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  He gently nudged her forward. “What’s up, Sam?” He dropped his hands.

  In the far corner of the room, Elle’s best childhood friend, Karen Willis, stood. Thought they’d spoken over the phone, she hadn’t seen her since the day before her horrid abduction. When Sam had rescued Elle and reunited her with her family, Karen had been out of the country, school abroad. Karen and Todd had been the only ones missing from the happy reunion.

  “Karen!” She bolted toward her. Wiping tears from her eyes, she looked around. “Where’s Todd?”

  Karen frowned. “LA.” She pulled out a kitchen chair and sat. Elle sat down across from her.

  Elle studied her friend’s face. Having grown up together, she’d known Todd for almost as long as she’d known Karen. “Why is Todd in LA?” Karen’s face hardened. Elle was about to ask more, but Sam bent down and kissed her forehead. “So, um, you’ve met my fiancé?” She glanced up at Sam.

  Karen nodded. “Yes. Actually, he helped me plan this surprise.”

  Elle smiled. “I figured as much.” Sam pointed toward the door and motioned he’d be right back. She watched him leave and then turned to her friend. “How long are you going to be here?”

  Karen grinned. “Well, that’s the other surprise. I’m staying in Maine until the wedding. I have to find a job and a place, but Elle, I’m here for good. For now at least.” She touched the brochures spread over the table. “And as your maid of honor,” she said, with a pronounced curtsey, “how cool is it that I get to help my best friend with her wedding?”

  Elle laughed. “Wicked cool.”

  Karen smiled, but a twinge of sadness settled in her eyes.

  Elle tilted her head. “What’s wrong, Karen?” It had to have something to do with Todd being in LA. “You both finished your classes in the UK, and you’re here, but he’s not?” She leaned forward. “There’s plenty of room here at the cabin for him—”

  Karen slammed her hands down on the table. “No!”

  Surprised, Elle drew her head back. “What?”

  Karen’s face was hard as stone. “I will never talk to that two-timing jerk again.”

  That was a problem, in more ways than the obvious. Todd had no doubt already received his invitation. With family of his own in California, and as a dear friend of Elle’s, she doubted that anything would keep him from her wedding.

  Two

  Unexpected

  Gwen assured Karen that she was no bother and having her there to help with the wedding was a true blessing. Elle begged her to stay in one of the eight empty bedrooms, and she finally agreed to it.

  Just as she said she would, Karen found a job right away, working for Bruce at his photography shop in Dover.

  It was a charming town and Karen rather enjoyed it, though she spent a great deal of time forcing herself not to think about Todd. The work that she did for Bruce helped.

  “I’ll be right back,” Bruce said, loading up his arms with packages and envelopes. “If anyone comes in, take their orders, and tell them I’ll give them a call.”

  There seemed to be certain times that customers crowded the little shop. Bruce was well known and sought after for his photography skills, and most days, a good amount of customers dropped in right around noon.

  The bell on the door dinged, and she looked up. “May I help you?” The young boy slid a note across the counter. “A guy asked me to give this to you.” He turned and walked toward the door.

  She picked up the small envelope. “Who?”

  The boy shrugged. “Don’t know who he is. Never seen him before.” He opened the door and stepped outside.

  She turned it over in her hands a couple times. There wasn’t anything written on it. “Huh.” She picked up a letter opener, sliced through it, and then pulled out a folded note.

  Karen—listen, I know you are not going to be happy with me, but hear me out. Don’t get angry.

  Her eyes widened. Who wrote this? Logic told her, Todd, but it wasn’t his handwriting.

  The bell on the door rang again. It opened, and a man peered around it. “Karen, don’t yell at me, okay?”

  Slamming her hands down on the counter, she yelled. “What are you doing here?” MJ Moore, a fellow student from the university she had just left, stood at the door, looking penitent, and somewhat bewildered.

  He came into the shop and closed the door. “I felt really bad about what happened between you and Todd, and wanted to apologize for my part.”

  She jerked her finger toward the door. “Get out.”

