Page 2 of The Lion in the Library

Instead, he simply smiled. “That explains why you’re interested in the English conversation club. Though your English sounds perfect to me.”

I laughed, the sound more bitter than I intended. “Not according to Hollywood.”

“Hollywood,” he scoffed, “is not known for its appreciation of authenticity.”

Our eyes met, and for a moment, I felt seen, truly seen, for the first time since arriving in this city of dreams and disappointments.

A shriek of laughter from the story circle broke the moment. Pedro had stood up and was attempting to act out the story, much to the storyteller’s bemusement. That boy was destined to be an actor someday, I was sure.

“I should...” I gestured toward my son.

“Of course,” Leo said, standing as I did. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Estrella. Perhaps I’ll see you at the conversation club?”

“Perhaps,” I replied, surprising myself with how much I hoped it was true.

As I collected my exuberant son, I couldn’t help but glance back at Leo, who had returned to his writing. There was something about him, something beyond his obvious good looks, and the calves of a god, that intrigued me. In my experience, men who looked like that rarely spent their afternoons writing in libraries.

But then, nothing about my life was following the expected script these days.

Halfway home, Luz fell into a fit of tears when she realized she’d left her precious stuffed lion at story time. But there was simply no time to go back for it now.

“Perhaps your lion has taken up a job protecting the books at the library.”

She sniffled and nodded. She loved giving her stuffed animal new jobs that clearly reflected what was going on in our lives. He’d been an actor, an airplane pilot, and most recently a teacher.

“He’d be a good book protector.”

“He would indeed. We’ll check back in on him in a couple of days when mama has her English club and you get to do crafts, okay?”

Luz wasn’t entirely happy about that, and it hurt my heart to think the one little constant in her life could be lost. I sent up a quick prayer to the patron saint of lost toys to keep that little lion safe.

THE LION TAKES NOTICE

LEO

Icouldn’t focus on my writing after she left.

Estrella. The beautiful star. Even her name was captivating. I found myself rolling it around in my mind, like a perfect phrase that I couldn’t quite fit into a sentence.

I hadn’t planned to speak to anyone at the library today. This was supposed to be a day of focused writing, trying to make progress on the memoir my publisher was increasingly impatient for. “Football is Life” was already six months overdue, and I still couldn’t find the right voice for it.

But then she had walked in, a vision in a flowing sundress, looking like a Latina movie star from the golden days of film, and somehow managing to carry two children and look elegant doing it.

I had noticed her immediately, not just because of her beauty, though she was undeniably beautiful, with curves that reminded me of the rolling hills of my hometown in Mexico. One I hadn’t been back to since being recruited from Dorado almost twelve years ago.

The determined set of her shoulders, the way she moved with purpose despite her obvious exhaustion. This was a woman. A woman worth knowing.

She seemed like a woman everyone would know, but I hadn’t recognized her. After fifteen years playing football, or soccer as the Americans called it, professionally, I had an instinctive ability to spot fellow celebrities. The football world and the entertainment industry often overlapped, and I dated my fair share of starlets, but exclusively in Europe.

Estrella was new to me.

I glanced at my watch. My agent had suggested I get away from the glitz and paparazzi of Europe to finish this book on his home turf of the City of Angels, and we were meeting for dinner to discuss my plans for the coming season. But there was more to my trip than a writing retreat.

At thirty-two, I was approaching what many considered the twilight of a football career. After so many successful and very profitable years at Real León FC, the Los Angeles Aztecs wanted to woo me to the US.

But they wanted me more for my name than my abilities, a fact that both wounded my pride and relieved the pressure I had felt for most of my career.

With a sigh, I gathered my books and notes, tucking them into my leather messenger bag. I stood to leave and noticed a stuffed lion, with glasses strikingly similar to my own, on the floor near where Estrella had been sitting.