Feeling a little stupid and lost, I followed the tall, handsome man away from the sea. Jeez, had I really almost gone into the cold water? I mean, I knew I had. But I don’t know, I couldn’t understand what had happened. It had been like I wasn’t in control of myself. The ocean had called me and I had obeyed.

I glanced over my shoulder at the water. The urge to run back to it was still there, but now I could discern between a stupid choice and less stupid one. Because, let’s face it, following a stranger? That was pretty stupid.

Shaking my head, I sneaked a peek at the beautiful stranger beside me. Handsome was not a strong enough word to describe him. He was something else. Like those brooding models in their leather jackets with high collars and fitted jeans. His face was one sharp angle after another, and I felt if I ran my finger over his jaw I would get cut. A contrast to his hair. It was cut short on the sides and a little longer on the top, and I bet if I ran my hand through it, it would be soft, silky.

We stepped on the boardwalk, and he glanced at me. His dark eyes were almost black with long lashes. The heavy brows completed the package, and I was sure I had never seen a more handsome man in my entire life.

“I’m Nathan, by the way. Nathan Knight,” he said.

“Brooke Ellis.”

“How about you follow me in your car?” He gestured toward my beat up Corolla. I frowned, wondering how he knew which one was my car. “Right. I saw you when you exited the car. You were so out of it, you left the door open.”

Embarrassment tinted my cheeks, and I wanted a hole to open under me so I could hide in it. I didn’t remember ever doing something like that before. And I hadn’t realized what I was doing until he snapped me out of the trance. But now I remembered it, which made me feel even more embarrassed.

“I can’t even explain it,” I whispered.

“It’s okay, don’t worry.” He jerked his chin to the car behind mine. A dark red Camaro with black racing stripes. “That’s me.”

My brows dipped down. “And where are you taking me?”

“To a friend who knows everything, or at least that’s what she says.” I felt my lips curling up. “Don’t worry. Her place is downtown and public. I swear I’m not trying anything crazy here.”

More heat spread through my cheeks.

“Okay,” I finally said. “Let’s go to your friend.”

Nathan turned back onto Central Avenue and went to the square downtown. From there, he drove to the other side of the square and parked his car across the street from the public library. I parked my car behind his.

He approached me as I exited the car.

“I guess it must be odd being back here,” he said.

I glanced around. Everything was still the same. The bookstore on the corner. Ida’s Bakery, the antique store, Urban Grind. Farther away was the Dark Horse Diner, the grocery store, and the police station. And the big, warming willow tree in the square.

Bundled up people walked across the street, big smiles on their faces.

“It is, and it isn’t.” I smiled as a sight I hadn’t thought of in five years appeared in front of my eyes. “Even Mrs. Ackerman and her pug are still walking the same path.” I pointed as the old lady with her weird hats and too much makeup walked by the bookstore. Nathan stared at me as if I had two heads. “What?”

He shook his head. “Nothing. Come on.” He beckoned me to follow him and I did.

I glanced up at the imposing library. I remembered thinking it was some kind of Roman or Greek temple when I was younger. I smiled at that thought. I had been here only a couple of times, mostly for school assignments.

We entered the too big, too brown, too wood stuffed library and were greeted by the old man behind the front desk.

“Good afternoon, Mr. G,” Nathan said.

He nodded his head at us and grunted but didn’t say another word.

A young woman with long blond hair with orange streaks showed up from behind one of the tall bookshelves.

She stopped right in front of me. “Hello there. You must be Brooke.” She embraced me and I stiffened. “I’m Delpha. I don’t think we’ve met before.”

I found Nathan’s eyes and was a little annoyed to find a smirk on his lips. What the hell? “I called Delpha on the way to make sure she wasn’t busy.”

“Oh,” I muttered, pulling back. I stared into her piercing blue-green eyes. “Hi.”

She took my hand in hers as if she had always been my best friend and said, “We must have bumped into each other in town before, but I can’t really remember any occasion.” I was sure she was at least five years older than me, which meant we hadn’t grown up with the same friends. And honestly, when I was fifteen, there was only my mother, my friends, and occasionally my teachers in my life. Delpha waved at Nathan. “You can go now, Nathan. She’s in good hands.”

