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“Seems you won the bet.” Laura pointed at the notebook. “Sydney is having trouble writing a fake erotic diary.”
“It’s only been three days.” Three days? It seemed much longer since she’d declared she could write a few entries and make it sound authentic. “I think it’s the historical stuff that’s slowing me down.”
“Then set it in today’s world.” Isabel’s eyes twinkled with delight. “Even better, place it in Seedling.”
“That’s not going to make a difference,” Laura said. “Quit now, Sydney, and admit that The Secret Diary could very well be what the publisher says it is—an authentic diary that was recently discovered in a hope chest.”
“I haven’t given up yet.” It had become a matter of pride. And maybe something a little more. The diary made a forbidden affair sound exciting and worth the risk. From Sydney’s experience, a secret love affair led only to disaster and regret. This so-called diary suggested that a woman was missing out on a grand love if she didn’t throw caution to the wind and indulge in a sexual escapade. What about the loss and devastation, especially when the man had so much more power and privilege than the woman? Sydney had to prove that this diary was fake and that love affairs weren’t all rainbows and unicorns.
“Sydney, why is it so important to you that this book be fictional?” Isabel asked as she sat down next to her. “You really questioned everything about The Secret Diary.”
Sydney didn’t want to advertise her lack of judgment or the affair that had cost her her job and her reputation. Only one person in town knew the details of her inglorious fall from grace and that was her editor. She and Wendy had been friends since college, so when Sydney had run into trouble, the other woman had offered her a job and a place to lie low.
“You question everything, Sydney. It’s why you got kicked out of our old book club,” Laura said.
“I was encouraging discussion,” Sydney said. “And I got kicked out because I questioned the book selection process. It wasn’t transparent or democratic. Plus, the president of the club thinks I’m a troublemaker.”
“You’ve been determined to tear this book apart,” Laura said. “Instead of analyzing everything, you should try reading a book for entertainment.”
“You got kicked out of the other book club, too, Laura. You didn’t like what they were reading, either. Why were you part of the club, anyway?”
“My mom made me. She put my name on the waiting list and she didn’t want me to turn down the ‘honor’ of getting invited to join the club. The Seedling Women’s Reading Circle has been going for decades and it’s a big deal. It’s practically a rite of passage in this town.”
“I had no idea.” The reading circle hadn’t vetted Sydney or made her wait to join. They’d invited her when she first moved to Seedling. But then, she didn’t have a reputation like Laura’s—that they knew about, anyway. If the president of the book club had discovered her history, Sydney probably wouldn’t have been asked to join the club in the first place.
“I think my mom and sisters worked behind the scenes to get me invited. They’re regretting it now. I’m the only Dawson woman in the family tree who’s been blacklisted from the reading circle,” Laura proudly added.
“Well, now it’s not the only book club in town,” Isabel said. “There’s the Seedling Women’s Reading Circle and the Blacklist Book Club.”
“The Blacklist Book Club?” This was the first Sydney had heard of a name for their impromptu reading group. “Is it because we read blacklisted books like The Secret Diary, or because we were blacklisted from the book club?”
“Both,” Isabel said with a smile.
“Perfect! I get to choose next month’s book,” Laura said. “And, oh—” she rubbed her hands together and gave a wicked laugh “—it’s going to rock your world.”
“What about The Secret Diary?” Isabel asked. “Didn’t that rock your world?”
“I love it, and you know why, Isabel?” Laura rested her elbows on the table and leaned forward. “You had the guts to recommend the book to the Seedling Reading Circle and you got kicked out because of it. That is the only reason I joined the Blacklist Book Club and read this book from cover to cover.”
“It’s the reading circle’s loss,” Isabel said defiantly, as if the book hadn’t caused her trouble with her job or her good-girl reputation. “I love this diary. It changed my life.”
“In what way?” Sydney asked. She had noticed a few subtle changes in the librarian recently. Isabel had always been the epitome of elegance and grace. She often wore tailored clothes in quiet colors, but these days she no longer wore cardigans and scarves to cover up her curves. In fact, she had also started choosing bolder colors and her shoes were downright sexy. “Wait a second. Are you saying it inspired you?”
