Page 142 of Beneath the Quiet

My lips twitch. I marvel at her ability to take me away from the sadness with such care. “And what’s that?”

She waggles her eyebrows, releasing the tension in the room at once. “Monster romance.”

I bark out a laugh and wrap my arms around her, pulling her into my arms. I need to feel her warmth.

“Monster romance is a thing, is it?”

“Absolutely.”

I push my tongue into my cheek, trying to hold back a smile.

“Sounds like I’ll have to build your very own library one day.”

One day soon, but I don’t tell her that.

Instead, I watch her eyes warm even more. “I wouldn’t say no to such a precious gift.”

I save the information for later, but for now, we’re needed back with Katie. I squeeze her waist once and step away from her.

“Thank you.”

She tilts her head, eyes flickering between mine. “For what?”

“For being here with me and my daughter. It means a lot.”

“Thank you for wanting me here.”

The word always is on the tip of my tongue, but I manage to put a lid on it before I go ahead and declare my love to her.

Neither of us is ready for it.

Not yet.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Maeve

“Idon’t know how you talked me into this.”

“You couldn’t resist my charm.”

“Hrm. I’m not sure I like you very much right now, Aidan.”

“Yeah, you do. You just don’t like to admit it when I’m right.”

“Right about what?”

“That you needed to get your mind off things. And that this is a tried-and-true activity that’ll let you test your own boundaries in a safe environment.”

Even though I don’t want to look down, I can’t avoid hearing his loud chuckling. I open my mouth to keep the argument up, but then decide against it, closing it again. I grind my teeth together and look down from my perch near the top of the fake rock I’ve just climbed.

Or more like crawled because it’s taken me ages to get here.

“Now what?” I call down.

Aidan moves his safety hat back a notch and grins. “Now, you climb down.”

I groan, my head swimming. “I was afraid you’d say that.”