[ He's not quite sure what he expected, but he does know what he had hoped for, and it wasn't this. Patience is not one of Gale's virtues, and he waited a long, slow week for this. He certainly didn't do so for Astarion to pay more attention to his shirt than to him. He waits in expectant silence, letting it drag out until it's clear Astarion doesn't plan to offer any more insights. ]

Well, my aim in visiting wasn't so much to collect the book.

[ There's an unspoken 'hint, hint!' at the end of that sentence. Surely, Astarion has some opinions on what he just read. Truly, the only thing more unpleasant than Astarion bashing the novel would be for him to have absolutely no opinion at all.

He waits another moment, then gives up on subtlety altogether. ]

I hope you don't intend to make me drag your thoughts out of you.