Isabel blushed and nodded.
Laura gasped. “You reenacted a scene, didn’t you? The staircase one, I bet.”
“I’m not telling you,” Isabel said as her blush deepened. “And lower your voice. We’re in the library.”
“Who were you with?” Laura whispered fiercely. “I want details.”
“I already said too much.”
“This book really changed your life?” Sydney bit her lip with worry. She was trying to disprove the book, to show that the affair between Hazel and Ernest was fictional and no forbidden love could be that beautiful and life affirming. Hers certainly hadn’t been. But Sydney had never thought about the consequences of successfully proving that the diary could be fictional. Would Isabel retreat back into her shell? “How would you feel if you found out this diary is really a work of fiction?”
Isabel looked away as she considered the question. “Disappointed,” she said. “Disappointed and betrayed. But I really do believe this happened. Hazel and Ernest are very real to me. What do you think, Laura?”
“I believe Hazel and Ernest were real people, but did all those things happen to them? I don’t know. It could be...what’s it called? Artistic license. If Hazel didn’t do all this, she definitely fantasized about Ernest. Ernest may have been her muse more than her lover.”
Muse. The writer had probably had a muse. Someone she knew but couldn’t touch. Sydney understood what that felt like. She glanced over to where Matthew stood on the other side of the room. How many times had she imagined unbuttoning Matthew’s shirt? She shivered as she daydreamed about dragging his clothes off and revealing his muscular body.
“No, this happened. I’m sure of it,” Isabel argued. “She wouldn’t have risked everything by writing down her fantasies.”
“Sure, she would,” Laura shot back, “if it was the only way she could explore the things she wanted to do.”
Sydney pulled her gaze away from Matthew, her pulse skipping a beat. Maybe she had approached this diary challenge the wrong way.
She sat up straight. Instead of making up Victorian-era characters she didn’t understand and couldn’t imagine, she should write down all the things she had dreamed of doing to Matthew Stone. She bit her lip as fragments of several fantasies crowded her mind.
“We’ll discuss this later.” Isabel glanced at her watch. “Come on, Laura. We need to get back to work.”
Work. Sydney flipped open her notebook and grabbed her pen. This idea could work. But she didn’t dare use Matthew’s real name. She couldn’t have it get around town that she had the hots for the mayor. She would be accused of showing favoritism to a man she had to report about in the paper.
“Already?” Laura slumped in her chair and groaned. “When will this community service end?”
“You only have a few more hundred hours left,” Isabel said in an encouraging tone. “They’ll go by fast, I promise.”
Laura reluctantly stood and followed Isabel to the shelving carts. “All this for damaging my ex-boyfriend’s stuff when I threw it out my window.”
“See you later, Sydney,” Isabel said. Sydney gave an absent wave as she wrote. In her mind, the buttons on Matthew’s shirt were flying off.
* * *
AS DORIS BROWN interrupted her tirade to greet one of her friends, Matthew glanced over her head and saw that Sydney was still at the table. Her writer’s block was clearly gone as she was writing furiously.
He liked watching her work because she put her whole body into it. Sydney would tuck her tongue in the corner of her mouth if she was thinking about something. She’d flip, twist and push her curly brown hair. If she wasn’t muttering to herself or gesturing with her hands, her eyes would widen and narrow as she worked out an idea.
And then there was what she did with her pen. She’d tap and rub it against her lips. Bite down on it, draw it into her mouth or nibble on it. He knew she didn’t mean anything suggestive by her actions, but he still found her incredibly distracting.
At first he had considered pursuing her but she was a sophisticated woman who wouldn’t be interested in a guy like him. He hadn’t traveled the world; he didn’t wear designer brands. A fling, a one-night stand, was all he could hope for.
But even as the attraction grew stronger, he’d held back, knowing that one night would not be enough for him. And he couldn’t afford to have a wild, passionate affair while he was the mayor of this conservative town.
So it was a good thing he hadn’t asked her out. It was. Definitely.
