Her Best Friend's Brother by T. Dell (read the beginning after the end novel .TXT) 📕

perhaps I could visit you? You can take me for a motor bike tour! And then we shal see, Betta.” Libby nodded.

Chapter Fourteen

Could America have a scent? Libby was sure she smeled ‘home’ when she stepped off the airplane. Mel and John were waiting for her, and she ran into a squealing jumping hug with her best friend. It was good to be home.

“Tel me you brought gifts!” Mel joked as she linked arms with Libby and left John to grab her bags. The three of them drove back to Lindstown in a blur of conversation bouncing so quickly between Italy and Wedding plans that John wisely kept to himself.

Libby felt wonderful being home. She was even glad to see her postage stamp bedroom in Stuart’s house.

It was impossible for Libby to think of his townhouse as her home. She liked Stuart and she was glad he made her mom so happy, but it wasn’t home. Of course she was only going to stay their temporarily. She had a plan.

She was going to operate a catering/made to order business out of her mother’s kitchen. First order: Mel’s wedding cake. The idea was to build up a name, and save some money until she qualified for a business loan to open her own place. Stuart’s house would do until she had at least found a location, because she wasn’t quite sure that Lindstown could accommodate two bakery cafes. Libby was resigned to relocating to another town.

On her second day home, after eating a slightly awkward but mostly enjoyable breakfast with Stuart (her mother having already for work), Libby headed out the door for a run. She would have to make time to go and renew the membership at the Y, but in the mean time she didn’t want to get out of shape. Walking out the door, Libby had just begun her stretches when she looked up to see Tony striding towards her.

Memories did not to justice to those beautiful legs.

Nerves engulfed Tony, momentarily leaving him frozen on the sidewalk.

“Hi!” Libby bounded over to him for a hug.

Stil immobilized Tony barely managed to return her hug before she puled away. “Hi.” Smooth, Marchetti.

Tony chided himself. “Got a minute?”

“Can you keep up?” Libby smirked at him playfuly.

He wasn’t dressed for a run, but he keenly remembered his last disgraceful attempt of keeping up with Libby, and he had been training, so he agreed. They kept their pace slow and steady which Tony was grateful for in light of his heavy cargo shorts. “So are you settling back in?”

“Yeah al 24 hours I’ve been home.”

Tony winced a little. He had meant to give her more time. It was probably going to be hard for her to readjust. And then there was the matter of her needing to get over the Italian boyfriend. Tony hadn’t been able to help himself; a need to see her had overwhelmed him. Wel seeing didn’t satisfy al his needs, but it would do for now.

“Good. I know you are probably busy with umm settling in, but I thought you might like to go to the wine festival with me on Saturday?”

“The wine festival? You don’t strike me as a wine guy.”

“Wel I’m not.” Damn it, this was crumbling fast.

Mel had said Libby was realy into wine these days. “But I am covering it for paper, and Mel says you know a lot about wine so….”

“Yeah okay. Sounds fun.” Libby was panting a little. Tony felt a surge of pride that he hadn’t been winded yet.

“Great. I’l pick you at 4:00?”

“How about I meet you at your office? I’d love to see it. I was hoping to talk with you anyway, about some ad space.”

“Yeah sure that’s fine. Come a little early we can get you set up with whatever you need.” Tony would have rather picked her up. But he could adjust.

They had circled the block several times by now, and Tony slowed to a walk.

“Had enough?” Libby taunted lightly as she jogged in place.

“Nah. I just have to get going. I am going to have to go back home and change now before I get to the office.”

Libby’s face dropped in remorse. “I’m sorry! I wasn’t thinking! You should have just said!”

“Calm down Lib. I’m the boss, I can be late if I want to… and today I wanted to. I’l see you okay?”

“Okay.”

Tony turned and walked to his car. Waving again out the window Tony drove away.

Saturday came quickly for Libby. She had spent the early part of the week refining her business plan, and working out what sort of and what size ad she would want to run in the paper. She had a menu she wanted to include in the Sunday inserts, but she thought a daily ad would be beneficial too until she got a name built up. Tony’s paper had become very popular and most of the town seemed to subscribe to The Lindstown Daily Press.

Libby walked into Tony’s office a little after 3:00.

“You’re early.” Tony popped his head out of a back office. “Just let me change my clothes.” Tony disappeared back behind the door, and Libby concentrated on not thinking about him changing clothes.

The outer office was pretty smal, but Libby supposed that a newspaper wasn’t the sort of place that received a lot of foot traffic so that probably wasn’t a problem. Across one wal there were a few coin operated newspaper dispensers, and what looked to be a photo printing kiosk. Looking to her left there was a reception desk, and behind that there were two smaler desks. One long wal was decorated with a mural that depicted an old fashioned busy news room. It was comic book style with curved lines indicating ringing phones, faceless reporters in suits and hats scurrying about, and a shouting red faced man that Libby suspected was supposed to be Tony. It was positively charming, and exactly something Libby would expect