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“At least ninety more boxes in the basement,” Ian cheerfully adds. “Maybe more.”
Laila comes to my other side and tugs on my hand. “I want to see, Dad. I want to see all the new books.”
“Hang on, sweetie.” I can’t look away from Thea.
She’s staring at the boxes, her lips pressed into a trembling line. “Ben? Are these all books? All of these boxes, and”—she pauses, swallowing hard—“ninety more in the basement?”
“Yeah, sweetheart. I asked everyone I know to donate books to the library. I didn’t realize we’d get so many—”
Thea spins to face me, her eyes big. “All of these are for the library?”
“I know how sad you’ve been. And I thought… well, when Laila mentioned books making you feel better… and the library is for everyone, really. So why wouldn’t they want to help restock it…”
“Ben.” Now she’s blinking furiously, her chin wobbling. “You got all these books for the library?”
As the first tear runs down her cheek, my gut clenches. Shit. What do I know about grand gestures and cheering up women?
“Don’t cry,” I start, brushing at one tear while two more escape. “I’m sorry. I thought you’d like it. But we can…”
What? Take them back?
“Don’t you dare.” Thea answers my unspoken question. “We’re keeping all of them. I just… I can’t believe it. I wasn’t expecting…” she trails off and starts crying harder.
I cast a quick is-this-bad-or-good glance at Ian, and he shrugs at me.
“Is it okay? Sweetheart?” She’s still crying, and I’m on the verge of panic.
“Thea?” Laila lets go of my hand and hugs Thea’s waist. “Why are you sad? Don’t you love books?”
Thea chokes out a laugh. “Yes, Laila. I do.” Teary-eyed, she holds my gaze. “I love it. I love them.”
Then she buries her face in my chest. As I wrap her in my arms, pressing soft kisses to her head, she whispers, “I love it. And I love you, Ben. So much.”
Chapter 18
THEA
Ever since Ben’s big surprise, I’ve been feeling better.
There’s still some crappy stuff going on in my life—a mysterious person out to kill me being the worst of it—but over the last two days it’s been easier to deal with.
How can I let myself wallow when there’s so much good around me?
Like knowing how many people care about the library. All of Ben’s friends, everyone at the fire station and the ambulance corps, even community members who heard about what he was doing.
On the first day, we had over a hundred boxes donated. That’s nearly three-thousand books. And the next day, Mrs. Plimpton got all her friends involved, and another fifty boxes joined the stacks in the Blade and Arrow basement. Today, we received a shipment of another thousand books, this time from an anonymous donor.
And it’s not just the books and the generosity of everyone who donated.
It’s Laila, who has been glued to my side since she saw me crying. Like a little nurse, she’s been trying so hard to look out for me—asking if I need anything, offering to read me stories, even giving me some of her stuffed animals to sleep with.
It’s everyone at Blade and Arrow, not just giving me a place to stay, but making me feel welcome. Bringing over little gifts and food and volunteering to help set up the library once all the repairs are done.
And it’s Ben. The man I love. I had no idea I could feel this way about anyone.
It’s the craziest feeling. It’s like I’ve been waiting for Ben all these years, only I never knew. Like he’s the missing part of me. And now that I have him, I’m complete.
There’s no doubt in my mind about him. Even though we haven’t been together that long, I’d marry him tomorrow if he asked.
