Page 45 of The Baller

My eyes flicked from Lux to the desk and back again. “Really?”

I watched a smile grow on his face until he looked impossibly pleased with himself. “Not the one your mom has, obviously, but a few replicas were built soon after, and this one is the only one to contain a shard from The Resolute.”

I took a step, running my fingers along the cool, dark wood. It was in excellent condition. “How long has he had it?”

“A couple of weeks. High ticket items like this are sourced for his clients, he doesn’t hold onto them. I believe this was bought by an oil billionaire who loves Queen Victoria. I heard he tried to buy your mom’s, but no one returned his call.”

Before I could stop it, a laugh barked out of me. Lux’s gaze dropped, the emerald flecks in his eyes danced as he watched my lips. If it was possible, I felt that gaze inside me, like a reactor heating up until I was ready to explode.

I stepped away and quietly cleared my throat, along with my senses. “Lux, what is this place? Seriously?”

“I discovered it a few years ago when I played in the minors. I was new here, and earning peanuts. Any spare time I had was spent wandering around the city. I grew up in Tennessee, and it was the first time I’d lived away from home. One day I found myself walking down this street. It was raining, and I hadn’t noticed this place among the buildings. I watched as a black Maybach pulled up, and the driver ran out to open the back passenger door. A guy in a suit climbed out and went straight inside.” Lux reached out and pulled a piece of lint from my sweater and rolled it between his fingers. “I’m nosy, and this street doesn’t look like the type of street Maybachs pull up on, so I stopped outside and rang the doorbell. Asher answered, and told me to make an appointment.” He grinned, adding an eyeroll. “The day I got my first paycheck from The Lions, I came here and bought a first edition ofDon Quixote. It was five hundred grand. I’ve been coming ever since, but now I come to check on Asher… as well as buy books.”

Since the day in Brown’s, I’d been wondering why Lux had been walking down the Rare Books aisle. One of the voices in my head had kept telling me that it wasn’t a coincidence, that there was no way he’d been looking for rare books, but that voice was nowhere to be found now. I was standing in front of someone who loved books as much as I did.

“Wow. Who knows about this place?”

“Very few,” he shrugged with a little shake of his head. “High net worth collectors. Not many come here though; it’s usually security teams to oversee the transportation.”

“How does he know my professor?”

“He knows a lot of people, especially anyone in the book world.”

“Where are the books?”

“Next door, I’ll show you.”

As he held my gaze, I found myself thinking how easy it would be to like him. Even though he towered over me, and everything about his size should be intimidating, it was in total contrast to the way his smile lit up his face until his eyes sparkled. It was hypnotic, and I inhaled that calming scent which soaked the air around him.

“Thank you for bringing me here.”

His lips parted then closed like he wanted to say something but stopped himself, but then blurted out, “I’ve never had a date in a bookstore.”

I stilled. There was that word again. “Is this a date?”

His thick dark brows dropped a little as he paused to think. “Well, I’ve been excited about seeing you, and I came armed with a drink and snacks I waited in line for, and I brought you to a place I thought you’d like. So yeah, this is a date.”

My mouth suddenly felt like it was filled with cotton wool. “Oh.”

“What do you normally do on dates?”

I looked down to where my fists were clenching, and forced them open. “Um, I don’t really date.”

“What? Why? How is that possible? Look at you.”

That calm feeling I had a minute ago was swept away in a wave of panic while I tried to think of a sensible, nonchalant answer to a perfectly normal question; an answer that didn’t make me sound like a freak.

“Um…”

I don’t know if he noticed my cheeks flush, but thankfully he changed the subject. “How are you liking New York?”

My shoulders dropped and I managed to breathe again. “It’s hard to get around… you know… without people noticing. There’s this pledge thing with the fraternities…” I stopped talking as a frown deepened on his brow, before softening again.

“At least there aren’t flags with your face on flying around the city.”

“There are flags with your face on?”

He gasped, and his hand shot to his chest. “It hurts my feelings you haven’t seen them.”

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