Sidequest for Love by L.H. Cosway

Afric: Did you just admit to checking out your own butt?

Neil: Not in the way you’re implying.

Afric: It is exactly in the way I’m implying.

Afric: I better go. The book club’s about to start.

I grinned as I shoved my phone back in my pocket, not giving Neil the chance to respond. I could just imagine him getting all flustered and worked up over my teasing, the vein in his forehead popping.

Billy and I entered the moderately sized reading room, where chairs had been arranged to form a circle. A number of people were already taking seats, some with dog-eared copies of the book, others with new, pristine paperbacks. There was something about libraries that always made me feel cosy. I was a sucker for the smell of old paper mixed with the faint hint of mildew and the atmosphere of enforced silence. I wasn’t even being sarcastic. That shit was pure soulful.

A woman who appeared to be in her mid-twenties stood by a table fussing with a stack of note cards. She didn’t wear a pencil skirt and blouse but instead wore jeans and a navy wool top. She had the same brown hair and eyes as Neil, and she even wore similar glasses. Her hair was tied back in a neat bun.

She must’ve sensed Billy and mine’s approach because her gaze flicked up, her eyes widening when they fell on me. She seemed to do a double-take as a shy, shocked smile graced her lips. “Oh, my God, it’s you! I mean … You’re Afric, right?”

“That’s right, and you’re Rosie?”

“Yes. Hello. Goodness, I can’t believe you’re here. Neil said you were going to come, but I didn’t believe him.”

“Well, I hope you didn’t bet on it because here I am,” I replied with a smile.

Rosie gave a soft laugh, and I noticed my brother eyeing her up. She was a cute little thing, and Billy would eat her for breakfast. I gave him a subtle elbow in the ribs to warn him she was off-limits. He scowled at me in return.

“No bets were made, thankfully,” she replied as she set her note cards down on the table and took a step closer. “Will you be honest with me about something?”

“Sure.”

Rosie gestured to the chairs that had been placed around the room. “Do you think the seating arrangement was a poor choice? I’m beginning to worry it makes this look like an AA meeting rather than a book club.”

At my side, Billy gave an amused chuckle. “I’m pretty sure AA meetings don’t have the trademark on circular seating arrangements,” he said, drawing her attention to him for the first time. “I’m Billy, by the way. Afric’s brother.”

I suspected Rosie had been so stunned by the sight of me that she hadn’t even noticed Billy standing beside me. Now, her eyes rounded, and her cheeks displayed the slightest hint of rouge. It wasn’t a surprising reaction. Billy was a bit too tall and a bit too skinny, his nose slightly too large and his curly hair a smidge too unkempt. Despite this, he was still a handsome son of a bitch. Women had always flocked to him, especially with his mischievous smile and twinkly hazel eyes.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Billy,” Rosie replied politely. “So, you think I should leave the chairs as is?”

“It’s a little late to change them now. Almost everyone is already sitting down,” I said.

She shook her head at herself. “You’re right. I don’t know why I’m overthinking this. And I’m sorry for being weird and anxious. We’ve just met, and I’m fretting to you about chairs of all things.”

“Don’t apologise. Neil talks about you all the time, so I feel like I know you already,” I said to reassure her.

Her eyebrows shot up. “He does? Well, that’s not very surprising. He’s always been the protective, reliable older brother who likes to worry over me. I’m not sure what I’d do without him.”

The way she spoke about Neil warmed my heart. What was happening to me? The more I learned about him, the more sentimental I seemed to become. I’d never been particularly soft or emotional, but somehow Neil brought out that side of me. And for crying out loud, all this was happening, and he wasn’t even in the country right now.

Rosie cleared her throat. “Well, I’d better start the proceedings. Wish me luck.”

“Good luck,” Billy and I both said in unison as she went to greet the people who were seated.

We took two of the last remaining empty seats, Billy sliding in next to me as he whispered, “She’s fucking adorable.”

“It must run in the family. Neil is also adorable,” I replied before I properly thought through what I was saying. Billy grinned knowingly, and I swiped him on the arm.

“Quit it with the grinning. Also, hands off Rosie. She’s not for the likes of you.”

He feigned offence. “And whyever not? I’m your brother. You should be supporting me in my sexual endeavours, not holding me back.”

“Your words are telling. You just said sexual instead of romantic. Rosie is a romance girl, not a passing sexy times girl.”

“I can do romance,” Billy protested.

I scoffed at that. “I’ll believe it when I see it. But you won’t be practicing on Rosie. I mean it. She’s off limits. Neil would have my guts for garters if you besmirched his baby sister.”

“Fine, fine, I’ll keep my filthy mitts off her. You’re probably right. She’s far too angelic and innocent for me. I shall leave her unbesmirched.”