“I mean, I can never think of anything to say about them in the meeting. Everyone else has clever ideas but my mind goes blank.”
“Oh, I never say anything clever,” Arthur said. “I just spout any old waffle and hope someone interrupts me.”
“That’s not true. You always have excellent ideas.”
“Well, any I do have I’ll have nicked off Esi. She’s the smart one in our relationship; any good idea I’ve ever had has been hers first.”
Ash smiled but didn’t say anything, and Arthur kicked himself for blabbing on about his wife to the teenager.
“Well, I’ve talked your ear off enough. I look forward to seeing you at the next book club and hearing what you think of this one.” Arthur nodded at the book in Ash’s hand and turned to leave. But he’d not got more than a few paces when he heard a new voice behind him.
“Ash, hey!”
Arthur glanced back to see a tall, strapping lad with blond hair walking across the library toward Ash. The boys must be about the same age, yet while Ash looked like he wanted the earth to open up and swallow him, this boy oozed confidence. He was dressed in a muddy football kit, a rucksack slung over one shoulder and a pile of books in his hands. Arthur remembered boys like this from his days in school: the ones who always got picked first for sports and got the attention of all the prettiest girls.
“Oh…eh…hi, Dan.” Ash’s cheeks had gone bright scarlet, andArthur could see him trying to hideThe Viscount Who Loved Mebehind his back.
“You getting books for English?” Dan said. “I started readingMuch Ado About Nothingthe other night but fell asleep a few pages in.”
“Erm…”
“What’s that you’re holding; anything good?”
Arthur saw Ash’s eyes go wide in panic. He tried to step back, but that only resulted in him knocking into the romance shelf and sending books scattering to the floor. With a groan of embarrassment, Ash bent down to pick them up, flashing the cover ofThe Viscount Who Loved Mein the process. Arthur saw Dan’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise.
“Is that—”
“Ash, there you are, lad!” Before he knew what he was doing, Arthur was striding toward the two boys. “Have you got that book for me yet?”
Ash looked up at Arthur, his mouth hanging open like a cow. Arthur held out his hand for the book, but Ash stared at it blankly.
“Thanks for finding it for me,” Arthur said, speaking slowly to try and communicate to the teenager what he was doing.
Ash finally seemed to cotton on and thrust the book toward him. Arthur gave him a quick nod and stepped away. But as he started to leave, he heard the other boy speak again.
“Hi, I’m Dan.”
Arthur turned back round to see the teenager looking at him with curiosity.
“I’m in English class with Ash.” Dan paused, clearly waiting for Arthur to explain his connection.
“Hello. I’m, eh…” Heck, what should he say? Something toldhim Ash wouldn’t want his friend knowing he went to a book club with a load of old fogies. “I’m Arthur, Ash’s grandfather.”
He saw Ash blink in surprise, but what else was he meant to say?
“Ah, lovely to meet you, Arthur.” Dan’s face split into a warm smile.
“Ash was just helping me find this book for his grandma. My wife loves these soppy romances, doesn’t she, Ash?”
The teenager nodded, clearly struck mute with the horror of it all.
“Yeah, my mum loves the Bridgerton books too,” Dan said, and then he lowered his voice to a stage whisper. “Between us, I’ve watched all the series on Netflix with her.”
He laughed and Arthur laughed, too, although Ash still looked like he wanted to die of shame.
“Well, I’d better go. I’ve got to pick my car up from the garage,” Dan said. “It was nice to meet you, Arthur. And Ash, see you around.”
He gave them both a farewell wave and then strode toward the door. Arthur glanced at Ash and saw him staring after Dan, an expression on his face that Arthur recognized from the hundreds of romance novels he’d read Esi: a mixture of terror and longing that could only mean one thing. The poor boy was hopelessly in love.
