There’s More
Dahlia
My man is rich. Nothing could exemplify it as much as the closet in front of me. It’s not like I don’t already have an excessive wardrobe at home, but this is just next level. “How do I pick?”
“What did you say, Dahl?” Vex pokes his head into the closet.
“This is ridiculous.” The amount of money he spent on me in one afternoon makes my head hurt. “Look around. The dream purses multiplied since I was last here.”
“And?”
“That’s it?” It’s like this was nothing for him. “All you have to say is and?” If he’s rich enough to own a jet that doesn’t do much, it was probably nothing.
“What do you want for breakfast?”
Do I have the wrong view? I’m basing his spending off of my own budget. But some of that money had to have come from illegal ventures. “Nothing.” Vex is a criminal, yet you still love him. You’re letting him buy you a billion books today out of the same pool of money. Why keep stressing about this? “We’re going to the bookstore. Who eats before they shop? That’s what the café is for.”
“I’ll make us omelets while you get ready.”
That man is too much. Too sweet. Yet it’s literally nothing to him. A drop in the proverbial bucket. “Vex?”
“Yeah, Dahl.”
“The bags are spectacular. Try not to spoil me too much.”
He chuckles. “I’ll spoil you as much as I like.”
That man is crazy in love with me. From what he does to how he stares at me, everything says love. Adonis didn’t even look at Mindy last night. “Vex?”
“Yeah?”
“Mindy likes Adonis.”
“And?” Vex leans back against the doorframe and stares at me.
“Adonis doesn’t like Mindy.”
“Okay?”
Where am I going with this? “He might be a nice guy, but Mindy deserves someone who looks at her like you’re looking at me right now.”
“Dahl, I’m not helping you play matchmaker.”
Was I asking him to? “You have to know more nice guys than I do.”
“Nope. Not happening. I’d burn the world down for you, but I’m not doing that. You’re on your own.” He stands up. “Now go get dressed. I have some spoiling to do.”
Hmmm. Maybe Imogene can ask Payne about some of Vex’s friends. I’ll worry about that later. Right now, I have to figure out how to actually make it out of this closet of dreams. The black tote in the middle is perfect to hold all the books I’m going to get.
** *
“How does this do to start our day of books?” Vex holds out my frozen drink covered in whipped cream.
“Perfect” One of these days I’ll talk him into getting one for himself. “Is this the biggest bookstore in Urbium?” The center staircase goes up and up. I drink in the scent of new books.
“There’s a distinct possibility that it is.”
So many new worlds in one space. “You know we can’t spend all day here. You promised to show me your library.”
“We can stay as long as you like.”
Then we’d never leave. “How about we play a game?”
“Oh?”
“Each of us has to pick a book for the other person.”
“Interesting. But I have a bit of an advantage.”
Organizing my library gave him more than a bit of one. That doesn’t matter. I know exactly what book I plan to give him… My own.
That’s a big step. No one knows that I write except for my parents and the writers I meet at the conference every year. Vex trusts me. I need to trust him with one of the bigger parts of my life.
And then I’d be able to write in front of him, instead of sneaking around to get my words done. But he can never read the book.
Ever.
That would be way too embarrassing.
Maybe I should just get him a gag gift.
Like a book of dad jokes. “We’ll see.”
***
This has been the most stressful trip to the bookstore ever. I should have followed him around the store to see what he was picking out for himself. There are only like nine million books in here and the only one I want is sold out. They had copies of my later books, but not a single one left of my very first book. Does it even matter if I get book two or book ten?
The point is to tell him I write books.
But what if he reads it? How can I do that to another reader?
Why is this so hard?
“Those are some awfully wrinkled brows.” Vex walks over to my side. He has a basket full of books by his side. “Where are the rest of your books?”
Um… There are only two in mine. “They didn’t have the book I wanted to get for you.”
“Dahl.” He reaches up and sets a finger on my cheek. “You don’t need to get me a book.”
“But I wanted it to be special. Something to remind you of the first time we went book shopping together.”
“I don’t need a book to remember a single moment with you.”
