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She glanced up at Ryan. “Yes, very much.”
“I’m glad,” he said and looked as if he sincerely meant it. “Would you like to stay and read or take it home?”
“Oh, I definitely want to take it home and read it in the garden.”
He arched a brow in surprise and she had to admit she startled herself. Why she suddenly wanted to take her reading outdoors, she had no idea. But the thought caused a sense of tranquil within.
“Before we go, I want to show you something.”
He took her elbow once again and led her to one of the doors to the side of the great room. It led to a smaller room with a single large table in the center with several children sitting around it. She instinctively took a step backward. The number of children outnumbered the adults in the main part of the library and Evelina held her breath for the onslaught of terror she knew would follow. Waited for the feeling of nausea to overcome her at the prospect of so much ridicule and scorn emitting from their tiny faces and mouths. Waited for the pointing fingers and laughter at her expense. As it had always been in the past.
However, to her surprise, the only reaction she got from the children were tentative little smiles.
She actually managed to smile in return then noticed for the first time since entering the smaller room the rows of books lining the walls so unlike the main part of the library.
With a gasp of delight, she immediately approached the books.
“This is the children’s reading room and unlike the main branch, the books are not a closed-stack. The children are allowed to browse freely amongst all the titles.”
“Amazing.” She whispered and trailed her fingertips across the spine of several recognizable books and some she had never heard of before, and wondered how many books she would be able to take out at once.
Turning to him, she offered, “Thank you for bringing me here.”
He nodded. “I’m glad you finally relented.”
She blushed, knowing she had done no such thing. He had practically kidnapped her and forced her to join him.
“Are you ready to leave?”
Crestfallen, she slid the books a longing look before nodding. “Yes.”
He noticed the sadness in her face and read her mind. Leaning in close he whispered. “No reason to pout. We’ll return when your book is due back.”
She didn’t appreciate him saying that she was pouting but thrilled at the promise of coming back. “I’d like that.”
“Good. I’m holding you to that.”
He offered her his elbow and she took it as he led them back out of the children’s reading room and toward the library’s main entrance.
“And I don’t pout.”
He shot her a glance accompanied by a grin that said quite the contrary. She didn’t have a chance at retorting or getting angry because they had stepped outside and were standing at the top of the huge stairwell outside the library.
Her feet automatically came to an abrupt halt. Ryan, however, didn’t pause but simply swept her back up into his arms and carried her easily down the steps.
She squeezed her eyelids shut and clutched him that much tighter until she felt him walking across flat ground. At nearly eye level, she looked into his face.
“No need to carry me, I can walk.”
He didn’t even make eye contact when he merely replied, “I don’t mind.”
She might have put up an argument but he was already placing her back inside the carriage before hurrying over to his side.
After he settled in next to her and the driver pulled away, they sat in quiet as the carriage maneuvered the streets of downtown Detroit. It wasn’t until they entered the eastern end of town and turning down River Road when Ryan said, “So I think we established something today.”
“What is that?”
“I’m not such a bad guy after all.”
