We’ve always been so different. Trey was quite a bit older than McKenna so they only flirted in high school, and began dating once McKenna had graduated from Marietta High. McKenna’s brothers, Rory and Quinn, did not want their sister dating Trey. She was this sweet, good girl and he was the terrible, bad boy but they clicked.”

“Opposites attract,” Taylor said.

He nodded. “She made him better and he made her laugh, and when it was good between them, it was very good, but when it was bad, it was hell. I don’t know how many times they broke off, only to get back together before another bruising break up. They were broken up—apparently for good—when McKenna discovered she was pregnant. It took her a long time to take him back, and then it was magic. Trey proposed, she’d accepted, and they were planning a wedding when Trey got in trouble. Now he’s gone for a couple years.”

“He got in a bar fight?”

“Some guy was getting rough with his girl over at the Wolf Den and Trey got involved, threw a punch, and the other guy hit his head on a table as he fell. He later died. Trey was arrested, and sentenced to three to five years for involuntary manslaughter.”

Taylor didn’t know what to say.

Troy shrugged. “It’s bad.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I am, too.” Troy lifted a hand, flagged the waitress down. “It’s late. We should probably order.”

They steered away from personal topics while they ate, discussing the ball for a bit, and then the Great Wedding Giveaway, before circling back to Taylor’s new job at the library.

“I love my job,” she said, answering Troy’s question. “And I love the building itself. The library has such a great history, built in the 1880’s as the third public building constructed during Marietta’s short-lived copper boom, and it’s handsome, with all those tall windows, the high ceilings, the marble foyer and staircase with hardwood floors on the first and second floors—” She took a breath. “But as it is now, it just feels old. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the library has a dusty, musty feel. And yet it’s clean. The problem is just that it’s never been updated. Even the glass display cabinets are filled with displays decades old.”

Troy smiled, enjoying how animated she’d become while talking about the library. She was passionate about her work and dedicated, too. The hiring committee had made the right decision, recommending her for the job. “What would you do with the library, if you could?”

“Besides change those ancient displays?” she asked, smiling crookedly. “Well, for one, I’d make the library a true community center. I’d overhaul the electrical—new lights and outlets throughout so people could bring their laptops and study there. I also think that the smaller conference room on the second floor would be perfect for a little café or espresso stand.”

“Espresso at the library?”

Taylor nodded. “It’s happening at libraries, and can’t you just see how good it would be for moms? They could grab a coffee and have a little visit or read a magazine while their kids went to story time with Louise. I think Marietta teens and local college students would enjoy a coffee or snack while studying.