“Wait.” I stared at him, my eyes huge. “You’re leaving?” Why was I asking that? It wasn’t like he had any obligation to stay and babysit me. But for some reason, I had expected him to.

Nathan ran a hand through his hair, messing up the top a little. “Yeah, I have something to do, but it should be quick. Delpha will take good care of you while I’m gone.”

Did that mean he would be back?

Delpha tugged at my arm. “Okay,” I whispered.

I saw a glimpse of Nathan retreating before Delpha dragged me farther into the library.

“Do you like books?” she asked. “I hope you do. We have a great selection over here.” She kept pulling me past shelf after shelf. “This morning we received some boxes with new releases and collector editions.” She looked at me. “What kind of books do you like?”

“Uh …” Why were we talking about books? I thought Nathan had said he had called her before coming here, which meant she should know why I was here, right? “Hm, actually, I’m looking for my father.”

“Oh, yes, I know, but I’m afraid he won’t be hanging out at the library.” She chuckled. “To be honest, not a lot of people do. But here is someone who loves hanging around books.”

We walked around another bookshelf into a corner with some desks and tall chairs. And organizing some books that were spread over the tables was a young woman with long, dark hair.

“Hi,” she said, smiling at us. She tilted her head and frowned at Delpha. “What have you done to her?”

“Nothing! I was just bringing her here to introduce you to her.” Delpha turned her eyes to me. “Brooke, this is Mattie. Mattie, this is Brooke.”

“Sorry about Delpha,” Mattie said. “She can be a little too much. Trust me, I know.” I smiled at her. Besides being pretty, Mattie seemed like a nice girl so far. “I haven’t seen you around. Are you new in town?”

“Not really,” I said. “I used to live here but moved away about five years ago.”

“Really? What brought you back?” Mattie asked.

I opened my mouth to answer—the more people who knew the better, since they could help me—but Delpha was faster.

“I think the more interesting question here is why aren’t you grilling me to know what Pierce is planning for you?”

Wait, what? “Who’s Pierce?”

“Her boyfriend,” Delpha said. “Their one-year anniversary is coming up, and he’s planning something for her. And I know all about it.”

“It’s a surprise, Delpha,” Mattie said. “I don’t want to know.”

“What don’t you want to know?” a guy asked, walking from behind a bookshelf.

“Delpha is trying to tell me about—”

“Pierce!” Delpha stepped in front of him. “You’re here.” She put her hands on his arms and pushed him back.

“Delpha, what are you doing?” he asked, frowning. With Delpha standing in front of him like that, I couldn’t see much of his features other than black hair and gray eyes.

“Just come with me.” She grabbed his arm and tugged. “Come on.” He shrugged to Mattie then relented. Delpha smiled at me and said, “Be right back!” before disappearing the way Pierce had come.

I stared at the spot they had been a moment ago.

What the hell was that?

The sound of a light chuckle startled me. It was Mattie.

“Sorry about that,” she said. “Like I said before, Delpha can be a little too much. But she’s a great friend.” She turned to the pile of books she had put together and started sorting them. “So, you were about to tell me why you’re back in town.”

“Right.” I pressed my eyes closed for a moment to get my thoughts straight. I suddenly felt like I had been taken for a ride on a fast carousel and my mind reeled. “I’m looking for my father.”

“Your father?”

“Yeah.” I felt silly repeating all this, but what else could I do? I had come all this way; I wouldn’t stop now. “Well, I don’t know him. I don’t even know his name, but he sent me a letter last week and it’s from here.”

“That’s strange.” She frowned. “Do you have the letter?”

“I do.” I pulled the letter from my pocket.

A ding rang loud. Mattie pulled out a cell phone and, after looking at the screen, sighed. “It’s my boss. I have to check what she wants.” She raised her index finger to me. “Hold that thought. I’ll be right back.”

She stepped between two shelves and disappeared, leaving me alone.

I glanced around. What the hell was I doing here? A stranger had dropped me off to talk to another stranger, who had disappeared to talk to another stranger, leaving me alone with a fourth stranger, who also walked away.

Why was I even here?

Shaking my head, I turned around. I followed the path Delpha had first took me on and reached the front desk.

“Bye, Mr. G.,” I said to the man behind the desk. He waved at me, even though it looked more like he had shooed me off, and I walked out of the library.

I was going to look for my father.