“What if I judge incorrectly?”
“You won’t. You have superior senses. You’ll be able to tell which ones he read most and held and enjoyed. Those are the books you should save. And when you come across the ones that don’t whisper his secrets? It’s okay to give those away. Books live to be read.”
“Please, Sara. I encourage you to remain. Perhaps you fear the pain, and sorting through his books will undoubtedly be difficult. Yet this task might bring pleasure as well. If I can sense what he liked, you can, too. You may laugh more than you cry.”
“You’ve never seen me cry.”
He gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head. “I believe that your tears are trapped on the inside.”
How had Lacey and Kimberley put up with this guy for a whole month? He was overwhelming.
We had a stare-down. I could feel the strength of his determination across the room. Why was this a big deal to him?
Why had I made it a big deal for me?
“All right then. I’ll stay.”
“Excellent.” He didn’t crack a smile of victory. Just matter-of-factly handed me a stack of ten books. “Let us commence.”
I did survive the morning. As soon as I’d get one stack sorted, Grant would hand me another. Most of them were either uninteresting or nice to rediscover. Knowing Grant, this hadn’t been a coincidence.
Once the last box of book giveaways had been hauled to the garage, I held up my keys. “I’d like to head downtown for lunch. Want to come with me?”
“I accept. Will today’s outing also involve conversation?”
“Absolutely. I have a lot of questions for you.”
“Am I dressed properly?”
“You look fine. Come on.”
We settled into a booth at Lennie’s Diner. I had a BLT and limeade. Grant had a cup of hot tea, no sugar.
“You’re not getting any calories,” I said to divert the ridiculously loud moan I wanted to make over this sandwich. Lennie had a heavy hand with the bacon. And the mayo. He was my kind of cook.
“The League provides all of the nutrients I need.”
I nodded, as if everything about his secret world made sense. “What’s the best part of being a Being?”
“The magic.” He took a quick glance around, twirled his finger, and watched as the tea bag took itself out of the cup, squeezed out the last few drops, and landed neatly on the saucer.
“Show-off.”
He laughed.
I finished my sandwich while he sipped his tea. Once I was full, I relaxed against the back of the booth and stared at him until he met my gaze.
“May I infer that the interrogation is about to resume?”
“You may.”
His eyebrow arched. “It is only fair to warn you that, while I never lie, I rarely volunteer the entirety of the truth.”
“Noted. So how long have you been in the League?”
“My inception was four years ago.”
“How old are you?”