  Stuffing his hands in his pockets he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “Look, Karen, just listen to me, and then I’ll leave. Come on, I came all the way from England.”

  Was that supposed to placate her? She didn’t twist his arm and force him to fly across the ocean. Her eyes narrowed. “Get out.”

  He shook his head. “Stubbornness is not one of your better traits,” he quipped sourly. He opened the door a little more and stood partway in it. “My flight is in two days, I’m staying at the Blethen House, if you change your mind.”

  “Get out!”

  “Fine.” He slammed the door behind him.

  The nerve of some people. His part? She bit her lip and glared at the door where he had just left. In reality, she was glad for ‘his part’ although it had caused her a significant amount of pain. With nothing else to do, and against her better judgment, her thoughts turned back to the UK, a year and a half earlier. . . .

  Karen sat in the library with a stack of books at her side. “Ugh. This is going to take forever.” She glanced down at her watch. Todd would be at his parent’s house in the states by now. She missed him like crazy, but he would be back in two weeks. She had wanted to go with him, but money was tight, and one flight was all they both could afford. That and his classes were finished. She still had a paper to write. She waved at her friend, Mary, across the room. It looked like she wasn’t the only one still doing school work.

  Todd’s brother should have waited until the holidays for his wedding. She made a face. Why should Benjamin rearrange his life to accommodate her? She sighed and opened the book in front of her.

  “That’s the book I have been looking for.” A young man leaned over her stack of books. “How long are you going to need it?” His black hair fell across his face, and he flipped it back.

  She picked up the book and leafed through it. “Um, a week, probably.”

  He grimaced. “A whole week?” He took the book from her and thumbed through it. “Here. This is what I need.” He looked at her like she was brainless then grunted. “Hold the book open for me.”

  “What?”

  “Just do it.” He pushed her hands with the book into the air, pulled out a camera, and took a picture.

  “Hey!” She wasn’t sure she liked his attitude, and the nerve of him, taking a picture with her in it.

  As if he read her mind, he pushed her head behind the book, turned the page, and took another picture. “Listen, if you can’t give the book up, then I have to do this instead.” He turned the page, and took another picture.

  “You’re not very bright,” she said, with a touch of sarcasm. “It’s going to take days for you to get those pictures back.” And there was that annoying look again.

  “Ever heard of a home developing lab?” he said, snidely.

  “Oh.” Okay, that made sense. She had a friend that had a lab at his house. His pictures were pretty good too, and he had them the day he took them, not like this wait-until-they-are-developed thing. She looked around the book. “Are you done now?”

  “Not quite.” He snapped a picture of her.

  “Hey!”

  He grinned. “Now, I am.” He turned to walk away, without even a thank you, or a sideways glance.

  “You can’t take a picture of me.” She glared at him.

  He looked over his shoulder. “Wrong. I just did.”

  “Oooo.” She should snatch the camera right out of his hands and rip
the film out. That’s exactly what I’m going to do, she thought, jumping up. She glanced back at her stack of books, and then up at him. He pushed open the doors and then left. Why do I get the best ideas too late? She waved at Mary to come over to her table. “Can you watch my books for five minutes?”

  Mary shrugged and then sat down at the table.

  “Thanks, Mary. I’ll be right back.” Hurrying to the door, Karen pushed it open, and then scanned the campus outside of the library. There he is. She came up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and stared at her. She held her hand out.

  “What?”

  “Give me the camera.”

  He grimaced. “No.” He held it high above her head.

  “You took my picture.”

  “Big deal.”

  “Yeah. It is. I didn’t give you my permission to take my picture.”

  “Yes, you did.”

  What nerve. “No, I did not.”

  “You’re a student here, right?”

  She frowned. Where was he going with this?

  “Which means I have the right to take your picture.” He pulled out a student journalist badge.

  “You’re a reporter?” Figures. “And just what do you need my picture for?”

  “That,” he grinned, “is privileged information.”

  “It’s abuse of the system.”

