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“Huh,” she says, lips quirking up in amusement. Then she turns to me and transitions into Spanish. “I like this guy.”
“That didn’t take long,” I return, switching over. “You sure you don’t need more time to be convinced? We haven’t even sat down to eat yet.”
“I’m staying for breakfast, don’t worry.” Theo looks back and forth between us with a furrowed brow, no doubt wondering what the hell is going on. “But you have my blessing. I think his brother’s wrong about him, and that’s what we needed to get to the bottom of.”
I roll my eyes, thinking of that almost kiss again. “His brother’s full of shit.”
Angela laughs, motioning to Theo with a slight tilt of her head. “This one must’ve really did his job for you to say that.”
“That’s the fastest I’ve gotten the best friend’s approval in a while.” Theo’s mouth curls up in a smile. She turns to him, eyes wide with amused surprise.
“And he’s picking up the language,” Angela says in English, before switching back to tell me, “You should keep him.”
“We’ll see,” I respond in English, wondering how the fuck Theo managed to understand every word. He offers no answers, only eyes glinting with mischief.
They spend an entire hour talking about me, like I’m not in the same room as them. When Angela brings up the library, Theo’s eyes light up.
“When’s the next book club, by the way?” Theo asks. “I need to know who to dress up as next time.”
“There aren’t any set rules. Dress up as whoever you like,” Angela says. Then she steps forward and looks over at him with an inquisitive look. “You’re giving me Thor vibes.”
“Oh yeah?” His eyes cut to me, brows waggling suggestively. “Who’s more your type? Thor or Captain America?”
Angela covers her mouth with both hands to stifle a laugh. Theo laughs good-naturedly, his cheeks flushed pink. “I thought you had to dress as a book character?”
“Not necessarily.” I shrug. “We told the kids last time to dress up as whoever they want. It’s just a matter of preference.”
“What’s your preference?” Oh, lord he’s never going to let this go now. “I’m betting you’re more of a Captain America girl.”
“You’re not wrong,” Angela says before I can confirm.
“I should buy a suit,” he says thoughtfully before throwing me for a loop all over again. “That reminds me, I need a book recommendation.”
I sit up straighter. “Wait… really?”
“Oh no. You shouldn’t have said that.” Angela’s voice takes on an ominous tone. “You’re never gonna get her to shut up now.”
“Like your favorites aren’t my favorites? Don’t pretend you don’t get just as excited as me.” I roll my eyes as I jump out of my seat and grab Theo’s hand. It’s finally time to show him my pride and joy. Angela trails behind us. I lead him to the door positioned across from my bedroom, throwing it open with a flourish.
What was meant to be a second bedroom has been converted into my very own home office-slash-library. A total of eight floor-to-ceiling bookcases cover every wall. For weeks, I struggled to pick a color before finally settling on white shelves. The only exceptions are the two iron half shelves placed on either side of the door. My desk sits in the middle of the room facing the window, which has a not-at-all stunning view of the apartment’s office roof. Theo’s eyes scan every inch of space, as if unsure where to begin.
“Top favorites are over here.” I point to the low bookcases beside my desk. “Adult favorites are on the left, YA and middle grade on the right.”
“There are way too many to choose from here.” Theo crouches down to inspect the iron shelves, eyes widening. His head turns to where I’m standing behind him, and he raises an accusing finger. “I need a top five list.”
“You want me to narrow it down to five?” I shake my head at the mere audacity. “I can give you ten, maybe, if we’re not including series.”
“Fine but put them order.” He rises from the floor, arms crossed over his chest. My eyes bug out at him. As if I could possibly do something like that. “Come on, let’s settle this.”
“And why are we suddenly playing this terrible game with my feelings?” I clutch at my chest, reluctantly walking toward the bookcases. “This is like choosing a favorite child.”
“Humor me.”
With meticulous care and great pain, I begin sorting out my favorites on the desk. I change my mind way too many times throughout the process, but Theo is surprisingly patient with me. While I’m stuck making decisions I have no business making, he makes small talk with Angela and inspects the insides of each book I place on the desk. At one point it looks like they exchange social media handles, but mostly I’m too wrapped up in sorting through favorites to tell for sure.
Theo lets me rattle on for longer than I ever thought he would about every book I’ve chosen for my top ten. He’s nodding in the appropriate places and even asking questions about my favorite characters and which books have the best plot twists. I look up at him with narrowed eyes, as if not quite believing this man is real. But I answer them all anyway, never once holding back.
“How come some of these are signed and some aren’t?” he asks suddenly, picking up a random book from my haphazard stack. “If they’re your favorites, shouldn’t all of them be signed? You don’t go to any events?”
