Page 40 of The Library of Borrowed Hearts

Jasper stood in the doorway to his house, his massive frame blocking the way inside. Over one of his shoulders, I could just make out the interior—white walls and white carpeting, both of which were offset by so many houseplants that it looked like a tropical jungle in there.

From the way his body trembled as he stood holding the copy ofA Farewell to Arms, I felt pretty sure a strong breeze would send him toppling over and get me through the door, but I wasn’t going to push it—or him. His face was already so white that it almost matched the walls.

“Technically, Zach was the one who found the book.” I tilted my head at the man standing at my back. “But don’t worry about him. He’s safe.”

“I can’t decide whether to take that as a compliment or an insult,” Zach murmured in a voice I suspected was only for my ears. He brushed past me with his hand outstretched. “It’s an honor to finally meet you, sir.”

“I’m not paying you for this one,” Jasper said, completely disregarding both the hand and the man attached to it. He fixed his gaze on me instead. Already, he was starting to regain his color and his bearing—and, I need hardly add, his bad attitude. “So if you’ve come here peddling literature like it’s a box of Girl Scout cookies…”

“This one’s on the house,” I assured him. “But we’d like to come in and chat, if it’s all the same to you.”

He set his jaw. “It’s not.”

“I read through the book,” I warned him. I didn’t want to have to resort to threats, but they were one of the only things Jasper seemed to react to, so I didn’t have much choice. “I also flipped through most ofTropic of Cancer. You might as well let us in. I’m not leaving until you tell me about Catherine.”

Instead of him growing pale again, a seeping red color started to move up his neck. “Catherine,” he echoed, no hint of a question in his voice.

“That’s her name, right?” I persisted. “You only ever call her C in the books, but I put the rest together on my own.”

“That’s her name,” he agreed. His shoulders came down a fraction. “Washer name, I should say. She died a long time ago.”

My first feeling of triumph—Iknewtheir story was tragic, and IknewJasper had built a whole life around that tragedy—was quickly quashed under a muffling wave of sadness. She must have been awfully young when it happened.

And so, I realized, had he.

“I understand if you don’t want to talk about her,” I said, fighting every urge I had to reach out and pull Jasper into a hug. I had the distinct impression it would only ruin my chances of making it through the door. “But it would mean a lot to me if you’d at least let me inside.”

“Why?”

Jasper’s question was a simple one, but there was no simple answer. “Because I’m curious,” I admitted. “Because we’ve lived next to each other my whole life, and I know less about you than I do the guy who only comes into the library once every six weeks to re-checkoutDune.”

The last one took a little more to get out.

“Because I’ve only known your Catherine for a little while, but she already feels like a friend.”

Behind me, Zach was being awfully quiet. Before I had time to wonder why, Jasper threw open the door. He turned and shuffled inside,pausing only after he was halfway across the foyer. “Fine. You can come in. But take off your shoes first. And shut the door. The aphids are coming out in full force this year. I don’t want them in here mucking up my plants.”

I was so surprised that it took a gentle nudge from Zach before I slipped out of my worn Vans—the last shoes I’d bought before I’d moved back home, and likely the most expensive pair I’d own for a very long time.

I turned to find Zach looking at the space recently vacated by Jasper. “I thought you said this old guy hated you,” he said as he began carefully undoing his laces.

“Hedoeshate me,” I said. Since Zach’s shoes were hiking boots that went halfway up his calves, getting them off was taking some time. “This is probably a trick to get my guard down. We need to act like every word out of his mouth is double-edged.”

The thud of one boot hit the floor. “Want me to tie him to a chair while you interrogate him?”

“If I said yes, could you actually do it?”

“Could I, as in am I physically capable of it?” Zach shrugged. “I once did the same thing to a black bear who kept trying to eat my trainees. Could I, as in would I be willing to take the risk because a pretty girl asked me to?” This time, he smiled. “I guess there’s only one way to find out.”

I examined Zach out of the corner of my eye, but he was being careful not to look at me. I had no way of knowing how much he said was the truth and how much was hyperbole, but I had the feeling he was a man who rarely gave anyone a straight answer.

The other boot hit the floor. “If you don’t like the chair idea, I could always whip up a truth serum using natural herbs from his garden,” he offered.

“Don’t tell me,” I said dryly. “You once had to do the same thing to a colony of rabbits you suspected of being enemy spies.”

“Nowyou’re getting it.”

Shaking my head, I stepped the rest of the way into the house. As I’d seen from the doorway, it was neat, tidy, and crawling with plant life. Vines, ferns, potted flowers, and a string of spider plants seemed to connect every room in the house. Oddly enough, there wasn’t a single book or bookshelf to be seen.