How can he turn my mind to mush with a single sentence?
“But if you want, we can pick one together.”
That’s a great idea. “Does it have to be a book?”
“You have something in mind already.”
There are way too many cute things here that aren’t books. “Matching book ends. They have these amazing ones on the first floor. They each hold a picture. We can put one in your library and the other in mine.”
Neither of us moves.
Vex’s finger is still on my cheek and his eyes bore into mine. He wants to kiss me. And I want to kiss him. Why am I waiting? There’s no reason to wait. “Are you thinking about kissing me now?”
His lips tilt up in a smile. “Yeah, Dahl, I am.”
Yay. Or maybe finally. I lean in closer.
“But I’m not going to. Because the first time I get to lose myself in your lips, it’s not going to be in the middle of a busy store.”
Lose himself in my lips. “You should have been a poet.”
Vex chuckles .
Almost kissing is torture.
***
“This is a cute library.” Vex’s library is just a tiny bit smaller than mine. Where I have light colors and throw pillows, he has dark wood and leather.
“This isn’t my library.”
Huh? There are clearly bookshelves and comfy chairs.
“This is my to-be-read pile.”
Um… “What?”
Vex slides some books out and pushes on a piece of paneling to reveal a keypad. He presses a few numbers, touches his finger to it, then looks into it, and a door clicks open.
“Did you turn into a super spy or something?”
“Not quite. My collection is valuable. Therefore, it needs additional security.”
Collection? Security? “For a library?”
“Come see.” He holds a hand out to me.
Secret passages. Spies. “Are you sure you’re not a spy?”
“Positive, Dahl. Spies blend in. Is there anything about me that blends in?”
Not a single thing. Vex scares most people with a single glance. I take his hand and follow him down the secret spiral staircase.
The view that emerges with each step is mind-blowing. “This isn’t real.” You only see libraries like this in magazines or historical sites. “This can’t be real.”
“I assure you it is.”
But he’s wrong. So very wrong. It can’t be real. No one man can own this beautiful of a library.
There are enough books in this cavernous room to supply an entire town, yet there’s still more empty space to fill on the floor-to-ceiling shelves lining the walls and running down the middle. All of that is mixed with wrought iron and woodworking that couldn’t have been crafted in this century. “How is this possible?”
“Money.” Vex tucks his hands in his pockets and watches me.
“It took more than just money. This took imagination and vision and… all the determination to make something beautiful.”
We’re on the second floor of the library overlooking everything. There’s too much to take in all at once. “It’s a good thing you didn’t show me this room the first time we met.”
“Why?” He tips his head to the side.
“Because I wouldn’t have known if I fell in love with you for who you are or because of this.” There’s a grand staircase that leads down to the next level, but what catches my eye is a small… a relatively small detail… rolling ladders. “You have rolling ladders. Why didn’t you tell me you have rolling ladders?”
“Dahl?”
“Seriously, Vex, a girl needs to prepare for rolling ladders and I’m not prepared. You should have warned me. I need to go.”
“Dahlia?”
“No time. I’ve got to go change.” There’s no way I can wear jeans and a shirt on a rolling ladder. I dash up the steps and straight into the closet. And for the first time, I’m not just happy my man is a bit nutty about spoiling me, but I’m thankful. There’s an entire rack of long dresses from sundresses to full-on ballgowns.
“Dahlia, what are you doing?”
Vex followed me. Sweet. But now isn’t the time to think about my romantic man. “Trying to decide what to wear.” Obviously.
“You’re wearing clothes.”
“Not the right clothing.” How do I choose out of several dozen amazing dresses?
“Dahlia, we’re just reading books on a couch.”
Just reading books. “Oh no we aren’t. How can you not understand what a momentous occasion this is? ”
“It’s just a library.”
I turn to glare at him. “If you aren’t going to help me pick a dress, just hush.”
He chuckles but doesn’t move.
“Flowery sundress or ballgown?” Each of them has a good point and a bad. I hold them up to my body one at a time. The mirror doesn’t help as much as I wish it would.
