The Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore

Author:Lucy Gilmore
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Published: 2023-01-17T00:00:00+00:00

18

A brush with death hadn’t improved Arthur McLachlan in the slightest.

“I do know who you are,” he grumbled the second I set foot inside his cluttered, disorganized mess of a living room. It looked exactly like I’d expected—crowded with furniture and books, everything tilted as if shaken by a recent earthquake. Most of the furniture was well past its shelf life, but there was an umbrella stand by the door that I coveted with every part of my being. It was gorgeous—one of those old Victorian ones made from a real elephant’s foot, all hollowed out and macabre. “You’re the librarian who’s always trying to get me to sign up to take needlepoint classes when I check out my books. I’ve never understood why you’re so persistent. Do I look like I want to take needlepoint classes?”

Every instinct I had warned me to run for cover before he started to get really nasty. Every instinct except the one that had me locking eyes with Sloane, that is. One glance at her guilty, pleading flush, and I had no other choice.

Save me, that look said. Protect me.

And underneath it, a very determined or else.

“I have to ask everyone who checks out a book if they want to join that class,” I said with an apologetic shrug. “The woman who runs it is one of the biggest donors at the library. We have to make her feel appreciated or she threatens to invest her money in the arts instead.”

“Harrumph,” Arthur said by way of reply. Like, literally. He enunciated both syllables. Har-rumph. Noun: A way for irritable old men who knew themselves to be in the wrong to avoid admitting it.

“Why don’t you sit here next to Arthur?” Maisey said as she nudged me further into the house. I recognized this as a ruse to get me closer to the old man. Taking his temperature and oxygen levels without his knowledge would be impossible, but all I needed was proximity to listen to his breathing. It had been years since I’d done any actual nursing, and I’d never been all that enthusiastic about it to begin with, but he certainly looked like he was in full fighting form. “I’m sure you two have a lot to catch up on.”

“I have nothing to say to that man.” Arthur shifted to take up twice as much space on the cushion. “He can sit on the floor next to Sloane.”

“Don’t be such a grouch, Arthur.” Sloane actually picked up a pillow and tossed it at him. “Mateo’s here as my guest, which means we’ll treat him with the respect he deserves.”

She smiled at me in a way that made it impossible for me to flee. Like it or not—and I wasn’t sure that I did—I was an official coconspirator now. Especially since Greg was blocking my only exit.

“Next to Octavia, Mateo knows more about literature than anyone,” Sloane added. “Plus you need to kiss up to him if you want access to the good library books from now on.

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