If anything, it made her more determined than ever.
Maybe whatever you find out will help you decide what to do about Boston.
“Hey.”
Marley made a squeaking sound as she spun on her heel, hands flying to her chest. “You can’t just sneak up on people like that.”
Jack offered Emma a quick smile and then raised an eyebrow. “You told me to come.”
Marley cleared her throat and stood up straighter. “Did you bring the stuff?”
Jack took off the backpack and unzipped it. “It’s all here.”
Emma peered into the bag, frowning at the packs of chips and frozen drinks. “What’s all this for?”
“I have no idea how long we’re going to be here,” Marley whispered, peering around once more. “So, I thought sustenance was in order.”
Jack swung the backpack over his shoulder again and smiled. “I hope it’s okay she told me. You know I can’t resist a good mystery.”
Emma gave him a small smile and said nothing.
Jack was already having a potent effect on her, especially when standing close enough for her to inhale his woodsy cologne. She wanted to put her head in the crook of his neck and have him wrap his arms around her, just like he used to.
Like they were back in high school—the world at their feet.
Frowning, Emma shifted away from him, putting as much distance between them as possible as she bent down to skim through the papers. Marley and Jack flanked her on either side, and they all lapsed into silence. When Marley’s phone buzzed, she took it out of her pocket and placed it in the center of the table. All three of them peered at the email and waited.
“The room in the back,” Marley realized a little too loudly, earning a few disgruntled looks from the other librarians. She gave them a sheepish smile and lowered her voice. “There’s this room in the back of the library. The door is usually shut. I thought it was some kind of storage area, but I think that’s the one the letters are referring to.”
Emma’s brows drew together. “Why would my grandpa’s letters be referring to a hidden room in the library?”
“Only one way to find out.” Jack stepped back and made a sweeping hand gesture. “After you, ladies.”
In silence, Marley took the lead, striding past the aisles with her head held high. Jack walked behind Emma, and she was painfully aware of every step he took, every breath that reverberated inside her head.
She was aware of him in a way she hadn’t felt in a long time.
Not since Jules’s father.
You haven’t done anything, Emma. This isn’t a betrayal. This is only a few friends working together, just like old times.
But Jules’s father had been gone so long that Emma had almost forgotten this giddiness—like the butterflies in her stomach would burst right out of her.
At the far end of the library, Marley stopped to pat the pockets of her skirt. She pulled out a large, old-looking key and shoved it into the hole.
Marley was practically jumping with excitement. “I’ve always wondered what this key was for. Now, we get to find out.”
It turned with a slight click and a groaning sound. Marley’s tongue darted between her teeth as she reached a hand inside and patted the walls.
A single bulb illuminated the small room, which only had one window a few feet above the ground. It had a row of shelves on one side and a few glass enclosures scattered throughout.
In a daze, Emma stepped forward, feeling like she was floating, until she stood before one of the propped-open leather books. She pressed her face to the glass, and her heart jumped into her throat.
“These…these are all…”
“Your grandfather’s things,” Marley finished in a hushed voice. “He must’ve donated them to the library at some point.”
Emma traced the glass with the tip of her index finger. “I don’t understand.”
