of their quarters opened into a large living area with more furniture than she had ever seen. A small couch, a large couch, a comfy chair, tables and lamps. The entertainment center looked exactly like the one shown in the guidebook. Right now, it displayed a lifelike image of a fireplace with a roaring fire and all the sounds she would expect, right down to the occasional pop.
Off the living area, there was a kitchen filled with gleaming appliances she couldn’t wait to try. A small round table sat off to the side with just two chairs. The guidebook had mentioned that many of the tables had extra leaves and chairs that were stowed away in a hidden storage compartment along the wall. The idea of hosting a dinner for Cipher’s friends started to come together. She wanted him to be proud of her and her homemaking skills.
As she turned back to face the living area, something familiar and unexpected caught her eye. She hadn’t seen the built-in shelves along the left side of the room on her first look. Seeing them now, she hurriedly crossed the room and gasped. “My things!”
“I called in a favor.” Cipher placed the hospital bag on the chair and crossed his arms over his broad chest. “I wanted this to feel like your home as much as it is mine.”
She lovingly ran her hands over the things she had left behind in her cabin. A lantern, her father’s old mining helmet, faded family photos and mementos. He had arranged them on the shelves like curios in a museum, melding his treasured things with hers.
“I put the maps here.” He crouched down and tugged open a wide, deep drawer filled with rolled maps. “I thought we might pick some of the important ones to frame. They’ll be interesting to have on the walls.”
She started to cry and wiped at her face, embarrassed to show so much emotion over a few old maps. Overwhelmed by his gesture, she wandered away from the shelves and into the room adjacent to the living area. It was a spacious bedroom. Our bedroom. Her gaze drifted to an obscenely big bed and lingered on the metal rings attached to the headboard. Even as inexperienced as she was, she had no trouble imagining how they were used.
But it was the neatly folded quilt draped over the foot of the bed that broke her composure. Her mother had sewn the quilt from scraps late in the evenings after working backbreaking day shifts in the mine. Brook could still remember sitting at her mother’s feet while her mother sang and sewed, her nimble fingers working long strings of thread through the fabric and batting. It had broken her heart to leave it behind, but Cipher had just put the pieces back together for her.
Sobbing now, she felt Cipher approach from the door behind her. She pivoted toward him and threw her arms around his waist, burying her face against his hard chest and crying. He stroked his hand down her braid and rubbed her back with the other. She clung to him, so incredibly grateful he had come into her life.
“I’m so sorry, Brook. I thought you would be happy about the surprise.”
She reared back and stared up at him through the tears. Realizing he thought she was upset, she rolled her eyes and huffed. “No, you big idiot! I’m overwhelmed at how wonderful you are! How romantic this is!”
“Oh.” Clearly relieved, he used his impressive strength to haul her right off the floor and into his arms. He walked them to the bed and sat on the edge of it, placing her on his lap with her legs draped over his. He pressed his lips to her temple and then her cheek before turning her face for a gentle kiss. “I’m glad you’re happy about it, but I’m sorry I made you cry.”
“It’s okay,” she said, sniffling and wiping at her face. “It was a good cry.”
His callused thumbs raked over her cheeks, swiping away the last of her tears. He kissed her forehead and held her close, soothing her with the caress of his hand along her side. A while later, when she was still and relaxed, he said, “I’m letting the idiot remark slide for now, but next time, you’ll have to face the consequences.”
She lifted her head from his shoulder and gazed into his dark eyes. “Such as?”
He shifted her on his lap, drawing her left leg up and