His Shy Librarian: A steamy older man younger woman romance novella Read online

  He cupped my cheek and said, “Come here.” As I stood, he pulled me into a fierce hug. “I’ve known Richard for years, and… I couldn’t be happier for you both.”

  Rick stood and put a hand on my back, and as soon as Dad let go of me, they were shaking hands again. “I know you’ll take good care of her. And I greatly prefer you to many of the guys at that college.” He shook his head, as if he couldn’t believe some of them.

  “I think she’ll take good care of me, too,” Rick said. “You should have seen her putting some of those college boys in their place in the library yesterday.”

  Mom stood and hugged me and hugged Rick before going to get a bottle of champagne from the kitchen. “We should have a toast,” she said. “This is really something to celebrate!”

  Dad put a hand on each of our shoulders. “I don’t want you to quit teaching at Leighton, Rick. But I would prefer it if you keep it under wraps at least on campus. What you do outside of the school is your own business, but I think it would be best if, for propriety’s sake, you kept it professional on campus.”

  “Of course,” Rick said. “We’ve been careful about that anyway.”

  “Good. Keep it that way at school, you’ve only got a year left, and I think it’ll be just fine. It goes without saying that you can’t take any of his classes, Karey.”

  “Avoiding economics is not a problem, Dad.”

  Rick gave me a pained looked, then laughed and hugged me as mom came in with the champagne. I was so relieved he didn’t have to leave the school, and that dad seemed so pleased about our relationship. Everything had worked out, and I couldn’t have been happier.

  Chapter Twenty

  Richard

  One Year Later

  Karey’s graduation ceremony was on a beautiful day in early May, so after a few pictures inside the huge auditorium where the ceremony took place, everyone moved outside to take pictures among the trees, flowers and bright green grass. I’d been so proud to watch her get her degree from where I was seated with the faculty, not far away from her father, the dean.

  A man I’d been friends with for years who, I hoped and believed, would one day very soon also be my father-in-law.

  The daddy jokes on the golf course were probably going to be unbearable, for at least a while.

  At least Anna had teased me once and said quietly out of anyone’s earshot that if Karey and I got married, she wouldn’t expect me to call her mom. She’d winked and smiled, and had never said another word about it. Hoping for Lawrence to be more like his wife wasn’t going to get me far, though. I knew him too well.

  “Congratulations, graduate.” I pulled Karey to me the first chance I had and kissed her firmly. I wanted to do it at least once while she wore her cap and gown, and it was wonderful to do it in the open now that she’d graduated, not caring who saw.

  “Thank you, professor,” she teased as she hugged me.

  “Ah, ah. You’ve graduated now. No more of that.” I kissed her again, until Lawrence cleared his throat.

  “All right, Dad. All right,” she said with a laugh, and we all headed to an early dinner at Nick’s, one of Karey’s favorite restaurants.

  The little box in the pocket of my suit jacket felt huge to me, like everyone would glance at me and know it was there. I was tempted to pull it out the minute we were seated. But I forced myself to wait until we were all settled and dinner was ordered. Then I held up my glass of wine.

  “To you, Karey. Congratulations on your achievement. Even though it’s not economics,” I said, the last bit rushed and soft, with a wink.

  She laughed and clicked her glass against mine. “Just lowly history education!”

  Her parents were chuckling and taking a drink of their own, and I toyed with the idea of waiting until after the meal, but I couldn’t. I’d wanted this for so long, I couldn’t hold it in anymore.

  I stood and smoothed down my lapel. “Not to steal your thunder on your big day, but I’m also hoping that people will be congratulating me before the night is out.”

  She frowned in confusion, an uncertain smile on her face as I took her hand, and got down on one knee.

  Karey stared at me, stunned, while her mom put both hands up to her mouth with a gasp. Lawrence grunted in what seemed like approval. I pulled out the velvety ring box and opened it.

  “I love you so much, Karey. And I have never been happier than I have in this last year, with you. I never thought I could be so happy.” I took the engagement ring out of the box and held it up, ready to put it on her finger. “Will you marry me, and let me try to make you as happy for the rest of our lives?”

  Her expression hadn’t changed, and for a moment I worried that this was going all wrong.

  “The ring’s not set in stone, if you’d rather have a different one.”

  A single tear streaked down her cheek.

  I reached up to brush it away with my thumb. “I know we haven’t discuss—”

  Karey kissed me, fast and firm, both hands cupping my face, and all my worries melted away.

  “I love the ring,” she said with a sniff. I wiped more tears from her cheek. “I love it, it’s perfect. I love you.”

  I tucked hair behind her ear. “So, that’s a yes, right?” I stood, pulling her up into my embrace as she laughed.

  “That’s a yes, Rick. Yes, yes, yes.”

  Her father winked at me while her mother beamed at both of us. A few people sitting near us in the restaurant clapped lightly and murmured congratulations. When she pulled back and gazed at me with her beautiful silvery eyes, I kissed her softly again, a promise of more to come, not just that day, but every day for as long as she would have me. A promise of love and devotion I would make again and again, one I was all too happy to keep.

  About the Author

  In the mood for something decadent, delicious, and provocative? Meet Mia Madison, purveyor of Forbidden Fantasies Romance. Come in, sit back, and relax. The candles are lit, and the dancing shadows on the wall promise sexy, seductive tales of spine-tingling love, leading to a pleasure-drenched happy-ever-after.

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