Page 8 of Roommating

We exchange grins and phones. I put my number under Sabrina Finkelstein in case I’m not the only Sabrina in his address book. He returns my phone open to his contact—Adam. Not Adam Haber, just Adam… like it didn’t even occur to him he wouldn’t be the first. On someone else, it might strike me as presumptuous and cocky, but those are not the vibes I get from Adam.

We part ways and he heads toward the back while I trudge upstairs to the second floor. I spend some time touching the spines of books I’ve read and reread in the young adult section and then, feeling nostalgic, I segue to the children’s section and do the same.

His grapefruit scent gives him away first. I look up from my book just as he says, “What are you reading?”

I show him the book I’m holding:Betsy’s Little Star. I’m already a quarter into it. “That was fast.”

Adam’s eyebrows crinkle. “It’s been almost forty minutes.”

“It hasn’t.” I check my phone. “It has!”

He gestures to the book. “Interesting choice.”

“It was one of my favorites when I was little. My grandma introduced me to it.”

“Are you close?”

“We were.” I swallow hard. “She died about six years ago.”

He sighs deeply. “I’m sorry.”

“She’s the reason I fell in love with reading and wanted to be a librarian. She’d take me to the library every weekend and I’d pick up one or two books for the week that we’d read together.” BesidesBetsy’s Little Starby Carolyn Haywood, she introduced me to the Ginnie and Geneva series by Catherine Woolley and the All-of-a-Kind Family series by Sydney Taylor. These were classic books I read over and over again as a little girl. I’ve thought about Nana Lena so much over the last few days, which I’m sure is because of Adam and Marcia’s reunion.

“You must miss her.”

I drop my gaze to the wood-paneled floor. Adam doesn’t want to hear my sob story—that I ruined my special relationship with my grandma by spending the last few years of her life holding her accountable for the actions of my deadbeat father—and I definitely don’t want to tell it, so I quickly change the subject. “I’ve heard all good things,” I say about the book in Adam’s hand:The Midnight Library.

“You haven’t read it?”

I shake my head. “I mostly read young adult.”

He gazes at me with focus. “Any particular reason?”

“I could say it’s because I want to be a youth librarian and need tokeep on top of new releases in the genre, but it’s also because I really enjoy them.” I lift my chin and hold eye contact, almost daring him to judge me.

He nods. “Cool. Maybe you can recommend one to me.”

“I’d be delighted to! Maybe we can read one at the same time, like a buddy read.” I cringe. Talk about coming on too strong. As if Adam has nothing better to do than start a book club with me.

“I’d be down for that.”

“You would?” My eyes must be the size of silver dollars.

He grins. “Sure. Maybe my grams will want in too.”

“Yes! Let’s definitely ask Marcia.”

Since dinner will be ready soon, we head downstairs. The line is short enough for Adam to buyThe Midnight Library.

“Did you know that Patti Smith worked at the Strand?” Adam asks on our walk back.

“Is she a friend of yours?”

Adam freezes, causing a collision with the pedestrian behind us. He apologizes and we resume walking. “Are you serious? You don’t know who Patti Smith is?”

“She’s in a Taylor Swift song, right?” I stuff my hands in the pockets of my coat.

He sighs. “Oh, Sabrina. You didn’t just say that.”

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