He chuckles. “Like the drafting tables?”
I laugh too. “Exactly. You can never have too many.” I gaze at him for a moment longer, biting my lip to stop myself from saying something I shouldn’t, then head for the door. “I’ll be out here if you need me, okay?”
“Actually…” he begins, and I turn back. “I thought you could work here today.” He motions to the new drafting table, and I notice it’s got tracing paper, pencils, and a scale ruler laid out. “On the lighthouse.”
Surprise bursts bright inside my chest. “Really?” I ask breathlessly. “You’d let me work on the lighthouse?”
His eyes sparkle as he nods. “I want you to take the lead on it. You have a better vision for it than I do.”
I give a tiny squeak of excitement, trying to rein myself in. Aidan notices, and his face splits in a grin.
“I love you like this.”
I freeze, heart stumbling against my ribs. Did he just say…
“I mean—” He falters, realizing what he’s said, his cheeks turning adorably pink under his beard. “I just… I loveseeingyou like this,” he amends. “When you’re excited. Not…”
I stifle a smile, placing a hand on his arm. “It’s okay,” I say, pretending my heart hasn’t taken off at a million miles an hour. “I know what you meant.”
He stares at me hard for a beat, nostrils flaring. I know he didn’t mean it, but sometimes when he looks at me like that, I can’t help but wonder…
A loud rap sounds at the door, and he stiffens. I drop my hand, taking a step back as my father pushes his head in. His gaze moves between us, shrewd and assessing, and my heart catapults into my throat.
Shit. Did he hear us?
But Dad just strolls casually into the office, like he’s got all the time in the world. “Heard the meeting in Wetherly went well,” he says at length.
Aidan bristles. “How?”
“Waterman. Called me yesterday.”
“Right,” Aidan mutters, wiping a hand down his face. “Figures,” he adds, loud enough for only me to hear.
“See? I knew you could handle it.” Dad claps Aidan on the back, and I cringe. It looks good-natured enough, but it’s patronizing as hell. Aidan’s jaw clenches, but Dad doesn’t notice. “Get those plans drawn up this week, Brooks. I want to see them before you present them to Waterman.”
Aidan glances at me, and my stomach plummets.Please don’t tell Dad I’m working on this, I silently beg, and he seems to understand.
“Will do,” he grits out.
I watch Dad go, relief and regret mingling in equal parts in my chest. I think of how good it felt to stand up to Savannah, and before I know what I’m doing, I call out to my father.
He appears in the doorway again, irritation marring his brow. “What is it?”
My gut constricts. It’s one thing to imagine standing up to him, but another altogether to actually do it. I glance at Aidan, realizing he may in fact prefer it if Ididn’ttell my father I’m working on this project, but he gives me a small, reassuring nod.
Sucking in a deep, steadying breath, I square my shoulders and face Dad. “Actually, I’m taking the lead on the lighthouse project,” I say, sounding far more confident than I feel.
His brows slash together, and he takes a step forward. From the corner of my eye, I notice Aidan step closer too, as if preparing to physically defend me.
“You’re what?” Dad growls, and I falter.
This is harder than I thought.
“Iris has excellent ideas,” Aidan says evenly. “She’s already talked me through them. You’ll get final approval on everything.”
Dad folds his arms, his jaw working as he looks between the two of us. Aidan isn’t touching me, of course, not in front of Dad, but I can feel the heat of him at my back. I can sense that he both figurativelyandliterally has my back, and it gives me the strength to look Dad in the eye.
“I can do this,” I tell him firmly.