“Thanks for taking the time to talk to me, Matty,” Miss Doris said. She gave him a kindly pat on his arm. Matthew was sure she would have ruffled his hair if she could reach that high. “Now you can go flirt with that pretty reporter.”
He looked at Sydney again. Her head was down and she was mouthing the words she’d written on her notebook. She pulled her hair into a messy ponytail as if she was getting down to business. “My charm doesn’t work on her.”
“Your charm works on every female in town,” Miss Doris said with a cluck of her tongue. “You know, when you were appointed the interim mayor, I thought the townspeople had lost their minds.”
“Yes, you’ve made that clear.”
“Can you blame me? We had just lost a mayor who ignored his duties while having an extramarital affair with his secretary. And then he runs off with her before his term is over.”
Matthew nodded and wondered when people would stop talking about the former mayor, who had run away with his secretary six months ago.
“And then the town has to follow the line of succession and appoint the council member who acts as deputy mayor. And it happens to be you, the most eligible bachelor. It seemed to me we had stepped out of the skillet and into the fire.” Miss Doris lowered her glasses and gave him a stern look. “Is it true that you dated all of the Reed sisters?”
“Not at the same time,” he insisted. That was the problem with living in a small town. He’d dated half the women and was related to the other half. “And that happened years ago. I shouldn’t be held accountable for who I dated in high school.”
“But you will be held responsible for who you keep company with these days,” the older woman warned. “Rumor has it that you’re not dating anyone.”
“That’s true.” Considering his reputation and his predecessor’s actions, Matthew knew he had to be on his best behavior. He could not give his opponents any ammunition against him, especially since he planned to run for mayor in the next election. He hadn’t thought his love life would be an issue until he met Sydney at her first town hall meeting.
“No one believes it,” Miss Doris declared. “The women in my book club say you’re dating someone in secret. We’ve taken bets.”
Matthew wasn’t surprised. The people in Seedling took bets on everything from the first frost to whether a pregnant woman would have a boy or a girl. “Who’s in the lead as my secret lover?”
“Isabel Bennett.”
“Izzy? The librarian?” He had known her since kindergarten. They’d gone on one date when they were teenagers and they hadn’t even held hands much less shared a kiss.
“She’s showing a little more spirit and a lot more skin lately. It has to be a man.”
“It’s not me,” Matthew said. “I recommend you change your bet or you’re going to lose your money.”
“You’re telling me you’re not interested in any of the women in Seedling?” Miss Doris watched him closely. She gave a cackle when he tried to keep his expression blank. “Oh, you are. She must be off-limits if you’re not already dating her.”
Yeah, Sydney Tate was definitely off-limits for the next six months. Even longer if he won the next election. But he wasn’t sure he could wait that long. “There’s no one,” he said.
“Yes, there is,” Miss Doris said as she walked away. “You are flirtatious and charming to every female over the age of twenty-one, but I’m going to figure out which one of them is special to you.”
“Don’t you have something better to do with your time?” Matthew asked, his voice tinged with exasperation.
“Everyone is curious why you are being so secretive about your love life. You’ve never been secretive before. It can’t be good.”
“Maybe it’s because I’m focusing on my job.” And maybe he didn’t want unfavorable comparisons between him and the previous mayor.
“Matty, there are only two kinds of entertainment in Seedling. You either have your own sex life or you’re discussing someone else’s. Most of the bets made in town are about who is in whose bed.” She looked over her shoulder. “And I was the only one who bet correctly about the previous mayor. I’m going to get this one right, too.”
2 (#ulink_f259c269-14ca-5a75-b8ba-8c2ff4ead296)
X LEANED BACK in his red leather chair as he waited for me to come to him. The sexual hunger that tore through him stole his usual easy smile, and a ruddy color streaked across his cheekbones. He was holding back...for now.
I could tell it wasn’t easy for him, but this time I was in charge. He clenched the chair’s armrests with his large fingers as his uneven breath echoed in his office. I couldn’t wait to straddle him in that chair and have the ride of my life.
