AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oliver,” I say, realizing I’m bouncing up and down slightly. There’s no way I can stop it, though.
“Sophie,” he says. His face, so handsome and animated, causes me to lose my train of thought a moment. I realize I love him even more than I did yesterday. But how is that even possible?
“Do you know what’s about to happen?” I ask him.
“I think so.” His gaze glitters. “Do you?”
I scoff. “Yes, I do. Are you ready?”
Without warning he lunges for the door and opens it, then takes a couple of steps inside. “Oliver!” I scream and then start to laugh because his mouth has formed an “O.” When he recovers from the surprise, he spins to me. In one swift move, he’s lifted me in the air and is holding me in his arms.
I whoop in shock. He cradles me, and I wrap my arms around his neck.
He walks to every point, carrying me in his arms, shaking his head in wonder, telling me he hardly even recognizes the room.
All of the furnishings from before, and even my own office nook, are gone. The walls are lined with floor to ceiling shelves, which contain books and potted plants, even his funny paperweight sits among them to balance the aesthetic. The furniture from the library area is here, too. Plus, there’s a child’s area with a small table and chair set and even a child’s sized bookcase with a small slide.
He turns to the opposite wall, and his gasp is worth all the pain in my tush that this particular item gave me. “There’s a sliding ladder?” he asks.
I squirm out of his arms and run to it, shimmying up before he can stop me. “And it’s functional, baby!” I’m going so fast that the ladder slides across the upper and lower railings it’s connected to. Reaching the top, I finger the books on the highest shelf. I turn to smile at him, but now he’s down on one knee, holding a thick, leather-bound book I’ve never seen before.
Now it’s my turn to gasp.
“Sophie? Come here,” he says, his eyes pleading.
My heart thuds in my head and ears as I carefully make my way down the ladder. How did my surprise for him turn into this?
“You okay?” he asks tenderly.
I nod. I’m suddenly out of breath. “When a man’s on one knee holding a book, I find it extra hard to think clearly.”
He laughs and that’s when his serious expression melts away.
“How?” I ask, placing my hand over his hand resting on the top of the book. “Wait a second.” I suddenly go rigid. “Did your brothers show you this already?”
“No, I promise you, they did not.” His expression is grave. “But they may have let it slip that you were trying to have it done by today, so I decided to work on a surprise of my own. They hid this in here for me today.”
Never one to delay things, he opens the book, holding the bottom half as the top cover falls away to reveal not pages, but a small square safe.
“I know you were probably hoping this was a real book,” Oliver says. He’s alive with energy, and his eyes are dancing.
“I kind of was,” I admit, grinning so hard my mouth hurts.
He surveys the room. “I think we have enough real books in here for now.”
“There’s no such thing as enough books, but—” I lick my lips and shake my head. This is happening right now. I need to stop talking and let the man speak.
He pops open the safe to reveal a ring box.
My ankles feel weak. I nod to encourage him to ask the question I’ve wanted to say yes to for so long.
“I love you more than anything or anyone,” he says, his voice trembling. “Sophie, will you be by my side forever? Will you be my wife?”
I laugh out a yes even before he’s opened the ring box. But my laugh turns into a squeal when I see the rock: an emerald-cut white diamond center stone with a delicate, glittering band.
I drop to my knees next to him, set the ring box and fake book aside, and clutch his face in my hands. “Yes,” I say more strongly this time. “I love you.” He slides the ring on my finger and we kiss, the scent of paper pages and bindings, old and new, in the air.
