The More I See You (Stevens Book 5)

Chapter 14

It was Laura's favorite time at the Library. They had closed an hour earlier so she and a few other librarians had the place to themselves. Sometimes they would turn on music and joke as they shelved the books, other times they would all be silent lost to their own thoughts.  It really depended on who was closing. 

The head librarian was Edna Franks and she had been a staple at the university's library for thirty years. What she said was law and it was done without protest. She liked things quiet and efficient. Just under her was Amanda Liles and she was much more laid back and would let them goof off on occasion.

That night was an Edna night and as she shelved she was thinking about the paper she had due the following week. Laura had applied to a few different universities, but the one that interested her the most, and had had a decent library science degree, was in Dallas, Texas, and she would be lying if she said it had nothing to do with Davis.  Laura had wanted to be out of New York, and she had liked the idea of being in Texas.  She knew if she was in Texas she would occasionally be under the same sky as Davis.

After their last morning together she and Davis had met up with Carmen and Kelly and finished the photo shoot. Davis had, luckily, stayed behind to help finish with the round-up which had allowed Laura to return to New York and disappear. That had been almost a year ago, and there wasn't a day that went by that she didn't think of him and hope he was happy.

Bryce had helped her with her contract, and while he hadn't been able to get her out of it completely, he had managed to scale it down. She didn't have to make nearly as many personal appearances, and she would only be needed for the main photo shoot, which had been moved from spring to summer.  It was now early March so she had a few months before she had to start gearing up for it.  She still hadn't heard who their photographer would be or what theme had been chosen.

Laura had panicked when she realized that she had to get through the launch of last year's campaign, but Davis had missed it and she hadn't been sure if she was glad or not. The photos had been spectacular, and it had paid off for Landau cosmetics in a huge way. The photo that had gotten the most attention was the reflection of all three of the girls looking at Davis for the first time. Laura had hardly recognized herself in his photos.

Every once and a while she would be sent to straighten up the periodical room and she would find her face staring up at her from the magazines left on the table. It had felt surreal the first time it had happened and she had expected someone to stop her and point out that it was her in the magazine, but no one ever had.

Laura couldn't help but shake her head when she thought about it.  She was different now, she never wore make-up, her hair was never overly styled, her clothes were appropriately casual for the university lifestyle, she always wore her thick framed glasses, and no one ever recognized her. As a kid she had laughed at the ridiculousness that no one ever recognized Clark Kent when his only disguise was a pair of glasses, but it seemed to also be an adequate disguise for her as well. Of course, it also helped that no one was looking for a supermodel at a small Texas university either.

There was a tapping on the main library door and Laura peeked around the shelves to see her roommate Rusty waving to her. Rusty was an art student and kept late hours so she was just beginning her day because most of her classes were studios so she could set her own times. Laura who had had many late nights during her career had always hated them.

Laura looked over her shoulder as she made her way towards the door where she quickly unlocked it. "What are you doing here? You'll get me in trouble," Laura hissed looking over her shoulder again.  Normally, Laura had found it amusing that, as a twenty-nine year old woman of the world, she was afraid of a little old librarian, but not tonight. They had some big donor coming to tour the campus the following day, including the library, which was why she was staying late. If Edna caught her slacking there would be hell to pay.