29 #3
I followed his gaze towards the stairs. “I keep thinking about it.”
“Have you got an idea?” he asked.
I hesitated.
Because I did.
It simply felt too big to say aloud.
Still, I found myself saying it.
“You could have your gym there”
He turned fully towards me.
“What?”
“A gym.”
I gestured vaguely towards the upstairs room.
“The view is incredible. And at sunset…” I shook my head, trying to explain it properly. “It would be perfect. I mean, if we’re being technical, it’d make the perfect library. But for you, I think a gym room is better.”
He looked at me as though I had just rearranged his entire life in a single sentence.
“That’s an amazing idea.”
“I know.”
He gave a quiet huff of laughter.
I stood before I could overthink it. “Come on.”
I reached for his hand.
The moment our fingers touched, something in my chest reacted, quiet and sharp and immediate, as though my body had been waiting for that contact without telling me.
His fingers closed around mine without hesitation.
I did not let myself think too much about it.
We went to the room we’d been sharing together for the past few days.
The room was colder than the rest of the house, its wide windows stretching across one wall and making it feel as though it had been built to hold as much light as possible.
Outside, the sky had darkened beneath a heavy layer of cloud, and rain pressed steadily against the glass.
The sea was barely visible beyond the trees, but I could already picture how different it would look at sunset.
“Look at this,” I said, moving closer to the window. “At sunset, it would be unreal. And when you need some fresh air, you could just open the back door and step outside.”
He came to stand beside me and looked out at the view.
“You’ve really thought about this.”
I shrugged, trying to make it sound casual. “Maybe I just like the idea of you having somewhere that feels like yours.”
Before he could answer, I pushed open the door to the deck. “Plus, when it rains like this, you can do this.”
Cold air rushed into the room, and I stepped outside almost without thinking.
The rain hit me immediately, sharp and cold against my skin, but instead of making me retreat, it made me laugh. There was something about standing there in it that felt strangely freeing, like I had needed the cold more than I had realised.
“Maeve,” he said from behind me, his voice sharper now. “Get inside.”
I turned back towards him, laughing.
“It’s just rain.”
“So?”
“So I’m not going to melt.”
“You’re going to get ill.”
“That’s not how illness works.”
He stared at me as though I were personally responsible for every bad decision ever made. “Come back inside.”
Instead, I held out my hand. “No.”
A beat passed.
Then I smiled.
“Come on.”
He looked at me, then at the rain, then at my outstretched hand.
I watched the exact moment he gave in.
“Fine.” He stepped outside.
The second he did, I laughed properly.
He looked ridiculous.
His hair darkened almost immediately, rainwater catching on his lashes, his shirt beginning to cling to his skin, and somehow he still looked at me as though I were the one being unreasonable.
“You’re enjoying this,” he said.
“Obviously.” I spun once, letting the rain hit my face, and for the first time in days, I felt completely unguarded.
Then he laughed.
Really laughed.
The sound did something to me that I had no words for.
I reached for him.
He pulled me closer without hesitation, and suddenly we were simply there, standing in the rain on the edge of a house that was slowly becoming something else entirely.
We were laughing and breathing and soaked through, and for a few perfect seconds, nothing existed beyond that moment.
Then I stopped.
I looked at him properly.
Rain darkened his hair. Warmth remained in his eyes despite the cold. There was something steady in the way he held me, as though he had never considered the possibility that I might go anywhere.
My hand lifted before I could think better of it.
My fingers brushed his cheek.
Then I kissed him.
There was no hesitation, no careful consideration, no attempt to decide what it meant.
There was only feeling.
His hands tightened around my waist immediately, as though some part of him had been waiting for me to make the first move without ever admitting it.
The world narrowed.
The rain disappeared.
Everything else did.
When I finally pulled back, I was breathless.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
His brow furrowed slightly. “For what?”
“For this week.”
I swallowed.
“For all of it.”
Something shifted in his expression, something that made my chest ache in a way I did not yet know how to name.
He leaned his forehead against mine.
“I’d do anything for you, chaos.”
The words hit harder than the cold rain ever could.
My breath caught at his new nickname.
His thumb brushed gently across my cheek, grounding me.
“Because you are,” he said softly, “without a doubt, my favourite person.”
I did not get the chance to answer.
He kissed me again.
And this time, I did not think about anything at all.