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CHAPTER ONE

OUT OF ALL the mistakes Veronica Chandler had made in her life, this was definitely the worst Worse thanthat guy who’d du back hos and even worse than beco a complete fraud of an advice columnist

What the hell had she been thinking? She should have said no to her boss She should have told him to take his horrible idea back to whatever hellish place he’d found it But she’d been too afraid to say no

Veronica lived every single day afraid that her boss was going to realize the truth about her Each email she received from him seemed to pulse with menace, and when he’d called and asked her to stop by his office teeks earlier, she’d known that had been the end of her charade

But instead of firing her, he’d presented her with an opportunity In her state of shock and relief, she’d sta “Hell, no” Maybe she’d been in denial since then Maybe she hadn’t wanted to think about it But there was no denying the truth anyht, and now she was racing to the Jackson Town Library as if the stacks of books inside could save her

She rushed through the glass doors, head already swiveling to scan the reat friend, so when she hadn’t answered this ’s panicked texts, Veronica had known sheIf she could just find Lauren, surely she would say it was okay for Veronica to back out of this mess and hide from the world in her apartment for a week or two

She walked past the circulation desk and looked into the children’s area, but Lauren wasn’t hidden between the stacks of kids’ books What if she wasn’t really working today? What if she was on a hike deep in the woods and wouldn’t be home until late?

“No,” Veronica said No, that wasn’t possible Veronica needed her too much

She adjusted the sunglasses hiding her bloodshot eyes and took a deep breath She had to stay calm She couldn’t let anyone see her panic Veronica Chandler was a goddaood sense and cool remove She’d handled New York City She handled other people’s problems every day She could handle this

After s a hand over her newly cut hair, she walked to the circulation desk and did not trip over her own high heels “Is Lauren Foster in today?” she asked the older wonized from one of her previous visits to the library

“I think she’s over in Periodicals with the new librarian Wish I could join them”

Veronica wasn’t sure what the wo to convey, but she smiled with relief “Thank you so much”

The smile fell away as soon as she turned and headed for the opposite side of the library Logically, she knew her friend couldn’t save her from this awful mistake, but Veronica’s body still strained toward her as if Lauren were a life preserver

Tucked into the far corner of the building, the periodicals section was arranged around a cozy grouping of armchairs and couches, and in the er Not a new librarian, though This stranger had a beard and dark hair and a plaid tie and a hot lean body that immediately dried Veronica’s mouth to ash