“The sundress.”
It’s soft, sweet, and flowy. “But the gown has a long train that will billow out, and it’s elegant like your library.”
“Why don’t you wear both?”
Doesn’t he understand anything? “There’s only ever one first time, and I can’t get this wrong.”
He shakes his head. “First time at what?”
“Follow along. You have a rolling ladder, and I need a dress to wear on it.”
“Is this a woman thing I should learn about?”
The consternation on Vex’s face is endearing. “No. Well, sort of. But you don’t need to learn anything, you just need to take a picture when I ask you to later.”
“That I can do.” He relaxes against the door frame.
“Are you just going to stand there and watch me as I pick?”
“Yup.” He smirks.
How do I even react to that?
You’re in a relationship… sort of… mostly… One of these days you’ll get around to kissing him. I stick the gown back on the rack and then rustle through the drawers, pulling out matching undergarments and tucking them in my pockets. A pair of nude peep-toe pumps finish the outfit even though they’re going to be slipped off as soon as the pictures are taken.
As I walk past Vex to get dressed in the bathroom, he hooks an arm around my waist, stopping me.
His other hand slides up the curve of my cheek and into my hair.
This is it. He’s going to kiss me .
What do I do? Where do I put my hands?
They’re full of stuff. Should I drop the dress and shoes?
“Wear your hair down.” Vex slides his fingers through my hair, carefully taking out the twisty holding my hair.
My hair tumbles to my shoulders.
Um… If I wasn’t already in love with him, I would be now.
“Go get dressed, Dahl.”
Kiss.
No kiss. I want to pout, but there’s a ladder waiting for me downstairs.
Twenty minutes later, I step out of the bedroom to find Vex waiting for me.
A different Vex from the man I saw just twenty minutes ago. He’s in a cream linen suit with a cream shirt and a rose pocket square that matches the florals in my dress too well to be a coincidence. “You changed.”
“I thought if we were taking pictures to remember the day, I might as well match you.”
“Have I told you that I love you?”
“Not in the last few minutes.” He steps forward, holding out a hand for me to take, like he’s escorting me to a ball.
“You can’t say anything else sweet or romantic for a while. Because if you do, I’ll ruin my makeup.”
“So noted. Shall we go take your picture, madam?” Vex picks up a camera from a bookshelf.
“Are you sure about the spy thing?”
“It’s just a camera.”
That’s A Camera. It probably cost more than my first car. “Sure it is.”
“Dahl, you’re a nut.”
“I know I am, but you love me anyway.”
He freezes mid-step, and I run into him.
Uh oh. Please say I didn’t say that out loud. “Picture. We need to go take our pictures. I can’t ruin my makeup.”
“Okay, Dahl.”
** *
“Which one should we put in the picture frame?” I swipe through the images on his fancy camera. One simple photograph turned into dozens. “It should be one with the both of us.”
“I like that one.” He points to the first picture where I’m standing on the ladder and he’s on the ground by my side, looking up at me with love shining up in his eyes.
This is the perfect moment I could die right here in his arms, a happy woman. “Is it silly that I want to die right here?”
“What?”
“Not now. But when I die, I want to be right here in this room with your arms wrapped around me.”
“Don’t even joke like that.”
Setting down the camera, I sit up and twist to face him. “I’m serious. When I die, I want to be right here with you. In this spot, remembering this moment.”
“You can’t die. I won’t let you die.”
“Vex, everyone dies.”
“You can’t die. I won’t let you die. I love you.”
“You love me?”
“I love you.” He shifts up so we’re eye to eye.
He loves me.
Vex loves me.
The look. That’s the kiss-me look.
It’s happening. It’s finally happening. My hands fidget with my skirt. The camera starts to slide off the couch.
Vex grabs it just as it tips off, and his phone starts to ring. “I’m going to kill Payne.” Vex stands up. “Sorry, I need to take this.”
Thwarted again. Almost kissing stinks .
With Vex gone, I might as well check out all of his books, excluding the ones in climate-controlled cases. Those are a little scary and probably stupidly old and expensive.