Page 16 of Stone
“The atrium is all yours,” Dottie added before nodding to the woman reading. The woman slid her feet to the ground and rose as she set the book on the side table. Juliana watched with envy as she stood, then reached for her purse. She had a fragile beauty that Juliana didn’t even bother to feel jealous over—althoughthey were both tall, she and the woman she assumed must be Amber were as far apart in looks as two women could get.
She glanced at Simon, dreading the appreciation she knew she’d see on his face as Amber walked toward them. To her surprise, he was on his phone. He gave her a friendly nod as she neared but barely pulled his attention from his texts. Monk nodded to her as well, then excused himself to grab a late breakfast, saying he’d meet them in the atrium in a few minutes.
“Amber, Juliana. Juliana, Amber,” Dottie did the introductions. The woman offered her a shy smile and held her hand out.
Juliana took the delicate appendage, her own hand feeling the size of a bear paw. “Nice to meet you.”
“You as well. I hope you’ll be staying for dinner?”
There was no artifice in her voice, or her eyes, just a wary sort of friendliness. “I’m not sure what the evening plans are, but judging by Monk and Simon’s response to the taco bar, I suspect you’ll see me.”
Amber smiled, pleasure lighting her big doe-like eyes. “I hope so,” she said before she and Dottie said their goodbyes and headed for the door.
“Atrium?” she asked as Simon slid his phone into his pocket.
“And a library,” he added with a wink as he tugged her toward a long hall. “Not a big one, but a library. Dottie probably set us up there for that reason.”
Another curl of warmth unfurled even as she knew she shouldn’t read too much into anything. She and Simon barely knew each other. They were all just being kind.
A minute later, he opened the door and gestured her into a large, lovely room. Dark wood bookshelves lined opposite walls, a table big enough to seat eight lay between them, and at the far end of the room sat two comfortable-looking leather chairsin front of a wall of windows with a view into the pine forest beyond.
“It’s beautiful,” she said, immediately walking to the closest bookshelf.
“Will you be okay in here while I get my computer?”
She frowned. “I left mine in my bag in your car. Should I grab it?”
“I’ll get it. You stay here and enjoy the books,” he added with a smile.
“Oh, I will,” she said, turning to them. If he wanted to fetch her bag while she perused the shelves, who was she to argue?
She was a third of the way down the first set of shelves when he returned. She heard him set both computers on the table, but her focus remained on the books. “Do you think anyone would mind if I organized this?” she asked. “Sometimes having books randomly shelved can be cozy. You go looking for a romance and find a new thriller. Or you want to read something on leadership but you find a history book instead. It can be its own adventure. But when you have more than a hundred books—and you do—it can be overwhelming.”
He smiled. “No, no one would mind. We have other things to tackle first, though.”
She stilled, then sighed and turned. “Welcome to the world of using books as an escape.”
He chuckled. “Once we sort this out, they don’t have to be an escape. They can just be something you love.”
Disconcerted by the impact of his words, Juliana stilled. Her aunt and uncle viewed her obsession with books as a sign of her failed ability to function innormalsociety. Her cousin was even worse, often berating her for spending too much time reading and “growing fat.”
Then there were her professors. Though readers and lovers of words themselves, their job had been to teach her the value ofbooks as tools, the importance of information as a commodity, and how to engage with the communities in which she worked to promote libraries.
Now, with seven simple words, Simon had given her more than anyone else in her life when it came to her relationship with books—acceptance. Only it wasn’t just acceptance. It was as if hewantedher to be able to simply love them.
She cleared her throat and tore her eyes from his, letting them drop to the two computers. “Shall we?” she asked, nodding to the devices.
“Philly and Monk will be here in a minute,” he said, sliding her computer over and pulling out a chair for her.
Popping her laptop open, she booted it up. She hadn’t found a ton of information the night before, but she wanted to be ready for whatever questions the men might have.
Beside her, Simon slipped on his readers and started his computer, too. She frowned. “That first day in the library, you only used them on the computer, not when I showed you printouts. Is it a computer thing?”
He glanced over, hesitated, then nodded. “Looking at screens for an extended period of time gives me headaches.” He paused, his gaze flickering toward the wall of windows. “I was injured before I medically discharged. The doctors think it has something to do with the blue light, but they aren’t sure.”
“A head injury?”
“Among others, yeah.”
