"Close your eyes," he says.
I do, without hesitation.
I feel him open the door and guide me into the doorway. Then he lets me go and steps behind me, whispering in my ear, "Open them."
I open my eyes, and they immediately fill with tears. My face goes slack.
My library. He built my library.
Shock overwhelms me as I look over the floor to ceiling built in shelves around three of the walls. The bay window nook, piled with pillows and cushions, looking straight out of a magazine. There's a big, squishy papasan rocking chair with a fluffy blanketdraped on the back. A soft rug. End tables. Beautiful lamps. Baskets filled with blankets and more pillows. And best of all--a ladder on a rail.
It's everything I dreamed of, real. Here. Mine.
I can't move or speak or breathe, my hand over my mouth as I blink fat, silent tears out of my eyes so I can take it all in. When I finally step deeper into the room, I touch the smooth, sturdy shelves, then turn to him. He's watching from the doorway, leaning against the frame, eyes soft.
"You built this?"
He nods.
"When? How?"
"Started it when you were in Louisville. I needed something to do with my hands and this--" he looks around, "--was the closest I could get to you. I built the shelves then, installed the ladder. Painted it and got all the stuff after. I would have put your books up, but I didn't know how you wanted them organized."
I fly across the room, throwing my arms around him, crying happy, grateful tears into his chest.
"Thank you. Thank you, I can't--" the words break off with a hitching sob.
And he holds me. "You wanted a library," he says simply.
I pull back to look up at him. "I love you so much."
"I love you too."
"This is the hottest thing you could have possibly done. You know that, right?"
He laughs, and I revel in the sound.
Quieter, I say, "You made it home again. You knew just what to do, and you did it, thought of every little thing." I glance back at the room--god it's fuckingperfect."Where did you get all this stuff?"
"Cass helped me," he admitted. "Looked up your Pinterest board, helped me find all the stuff online and put it all in here."
I let him go, go exploring. Test the chair, plopping into it with a sigh, and he steadies it, smiling. I bounce out of it, then over to the ladder, hopping on it and pushing off with my foot but don't get far.
"Push me like I'm a Disney princess!"
Chuckling, he does. Honestly, it could go a little faster for the full Belle effect, but safety first, I'm sure. I bound off and to the window seat. There's a little tray for a drink or a snack, a blanket, so many pillows. I look out the window at my yard as he sits next to me.
"I think I can come back now."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. Especially with this. Can we sleep in here?"
A laugh. "Baby, if you want to, we'll sleep in the shed. I don't give a goddamn where we are, as long as I'm with you."
I climb into his lap lips first, kiss his whole face off, then curl up against his chest. "So you'll stay here with me? I don't know if it's home without you."
"Then I stay here." The words are simple, sure. "Always, if you want."
