BLUE WEDDING (Melody The Librarian Mysteries Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

thing, Melody. After all…how did that guy put it? You really know how to squeeze that box, or something like that? Hey, sorry, but I’ve got to go. The pepperoni is calling.”
    “Enjoy,” I said, feeling slightly deflated. Why didn’t he just ‘fess up and take credit for the flowers? Maybe the act was so alien to Gary’s nature that he felt he couldn’t bring himself to acknowledge it. After all, if you can’t express to someone how you feel about them, how are you going to own up to something as romantic as sending a bouquet? I guess that’s why he wanted to remain anonymous.
    Later, I received the email and checked out Charlie’s song request. It sounded like something from the doo-wop era, with the standard C, A-minor, F and G pattern. The lyrics, not surprisingly, detailed how smitten the singer was with the object of his affection.
    Since I fell for you, my whole world is spinning around,
    Believe me, ‘cause it’s true, I may as well have hit the ground.
    Etcetera.
    Had Gary fallen for me? Not like a ton of bricks, all sudden-like, but more of a slow-motion tumble, a Peckinpah spill that had played out over the years we’d known each other? Did he now find himself like a beetle turned over on its back, helplessly smitten, his world spinning around?
    For that matter, had I? Had the teenage crush I’d felt for him and kept down all these years, subjugated by logic and low self-esteem, now wriggled free? It was beginning to feel that way. I wasn’t trying to force it to happen, but now that the possibility of our relationship evolving beyond friendship inched toward reality, I found myself very much wanting it to happen.
    The problem, of course, is that both Gary and I were apprehensive about compromising that friendship by injecting a romantic element that the other might reject. Someone had to make the first move. Unfortunately, it looked like it might be up to me

Chapter 7
     
    Tuesday contained an element of déjà vu. Again, upon my return from lunch, another gift awaited me. This time, a large parcel sat on my desk. A label warned that the contents should remain refrigerated. The return address only showed the name of the company.
    “It’s a gift basket!” Margaret exclaimed. I was relieved that she didn’t appear to be having an allergic reaction to the package. Two older, female patrons looked up from their magazines as if they were awaiting the unveiling.
    I cut along the cardboard seams with a letter opener and opened the flaps. Lo and behold, as they used to say. It was a gift basket, filled with an assortment of chocolate goodies and an adorable little Teddy Bear.
    “Isn’t that just the cutest thing?” Margaret gushed. The two women glanced at each other and smiled.
    “It sure is, Margaret,” I agreed. A little too cute, I thought to myself, but he meant well. A card inside identified the sender only as ‘An Admirer.’ “Would you care to try something here before I pop it in the fridge?”
    “Oh, it all looks scrumptious, Melody. Thank you, but no…it’s too personal a gift to share.”
    I looked up at the two ladies, beckoning with the basket, but they just smiled and looked down at their magazines. I walked to the break room with my gift basket, wondering how long it would take this tiny spark of interest to fan into a wildfire of gossip capable of engulfing the entire town. I hoped that when Gary returned, he’d step out from the shadows so we could address things face-to-face; otherwise, I had no recourse but to play coy as inquiring minds approached me seeking more titillating tidbits of information.
     
    ***
     
    I was almost relieved when Wednesday passed without yet another delivery. I sensed that Margaret was somewhat disappointed that there were no singing telegrams or skywritten declarations of love.
    “Did you find out who your secret admirer is, Melody?” she asked when I’d returned from lunch.
    “Not exactly,” I replied. “He still hasn’t revealed