Our pizza adventure turned into a success. The pizzeria was even better than Paco had promised and Becca made everyone laugh with her gift of telling funny stories. Even Conny relaxed enough to enjoy herself and over coffee, she reached the point where she dropped her resolution to call Paco by his surname and used his given name for the first time. This was perhaps a minor step, and their relationship was still far from getting into the realm of romantic, but I counted it as a major win in Cat's matchmaking game.

Danny lived in a nine-year-old's heaven, and when we left the pizzeria, Amber hugged me and whispered a quiet "thank you" into my ear. It made me feel awkward, since I had just contributed a few minor bits of conversation while I wolfed down my delicious pizza.

On my way home, I felt tired but content. For the first time, thinking about Oliver didn't make me feel down. Instead, it made me cringe, which wasn't much better, but still showed I was taking my first tentative steps on the path to healing.

After a night of sound sleep, I returned to the library with renewed vigour. Conny found me with my arms elbow deep in the dishwater when she arrived, panting from her way from the bus stop.

"Excuse me for being late, but getting Danny out of bed was a hassle today."

"I can believe it—he was exhilarated yesterday. You were right that it wasn't the best idea to go out for dinner. I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "No, it's fine. I haven't seen my children so happy in a very long time, and your friends are both very nice. Thank you for bringing them last night and joining us. I'm sure you three had other plans for the evening."

It was my turn to shake my head. "Not really. I didn't know Becca and Sim would turn up. They just paid us a surprise visit to give me moral support, and I'm super glad they did." I scrubbed lipstick from a wine glass, thinking of Nelly. Would she leave Oliver after the scene he made yesterday? I hoped it for her. "Well, you probably gathered that my boyfriend dumped me three months ago, and I'm still licking my wounds, so to speak."

"I'm sorry. I didn't understand what he was up to yesterday."

"Neither do I, and I think he didn't know himself. I must have been blind to not realise he's such a dick ages ago." My broken heart still hurt too much to talk about it, but Conny had been open with me and deserved to know. "He was a professor at my uni, and I should have known I was just another fling for him. Unfortunately, love follows strange ways."

My colleague bit her lip. "It does, but it's alway tough to get hurt."

With a kitchen towel, she began polishing the glasses I had set up to dry. "I know this sounds like useless advice right now, but you are still young and will find someone worth your time. It may just take a little while."

"That's what Becca says too. Still, I'm in no rush to replace the cheating sod. Right now, I enjoy making my own decisions and spending my evenings with whoever I like. Yesterday was fun, and Paco was right about the place serving excellent pizza."

A smile danced over Conny's lips. "That's true, and I'm glad I agreed. Mister Mar—Paco is very good with Danny, and the boy adores him. Even Amber seemed content for once. I think she likes your friends, too."

"It's easy to like Becca, and Sim is quiet but a wonderful person." I was tempted to seize the opportunity and tell Conny how much her daughter worried about her, but if the evening had helped them to rebuild a positive relationship, it was for the best to allow the healing more time. While I replaced the dishwater, Conny brought in the next stack of glasses.

"Thanks." I placed them in the sink and began washing. "Have you heard anything from Marjorie?"

"Not yet. I promised to call her today to report on the opening ceremony. She should be in rehab now and will remain there for another two weeks, if I got it right."

As Conny had predicted, we finished the dishes in no time. After a quick sweep of the reception table, the library was tidy and ready for our first customers. When my colleague retreated to the office to make her call, Cat materialised on the front desk.

"And? How did it go?"

"The dishwashing? Rather well, and as you can see, we're already done."

He scowled. "You know what I mean."

I hid a grin, happy I could pay him back in his favourite game for once. "Oh, you're talking about the after party? That went well too—but you are one nosy feline for real."

"Ha, says a human, the species whose middle name should be nosy."

"Human nosy sapiens? Must admit it has a nice ring, but so does felis nosy silvestris." His indignant snort made me laugh.

"I am appropriately impressed by your Latin, Lynn, but how do you even know I'm a forest cat?"

"Hm, you're bigger than a house cat, and your bushy tail and chubby cheeks are giveaways. Also, I fear you'd scratch my eyes out if I would dare to treat you like a pet cat."

My retort earned me a broad Cheshire grin. "Ha, this is the reason I like you so much. I think I'll have to have a word with Marjorie and advise her to keep you around."

