Chapter 36

LOVE IN THE MARGINS

36

"I'm a huge reader," Killian starts.

And already, swoon. There's nothing sexier than a hot man with a book in his hands. I can already see the little hearts forming in Ivy's brown irises.

"You are?" Ivy asks, surprised. I can't blame her. Killian's appearance doesn't exactly fit in the bookworm category. He'd fit better in a mafia romance.

"Sure am, nothing better than a good book to curl up with at the end of the day." He turns to me and winks.

My heart responds with its usual flip. At this point, I'm not even sure if he's kidding about the book thing or if he's for real. He always seems to know a lot about romantic tropes, but I had pinned it down on him being literally from a romance novel. But he did say he's read all the Jane Austen novels. And he seems a bit too up-to-date on the tropes to be faking it. Also all the dog-eared scars I found in my novels are proof that he at least reads some romance.

"Anyway, I like to shop at used bookstores sometimes. So one day I pick up this book from the bargain cart that is a total mess—annotated on almost every page. Still, it was only a dollar, so I bought it. When I started reading, I laughed at the same passages as the previous owner. More even, her little comments on the margins made me laugh harder still. And the romantic bits she had highlighted? They resonated with me deeply. I felt an instant connection."

Ivy squeezes my thigh, making me realize I'm gaping at Killian, enraptured in his narration—which I probably shouldn't be, considering this is supposed to be my story, too, and I should be well versed in it. I close my mouth and clear my throat, shifting on my stool as Killian continues.

"By the end of the book, I was gutted. The happily ever after did nothing to lift my mood because I knew there was no chance I'd ever meet the woman behind the annotations."

Ivy seems really worried at this point. "And what did you do?"

"I went back to the beginning of the book and searched every inch for a clue… and there it was on the title page, a little embossed circle in the lower right corner."

I smile because aww… the story Killian came up with is beyond perfect… also more proof he's perused my shelves.

Ivy turns to me now. "Oh my gosh, the custom stamp I gave you last Christmas?"

"Yep." I nod, unable to stop beaming.

"It didn't have her name on it, but it was easy to find the BookTok account she was running. I followed her and sent her a picture of the book. She replied. We started chatting almost every night."

"Wait." Ivy frowns. "Was this before or after you met Oliver? Because you were definitely single before."

I blush, feeling guilty about lying to her one last time. But I can't tell her the real way I met Killian. "Yeah, before I met Oliver. We were messaging, but it was mostly about books."

Killian sighs right on cue. "I knew she must be from around here since she dropped off the book at a local used store. But it took me way too long to finally muster the guts to ask her to meet me in the real world." His lips twitch at the inside joke just before he makes a distraught face. "And then she told me she was already seeing someone else."

"Oliver?" Ivy asks.

I shake my head. "Tinder Tim, actually." I wave it off. "You missed him entirely. Then I had the blind date with Oliver and you guys. But when Oliver and I decided to be just friends, I wrote back to him asking if he still wanted to go out…"

Killian lights up the room with a cute, warm, slightly-embarrassed-but-totally-smitten smile. "And as they say, the rest is history…"

"Aww." Ivy joins her hands over her chest. "This is so romantic…"

Yep, a perfect, revoltingly romantic meet-cute. If I'd heard this story as a single gal, I would've sworn off dating for good and adopted six cats. I glance at Killian and find him staring at me. Our eyes lock, and a million unspoken words pass between us.

How did I do, Sugar?

You did great and you know it.

He gives me a subtle nod.

"Wait, wait," Ivy interrupts our silent conversation. "What was the book?"

Killian's mouth curls at the corner, flashing us his knees-weakening lopsided grin. "Oh, I believe it was a billionaire cowboy romance."

Ivy blinks in rapid succession. "You read cowboy romances?"

Killian shrugs. "The smut is just too great."

We all burst out laughing at the comment. But for me, the giddiness is soon replaced by a deeper something sneaking up my chest and wrapping around my heart. A tether. It's like a warm, gentle new awareness slowly unfurling inside me, reaching into places I didn't even know were cold. My breath catches slightly, a fluttering in my lungs that mirrors the flutters in my stomach. It's a strange, exhilarating mix of nerves and excitement, like standing on the edge of a cliff overlooking a beautiful vista.

I subtly rub my clammy palms on my jeans, trying to calm the sudden surge of energy pulsing through me. My heartbeat quickens, drumming a rhythm in my ears that syncs with the surrounding laughter, yet seems to beat only for him. Ivy, the apartment, it all fades into a soft blur. All I can focus on is Killian—his smile, that scar over his right brow, his voice, the way his eyes light up when he's amused.

The realization hits me anew in a wave of profound clarity: I'm in love and there's nothing fictional about it.