like I said, I have a fascination for French culture and history,” she said with a shrug.

“Is that your mom’s topic of expertise?”

“No. She’s more into English and Irish history, but she teaches undergrad classes in just about everything. I blame Madeleine for the obsession with France.”

He looked at her blankly, and she laughed. “She’s the main character in a series of picture books I loved when I was little. She lives in a French orphanage, and she’s sassy and perfect. I’m pretty sure that was where it started, anyway,” she finished, still smiling.

He smiled at her and made his way around the room. There weren’t many knickknacks or things around. One wall, near where Liv was sitting, held photographs, and he looked them over. There were a couple of Liv and a man and woman, all beaming at the camera, and he guessed those were her parents. She’d clearly gotten those golden-green eyes from her mother. He looked at the rest of the photos. One of her and Jack when they were kids, one of her, Jack, and Lauren as gangly teenagers.

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