  He laughed, his dark blue eyes filling with mirth. “Again, that’s for me to know, and for you to find out.”

  Her lips twisted to the side. “A reporter that spews clichés—strike two.”

  An eyebrow rose. “Before I strike out,” he grabbed her arm, “let’s get some coffee.”

  She pulled away. “I don’t think so.”

  “Then don’t think at all.” He smirked. “It’s better than knowing.” He gestured toward the student café across from the library.

  What? She had to think about that. Wait, that’s exactly what he meant, not to think too much. Her shoulders fell forward. “Um. Tea. I prefer tea.”

  “Tea? You don’t sound English. In fact, I’m betting you’re American.” He took her elbow and led her to the café. “Right?”

  “How’d you know?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Shoes, accent, and the Go USA sticker on your book.”

  What book? Oh, her books. “Uh!” An exasperated breath left her throat. “I left Mary with my books.” She turned to the library.

  She heard his voice behind her. “I’ll be waiting, USA.”

  She didn’t turn back around. Waiting? She picked up her pace. Hardly. No way was she going to return to the café, but all the way back into the library, she couldn’t shake his memory—his dark hair, blue eyes, and irritating personality. She thanked Mary, hoisted the books into her arms, and left the library from a side entrance, rushing straight to her small flat.

  Normally, she wasn’t a rude person, but for some reason, she knew she had had to escape him quick—get him out of her mind, think only about—the phone rang—“Todd.” It had to be him. When it was, she blubbered his name, “Todd,” filled with relief. “Oh, you have no idea how glad I am to hear your voice.”

  “I’m pretty glad to hear your voice, too. You’re not going to believe what just happened.” His voice resonated shock.

  She’d wanted to tell him about her rotten morning, but something in his voice troubled her. “What’s wrong, Todd?” She glanced at her watch. Wait, it had to be 4:00 am in LA. “What’s wrong?”

  “Are you sitting down?”

  “No.”

  “Sit down,” he said.

  Okay, now she was sufficiently freaked out. “Okay, I’m sitting down. What’s wrong?”

  “Jack found his sister. He found Elle.”

  “What?” She jumped up. Her heart went to her throat. Elle had been missing for five years. Was she okay? Was she . . .? She couldn’t bring herself to ask, and sank back down, waiting for Todd to reveal the truth.

  “It’s all over the news. A sheriff held her hostage—well, kind of hostage.”

  Relief washed over her. “What do you mean, ‘kind of hostage’? She let him?”

  “She didn’t remember anything, Karen. She didn’t know who she was. She has amnesia, or at least, had it while captive.”

  Wow. “And now?” Karen held her breath.

  “Her memory is coming back slowly.”

  “Oh,” she breathed out. “Oh, my.” Tears rolled down her face. “That is the best thing I’ve heard— ever.”

  “So, you sounded kind of upset when you answered the phone. Is everything okay?”

  Was everything okay? Everything was perfect now. She had all but forgotten the young man from the library. With news of her best friend being alive, there wasn’t room for whatever his name was in her mind. Wait. What was his name?

  Later that evening, Karen stood in line at the movie theater. A lame date for someone out by themselves. She’d called all of her UK friends, but they wanted to party, and she didn’t. That was high school stuff, and anyhow, as the daughter of an alcoholic, it was the last thing she wanted to do.

  A movie sounded good—a slow-paced, easygoing show. She glanced up at the title. Young Frankenstein—got to love a good ol’ American-made movie in the UK. At least my paper is finally written. I’ll turn it in on Monday, and I’m done for a few weeks.

  She wondered how Todd was. She had no clue what he was doing. Eight hours earlier than the UK, he was probably sitting down to lunch. Benjamin’s wedding was the next day, so she guessed that Todd was doing crazy, best-man stuff, for sure.

  “Do you want butter on your popcorn?”

  “Oh, yeah, sure, but not much.” She took her popcorn and soda and went into the movie. The movie had come out a year ago and now it was in the theater on campus. A few students, mostly by themselves like her, sat in seats spread out over the theater. The lights dimmed, and the movie rolled across the screen.

