Aidan moves to open the door for me, and I catch the ghost of a smile tugging at his mouth. He’s probably been up since sunrise, wrestled his kid into socks, and still remembered to hold the door open. Chivalrous. Unfairly attractive.
I climb in, turning in my seat to look at Isla. “You’re going to love it. There’s this little spot by the loch where the view will knock your socks off.”
Her eyes go wide. “Will there be fish? What about birds? Will there be bears? Do you have snacks?”
The questions tumble out of her in a joyful stream, and I answer as best I can, smiling so hard it makes my cheeks ache. She’s a little firework in a booster seat, and something about the way she looks at me like I know every secret in the world makes something in my chest pinch, then bloom.
“Ready?” Aidan asks.
“Absolutely.”
We ease onto the road and Isla’s voice bubbles up again immediately. She doesn’t leave space for nerves with the way she chatters about everything and nothing. Asking if I like peanut butter on toast—yes. If I’ve ever seen a deer up close—once. And whether flowers grow better when you sing to them—jury’s still out, but I say yes to keep the magic alive.
She’s a one girl welcome wagon, barreling through anypotential uncomfortable silence with enough enthusiasm that makes it impossible not to smile.
Every few minutes, I catch Aidan sneaking a look my way. It’s like he’s waiting to see if I’ll get tired of the noise, or if the nonstop chatter will wear thin.
As if. I’m soaking up every second.
He doesn’t say much, but I can tell he’s listening. His hands firm on the wheel, his jaw a little less tight than usual. Isla’s energy seems to settle something in him, too.
Then she launches into an animated tale about a rainbow-feathered bird she swears she saw once “in real life, not in a book,” complete with hand gestures and dramatic reenactments.
I glance over just in time to catch another pull at the corner of Aidan’s mouth. Still not a full-blown smile exactly, but I’m starting to think I might see it soon.
None of this is awkward like I feared it might be. Not even close. It’s…easy. Natural.
The road snakes through the hills, the morning light casting golden highlights over the endless stretch of heather. The view never fails to catch me off guard, no matter how many times I drive through.
“Wow,” Isla whispers from the backseat, her nose pressed against the window. “It’s so pretty.”
I turn just enough to catch her expression—wide-eyed wonder, pure and unfiltered. “Just wait until you see the loch,” I say, smiling. “On days like today, you can see the sky in it.”
As we pull into a gravel turnout at the edge of the trailhead, Isla’s excitement ramps up to near combustible levels.
Aidan catches her eyes in the rearview mirror, lifting a brow in thatdadway of his, but there’s nothing stern in his expression. If anything, it’s soft. Playful. The version of Aidan that isn’t all guarded silence and protective walls.
I want to see more of that version. I want to be the reason it surfaces, but rather than stew on that thought, I unbuckle and pretend like my heart isn’t doing stupid things just from watching him parent his kid.
“Remember the rules, Isla,” he says. “Stay where we can see you, and no running off.”
“I know,Da,” she sasses back, her enthusiasm undimmed. “Can we go now? Please?”
He nods, and we climb out of the truck. The air is cool and clean, laced with pine and damp earth. I open Isla’s door, reaching in just as she wriggles out of her seatbelt, all uncoordinated limbs and boundless energy.
“Hold on, I’ve got you.” I scoop her up before she can launch herself into the air. She giggles the second her boots hit the ground.
I crouch instinctively, tugging her jacket straight and brushing her hair out of her face like I’ve done it a hundred times before. It’s only when I rise that I notice Aidan standing a few steps away, motionless.
His gaze is fixed on me, brows drawn, lips parted. He looks…surprised.
Crap. I didn’t think. I just moved. Did I step over some invisible line?
“I—” I start, but he shakes his head almost immediately, the tension draining from his shoulders. And then it happens.
A smile. Not wide, but real. It’s like the sun breaking through clouds.
“Thank you,” he says quietly. His gaze lingers for a moment, taking in what I just did in a way that feels more profound than I anticipated.
