Instead of saying anything, he simply kept going until he came to a stop in front of a door. With a smile, he turned and tugged her inside.
Her jaw dropped.
The room had been a bland study, a space she hadn’t focused much on when she first explored the house or really thought about since. There hadn’t been anything special about it or any reason to go in. She didn’t think Cillian had even used it.
Now, however, the entire wall was lined with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. A tiny, comfortable nook with plush pillows lay beneath the large window that let sunlight pour into the space.
“What do you think?” he asked as she continued to gawk, speechless. “I know the shelves are a little spartan at the moment, but that’s mostly because you never had a space to collect books until now. But you mentioned you missed being around books and the library, so I thought you might like something like this.”
At first, words wouldn’t come. When they finally did, the only thing she managed to choke out was, “How?”
He raised an eyebrow. “How did I build this? Well, see, I used my hands, and then put pieces of wood together, then I—”
She shot him an annoyed look, and he gave a playful grin that lit up his whole face, making him somehow even more attractive.
“I used to do woodworking when I was younger,” he said. “I was really into it. I thought about going into carpentry before deciding to join the military.”
Instead of answering right away, she stared into the room again, giving herself time to come up with a response. The little nook by the window would be perfect for reading. The cushions looked comfortable enough to sleep on, and he had even added a pull-out end table on one side. The warm colors of the shelves gave the room a cozy feel. She would be able to spend hours in here and still never want to leave.
In short, it was perfect.
Cillian was clearly waiting for a response. She finally managed to find some words.
“You really remembered me mentioning offhand that I missed having books around, and then went through all the trouble to do this for me because of it?”
Another eyebrow raise. “I mean, I feel like the evidence speaks for itself. But in case you do need verbal confirmation, then yes. That’s exactly what happened.”
When she continued to stare dubiously at him, he asked, “Why on earth are you so surprised by that?”
She didn’t respond. She couldn’t decide if she was keeping the answer to herself because she didn’t want to admitit to Cillian or because it was silly. The truth was that she couldn’t remember the last time someone had done something like this for her—not just remembered something she barely remembered saying herself, but acting on it. Most of the time, the men in her life expected her to do things for them. She couldn’t count all the times she had worked a grueling day, only to come home and hear Eric immediately bark at her to make dinner, calling her lazy if she took so much as a five-minute breather after walking through the door.
A lump formed in her throat, a mix of emotions swirling inside her as she tried to gather her thoughts. She suddenly felt self-conscious, as if she didn’t deserve this sort of kindness. She shifted back and forth on her feet, unsure how to feel or how to respond.
“Is there something wrong with it?” he asked. “I’m happy to make changes if there’s something you don’t like.”
“What?” She blinked, the question bringing her back to earth at its sheer absurdity.
“It’s just, you don’t exactly look thrilled.” He smirked, a teasing glint in his eye.
“No,” she blurted. “No, I love it.”
He frowned. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but it doesn’t look like it. You look like someone who has never seen a library before, which I know isn’t true. So, what’s up?”
What was up was that she felt almost guilty accepting this sort of gift, like she didn’t deserve it. It felt strange having someone know her well enough to take the initiative to create this perfect thing for her.
Cillian was still staring at her. Heat flushed through her once more, and she grasped for an answer, for an explanation.
“I guess I wasn’t expecting it,” she managed to say. “That’s all.”
He shrugged, looking a little more nervous and sheepish than she might have otherwise expected from him. “I had some time on my hands,” he said. “Carpentry helps me think, so it was a double win for me.”
“Yeah,” was all she could say.
“Anyway, we should get these shelves stocked so we can actually call it a library. I don’t remember you bringing many books with you when you moved in,” he said. “Are they in storage or something?”
She shook her head. “To save money, I always borrowed from the library,” she said. “I only have a couple of books that I’ve held onto, and they’re practically falling apart at the binding from how much I’ve handled them.”
“Well, feel free to buy as many books as you want,” he said.
