Free Ask Me by Laura Strickland

Chapter One
    The sign in front of the library on Waterbury Street lured Leo Rankin in out of the cold February night, only minutes before closing time.
    BLIND DATE WITH A BOOK
    His wire-rimmed glasses steamed up in the warm air of the library; he blinked and pulled them off. Patrons streamed toward the exits in ones and twos, arms piled with books and DVDs. The impulse that had brought him in wavered; he didn’t usually follow impulses, even his own. But the sign intrigued him and, anyway, if he could think of one thing worse than spending the evening of Valentine’s Day alone, it would be doing so with nothing to read.
    He straightened the lapels of his coat, polished the specs on his sleeve, and made for the circulation desk. The clerk on duty, clad in red and wearing a heart-shaped pendant, smiled at him.
    “Happy Valentine’s Day!”
    “Same to you.” Leo tucked his briefcase under his arm. “May I ask how the ‘Blind Date With a Book’ works?”
    The clerk gestured to a nook nearby, which had been set up with a number of comfortable chairs and a bookshelf, now nearly bare.
    “You choose one of our wrapped books. You’re not allowed to unwrap it till you get it home, and there are no hints about the plot, storyline, or even the genre. The idea is to step outside your comfort zone, take a chance on something new. You just might like it.”
    “I see.” Leo raised his eyebrows. He usually stuck to historical fiction with an emphasis on naval adventure. Horatio Hornblower and he were old friends. But for a late-twenties single male to go home and share yet another conversation with Horatio—especially on Valentine’s Day—stuck in his craw.
    “Maybe I’ll check it out.”
    The clerk hurried off to help another patron, and Leo strolled toward the alcove, only to find someone there before him. Dressed all in black from her knee-high boots to a well-cut frock coat trimmed with faux fur, she appeared to contemplate initiating a blind date of her own. Leo smiled slightly; at least he wasn’t the only one.
    At this late hour, however, just one lone book remained on the shelf, sitting wrapped in red-and-pink heart-spangled paper, aloof and mysterious.
    Well, he who hesitated was lost. Leo reached a long arm past the black-clad woman with a minimal, “Excuse me.”
    She reached for the book at the same moment. They snatched it up together, fingers clamped on opposite edges.
    “Excuse me ,” she emphasized. “I was here first.”
    Very politely, Leo said, “But I think you’ll find I reached for the book first.” Damned if he was going home alone tonight—without even a book for a date.
    She tossed her head and scowled at him. Long, straight black hair slapped her back, and eyes of a startling blue engaged his. “I was clearly ahead of you.”
    “And, clearly, still making up your mind.”
    She had a tattoo on her right cheek, a graceful filigree that somehow suited her delicate features: not the sort of woman who usually attracted Leo, yet he felt a sizzling thrill of response, enough to keep his fingers firm on the book.
    He added, “You don’t even know what kind of story this is.”
    “I think that’s the point. Take a chance on something new, right?”
    “Right.” Leo, a man who rarely took chances, liked his life well-ordered and his events anticipated. “But you might not like it. What do you usually read?”
    “Steampunk, mostly. Maybe a little straight science fiction.” She tossed her head again, and Leo caught a whiff of a delectable scent. “What do you usually read?”
    “Historical fiction, maybe a little swashbuckling adventure.”
    “Ooh—adventure.” She gave him a roguish smile, and the blue of her eyes deepened. “Well, this is probably erotic romance—you know, for Valentine’s Day. You’d hate it.”
    Leo drew himself up. “What makes you think I’d hate erotic romance?”
    She flicked him with a discerning glance, head to foot. “Just a hunch. You look pretty