I stripped off my dress and tossed it on his cluttered desk. I stood naked before him. I should have felt nervous. Anyone could walk in on us. The open windows behind him overlooked the busy town square. Anyone could see. But I didn’t care. I loved the way he stared at me. It made me feel desirable. Beautiful. Invincible.
Tilting my head back, I allowed my hair to fall past my shoulders. I had nothing to hide. I arched my spine as if I was offering my bare breasts to him. My nipples were tight, my breasts heavy, as anticipation flowed through me.
X parted his lips and said—
“Morning, Sydney.”
Sydney yelped and jumped in her seat, her heart lurching at the sound of Matthew Stone’s voice. She dropped her pen and glanced up, just as Matthew set his coffee mug on the table.
“Uh, hi.” She blinked and looked around. The scent of coffee and baked goods suddenly hit her. Multiple conversations overlapped as the clink of silverware sounded loud to her ears. She’d forgotten that she was at Dawson’s Diner, the most popular meeting place in Seedling. Today it was even more crowded than usual as people grabbed their morning coffee or had breakfast with friends.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” Matthew said as he sat down across from her.
“It’s okay. I was just working on something until you arrived.” Sydney stared at Matthew, noticing every detail of his white T-shirt and blue flannel shirt to his jeans and boots. She wished she didn’t feel so hot and jittery. Why had they set up this meeting? For an interview. Right. She was writing an article on the proposed walking trail and he’d agreed to comment.
“Is that your writing assignment?” Matthew gave a nod to the notebook in front of her. Words covered every inch of the page, crowding each other and spilling past the margins, as if she had too many ideas for the paper to hold.
“Uh, yeah.” She quickly closed the cover and stuck the book under the short pile of notebooks she kept for taking notes. Sydney wondered why she kept writing the fake erotic diary when she was in public. Someone could easily lean over her shoulder and read her work. Maybe it had something to do with the reoccurring theme in her diary—exhibitionism. In almost every scenario she had written in the past week, she and Matthew were so overwhelmed with desire that he’d taken her between the stacks in the library, over a desk in his office or in the park after midnight.
“What kind of book club has a writing assignment?”
“It’s not your typical book club,” she muttered as she grabbed her cup of tea and took a big gulp. It had grown cold and she had to choke it down.
“So I’ve heard.”
Sydney froze and glanced at the counter where her friend Laura was working. Some of the discussions they had at the book club were frank and personal. She couldn’t imagine Isabel or Laura describing them to someone else. “Really?” She carefully set down her teacup. “What have you heard?”
His smile was slow and sexy, and she wiggled uncomfortably in her seat. Matthew Stone’s smiles always teased her senses.
“I heard about the book you’re reading now.” He frowned as if he was trying to remember the title. “It was written by a madam who owned a brothel. Tips on seducing a man, or something like that.”
Sydney nodded. “Laura recommended it. She chose it because it’s being challenged at the library and a few people want it banned. I’m not really sure why they are suddenly making it an urgent matter since the book has been in the library for almost twenty years.”
“They probably didn’t know it was there until now.” Matthew leaned back in his chair. Sydney stiffened as she noticed it was the same move she had imagined him making in her fake diary. “What do you think of the book so far?”
She shrugged. “It’s written to shock the reader, and it doesn’t offer a lot of insight or information. Then again, seducing a man isn’t rocket science.”
Matthew tilted his head and crossed his arms. “Is that right?”
Sydney stared at his muscular arms, wondering how they would feel around her as he gathered her close to his chest...or braced on either side of her as he lay on top of her...or lifting her as he took her against the wall... She cleared her throat and focused on his eyes. “Although the author describes some male fantasies that seemed ridiculous to me.”
He gave her a thoughtful look. “Such as?”
“Such as having your lover meet you at your office wearing nothing but a coat and heels.” She scoffed at the idea and tossed her hands in the air. “Would you want your lover to do that?”
“Hell, yeah.”
His gruff voice pulled at something deep inside her. “Really? Why?”
“What’s not to like about that scenario?” His eyes glittered as he considered the fantasy. “A woman is taking the initiative and making it clear that she wants you right here, right now. That’s always a turn-on.”