"Go ahead, do that." I wasn't sure his interference would help my case, but I didn't plan to let him know. Instead, I fetched a cardboard box from the storage to pack the books in need of repair I had prepared the other day. While I reached for the first stack of my patients, Cat jumped into the box and snuggled up inside, purring.

It seemed boxes were attractive to all species of the feline family. "Hey, get out of there, or I might send you to the bookbinder's by accident."

"You wouldn't dare." I'd never seen him glowering before, but he looked almost feral. "Besides, you couldn't." Standing up and stretching, he walked through the side of the box as if it were inexistent. "Sometimes, you can be such a killjoy, Lynn. And you still didn't tell me if Conny and Paco kissed."

Where did he get that idea from? "Just because you live in a library doesn't mean you have to believe everything described in all these romance stories." I planted my fists on my hips. "Why should two adults who know each other only on the surface kiss after eating pizza, and with my friends, the kids and me around?"

He shrugged, a very un-catlike gesture, and jumped back onto the desk. "If things went well, as you insist, a kiss would have been the perfect way to end the date. In stories, humans kiss all the time."

"Which proves my point that you read the wrong stories." Although he wasn't the only one, of course. "Besides, where is your partner in crime, Luca?"

I didn't get an answer, as the door chime announced our first customer and Cat took the convenient opportunity to disappear without giving me an answer.

Minutes later, Conny stepped up to my desk, her phone pressed against her ear. "Lynn, could you do a tour for a class this afternoon?"

A glance at the library schedule told me we didn't have a special activity on the plan. "Sure, why not?"

She gave me a thumbs up and disappeared into the office, only to come back minutes later.

"Huh, that was Paco. A teacher asked him if he will show his work to a class of kids. He thinks you should give them an introduction to the library first, to mark the setting for his pictures."

"How old are they?" While I felt at ease with younger children, I wasn't sure I could handle a horde of teenagers.

Conny shrugged. "He wasn't sure. He said he thinks they are fourteen or fifteen."

Great, I was headed for disaster. But there was nothing I could do now. A butterfly story wouldn't work with teens, so I might stick to a rather dry introduction on how the library worked and how exciting it was we could feature art expositions.

"I'll survive, I hope. How's Marjorie?"

"Fine. She sends her greetings and hopes to be back here in a fortnight."

"That's great." I really hoped everything went well for her, but felt a sting when I remembered I'd have to leave the library behind when she returned. I was glad Conny was already on her way back to the office and didn't comment on my mixed feelings.

When the class arrived in the afternoon, I wished I could have walked out on this task. The teens didn't show any interest at all, most of them chatting between themselves or staring at their phone screens. The teacher's half-hearted intervention fell on deaf ears and wasn't much help. Paco, in the back of the audience, rolled his eyes. His moral support cheered me up, but I was glad when my brief introduction was done and he took over.

Relieved, I returned to the front desk and slumped down in a chair beside Conny. She gave me a sympathetic nod. "You look exhausted. And that's why I don't enjoy this part of the job—I'll fetch you a coffee."

"Thanks, that's very kind."

Minutes later, she handed me a steaming cup and began loading the returns onto the trolley. "Take a break while I stow these. My numbers can wait for a moment."

Over the rim of my mug, I watched her wheel the trolley to the thriller section. Luca appeared next to the shelf she passed by and followed her with his gaze, then turned to me and waved me over. I placed my coffee on the desk to join him when a bearded man strolled over from the catalogue and pointed at the public terminal.

"Excuse me, this computer gives a weird error message. Can you help me, please?"

Torn between the urge to follow the ghost and doing my duty, I sent a longing glance to my cup before I joined the customer. At least I already knew the message on display and could fix the problem with a simple restart of the system, but when I looked out for Luca, he was gone. Instead, Paco returned, the clamouring teens in tow and his expression as unhappy as mine must have been after my tour. The teacher thanked him for the enriching visit, and with the hubbub reaching a volume that led to raised eyebrows with the other customers, the kids were out the door.

I downed my now-cold coffee when Paco joined me with an exasperated sigh and pointed at my empty cup. "Do you think I could get one of those? This gang was exhausting."

"I agree, and I swear I prefer preteens if they appear in a horde. Give me a second—I'll fetch you a cup if you stay by the reception for a moment."

Paco leaned against the desk with a grin. "Thanks, I'll hold the fort for you."

I left the door to the office open to keep at least an ear on things. Conny had let the coffeemaker on, and I was on my way back with a cup of the freshly brewed liquid only minutes later, when a loud, metallic clatter and a muffled outcry reached me.