Even worse, Gabe worked downstairs. Every time she came into the municipal building, she felt her pulse pick up. Knew she was listening for the sound of his voice.

He’d been the one to scrounge up a new printer for her. He’d fixed the broken tables in the research section.

She hadn’t seen him for a couple days now. Wasn’t it odd how much she missed him?

As if called, he appeared at the end of a row and walked silently toward her. Prowled toward her.

The high bookshelves cut off some of the overhead light, leaving the aisles in twilight, casting shadows on his stern face.

“There you are.” Pleasure lit his eyes. “I brought coffee for you.”

“Really? That would be perfect.”

He didn’t move, just smiled at her.

She glanced down at herself. Shirt was buttoned, jeans were zipped, nothing remarkable. “What?”

“You look…happy.” With a finger, he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, leaving awareness tingling over her skin. “I don’t think I’ve seen you quite this content.”

“I like libraries.” She breathed in his distinctive woodsy scent, wanting to lean closer. “Mother thought fiction was frivolous, and if I wanted to read, there were textbooks and college preparatory manuals.”

“Fiction is frivolous?” Gabe frowned. “Before high school, you were able to indulge, right?”

“No. But sometimes in English classes we studied classical literature.” She sighed, remembering the joy of Dickens and…even better…the Bronte sisters.

Gabe looked around the library. “Ah. Libraries have fiction.”

She grinned. He got it. “Exactly. If I had research to do, I’d have to visit a library. Then I’d finish my homework quickly enough that I could curl up in a chair and read stories for the rest of the time.”

There were entire worlds in which to escape.

She realized she was smiling when Gabe traced a finger over her upturned lips.

“A library is your happy place,” he murmured.

“Yes. Always.” And the reason she’d gone into library science—so she could share her love with others. “I take it you don’t have the same fondness for book stacks?”

His laugh was a low rumble. “No, Goldilocks. I didn’t see a library until college.”

She stared at him. “But…where did you get your books?”

“Everything came through the mail. Of course, Mako had a wall of books in the cabin.” He grinned. “His how-to-build and how-to-repair section was huge, and we learned early on to search out the proper way to perform a repair.” He grinned. “Mako didn’t care if we read fiction as long as the day’s work was done.”

“It doesn’t seem right that your sergeant father was less restrictive than my mother.”

“I’d have to agree.” His eyes changed. Hardened. “Are your parents … Mmm, do they know where you are? What’s going on?”