Page 99 of Double Fault

With a huff, I roll my eyes. “I mean for fun.”

He shrugs. “I don’t really have the time, but I collect some.”

“Like what?”

“The classics mostly. Very cliché of me, I know.” He tosses a wink my way. “I like it when they’re worn.” With a finger, he tips a book with a particularly battered spine back, then pulls it off the shelf. “It tells a story itself, in the way it looks. One like this? It was obviously well-loved, probably read many times. When I look at an old book, I can’t help but wonder where it came from, who loved it, and how it ended up in a place like this.” He tucks the tome under his arm. Farther down, he removes another. He flips through it until he comes to a spot marked with a receipt. “Like this one. The last person who read it used this to hold their place, but never came back. Why?”

He puts that one back on the shelf.

“I’ve never thought about it like that.”

“Most people probably don’t.” He gives a small shrug. “It can be so easy to get caught up in our own lives, to forget the millions of people who exist in this world. I get so busy with practice, travel, and tournaments; sometimes I need moments like this to bring me back to reality.”

In the next aisle, he crouches and plucks another book from the shelf. He looks it over, lips pursed, then returns it.

He does that with a few more books before he finally adds another to the first.

“See anything you like?”

I shake my head. “No, I don’t think so.”

“All right. Let’s see if the rain has slowed.”

As we head to the checkout at the front of the store, I peek out the windows to see that the downpour has diminished to a drizzle once more.

Noah pays for his books and then borrows a pen from the cashier. Bent over the first page of one novel, he scratches out a few words. Then, straightening, he sets the pen down. “Thanks so much.”

“What was that for?” I ask as we walk out.

“You’ll see.” Beneath the awning out front of the shop, he pulls the book out of the small bag the man at the counter provided.Peter Pan. “Take a look. It’s for you.”

My heart stutters. “For me? I told you not to get me anything.”

He chuckles. “If you decide to take up the art of book collecting, this will help get you started.”

I open the book and find that it’s an old library book with names and checkout dates noted on the first page.

At the bottom, he’s added our names, the date, and a scribbled note.

To where the future takes us.

I close the book and hold it close to my chest.

That scribbled note means more to me than he can possibly know.

It’s tangible proof of the connection we’re developing. A reminder that I’m not alone.

We’re doing this together.

CHAPTER 27

SABRINA

Confused,I lean forward in my seat and peer up at the building outside the car. “This isn’t our hotel.”

“I know.” He grasps the door handle. “But this is where we’re staying tonight.”

“Huh?”

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