  A few minutes into it, a student sitting behind her leaned over the seat. “Gene Wilder aces it, doesn’t he?”

  The voice startled her, and she jumped. “Uh!” Turning around, she motioned for him to be quiet, but the second she saw who it was, it made sense that the inconsiderate, talking-out-loud in a movie theater student would turn out to be “library boy” whom she had penned, not knowing his real name.

  She spun back around, but couldn’t focus on the movie for fear that he’d interrupt it again, or worse yet, come and sit in one of the empty seats on either side of her. Finally, she decided to just leave. She worked her way down the empty row and into the aisle.

  Glancing back, she noticed that library boy was no longer there. Oh, dang. He’s probably waiting for me in the lobby. On second thought . . . she sat in the aisle seat and waited for the movie to end, hardly enjoying it at all.

  When the credits rolled across the screen, she waited for some of the students to leave, and then squeezed in between them.

  Safe outside the theater, she breathed a sigh of relief. Walking at a fast pace, she crossed the campus toward the main thoroughfare toward her flat. A few students stood around, but other than that—no library boy, anywhere.

  She glanced down at her watch. Todd would be at the wedding rehearsal, or at least getting ready to go. She wondered if the gift she’d sent to the states had arrived in time. Oh well, if not, it’ll get there eventually. It wasn’t anything great—just a miniature of Big Ben. She figured Benjamin would really love it and probably his soon to be wife, too. She wished that she had bought it before Todd had left for the wedding. That would’ve saved her the expense of sending it internationally.

  Knowing Todd and Benjamin’s mother, a gift from the UK would mean more to her, than Benjie. In retrospect, that’s probably why she sent it, to impress her future mother-in-law—hopefully, her future mother-in-law. Todd and she belonged together, that was for sure.

  She pulled out her keys and skipped up the steps. Light from the street lamp swept over the brick building creating lon
g, thin shadows across her front door. Suddenly, one of the shadows moved. She drew in a sharp breath and turned.

  “Uh! What are you doing here?” Her heart thudded in her chest.

  Library boy leaned against the lamp post. “If you must know, I followed you.”

  “Get away from me, or I’ll scream.” She held her keys out in a threatening manner, and jabbed them toward him.

  He rolled his eyes. “Ooo, Oooo,” he said, mocking her. “I didn’t follow you to follow you.”

  “What?” He wasn’t making any sense.

  He pointed to the apartment building past her flat. “I live there.” He pushed his hands into his pockets and walked past her.

  “Oh.” Okay, that was embarrassing. Still, she watched him get farther away, before she unlocked her door, and went inside. Leaning back against the door, she tapped her head against it. Lame. Lame. Lame.

  The next day was a Sunday. Pulling herself from her warm bed, she dressed, and then laced her shoes. Sunday jogs were her favorite time of the week, quiet and peaceful, well, until library boy came up beside her, lingered, and then jogged ahead. The timing was just too coincidental.

  “Oh, my heck, can’t you bother someone else besides me?” She hadn’t meant for it to come out so sharp, but this guy was getting on her nerves. It didn’t seem to faze him in the least bit.

  He glanced back at her. “You’re kidding me, right? You really must think you’re all that.”

  She stopped running. “Me? Why do you keep,” she slapped the side of her leg, “showing up, and everything?”

  He stopped running and turned around. “What?” He looked at her like she was crazy. “Okay, okay, I give. You win.” He rolled his eyes. “I’ve been stalking you for your looks and money.”

  He’s mocking me. She glared at him. “Oh, you’re a load of laughs.”

  “I try,” he said dryly. “Anyhow, your holier than thou attitude explains why you’re always alone.”

  “Uh!” She bit the side of her mouth. She was not alone. She was nearly engaged to be married. Nearly. Her eyes narrowed, but nothing came out of her mouth, and that troubled her more than anything. Why didn’t she just come right out and tell him? She was taken. Leave me alone. Still, the words would not form on her lips.