Chapter 33
Astrid
I stood near the platform waiting area, shifting from foot to foot, letting my eyes wander from passengers stepping onto the train, down to the cracks in the pavement that resembled poorly drawn maps, up to the birds flying overhead, and finally over to Aeron, waiting patiently in line at the ticket counter.
The line was longer than usual, summer festival traffic, no doubt. He could've played the Ashbourne card and parted that line, but instead, he waited in line like someone who actually paid taxes and did laundry.
My eyes wandered again, continuing their sightseeing tour, and stopped on the conductor, clipboard in hand, busy ticking things off. Might as well say hi .
I walked over, waving like a kid spotting her grandpa at the park. “Hiii,” I sang, grinning. He reminded me of Dad, not in age or looks, really, but something about him felt familiar, comforting.
He looked up from his clipboard. “Ah, it’s you.” He recognized me this time. “My granddaughter’s twin.”
I laughed at his greeting. “You remember me clearly this time.” I’d half-expected a confused squint or have we met before expression.
“Looks like my memory’s gotten better lately.” His eyes crinkled as he smiled, though he looked a bit worn today. “I see you’ve fully embraced our little town.” He nodded at my outfit.
I glanced down at my orange T-shirt, suddenly aware I'd unintentionally dressed like the town mascot: Orange. “Well, guess I’m officially a local now,” I joked, crediting Aeron.
Even with my back turned, I could feel his gaze pinned on me, warm and annoyingly distracting. He could admire my butt all he liked—it was encouraged even. But if he was sulking because I was chatting with this friendly conductor, he was definitely earning himself a solid kick later.
“You certainly look the part. A few more years, people will think you grew up here.”
“They’ve already started saying that after the festival. So much for going unnoticed.” Tilting my head, I studied him closely. “Busy day? You look like you could use a break.”
“Just sorting through paperwork. Gotta help the new fellow settle in.” He ran a wrinkled hand along the worn edge of the clipboard, gaze distant for a brief moment. “Retirement day’s coming faster than I thought. Guess I should tidy things up before I hand over the keys.”
“That sounds wonderful. Soon you can ride the train as a passenger instead of checking tickets.” He seemed a little down, so I did what I usually do in these situations—tried to lighten the mood. It's my emotional version of offering a cookie.
His eyes brightened, sadness lifting slightly. “Exactly my plan. First thing on the list—take the Orange Falls Express everyday, and see what I've been missing all these years.” He glanced around. “You going solo?”
“Actually,” I started, my voice betraying me. I'd wanted Kelly to be the first to hear about Aeron and me, but clearly, my mouth had zero loyalty. “I brought someone sp—”
“Aeron! My boy!” The conductor’s enthusiastic Aeron my boy crashed right through whatever sweet, romantic thing I'd planned on saying.
Aeron was beside me.
“Hey, old man. Your wrinkles have become pretty obvious.” He slid a hand to the small of my back. For him to joke around like this meant the conductor had earned a rare spot on his limited inner circle.
“Just wait, you'll catch up soon enough.” The conductor's eyes moved between Aeron and me, his lips curving into an amused smile at how closely we stood. “Girlfriend?” Simon asked, curiosity evident.
“Special someone,” I said, looping my arms around Aeron’s waist and glancing up at him through my lashes, offering my very best, hopelessly smitten smile. “Right?”
“Special someone,” Aeron echoed, voice a low chuckle as he pressed a gentle kiss into my hair. “I like the sound of that.”
“Glad you finally found someone.” Warmth softened the conductor’s voice. “For a while there, I worried you'd keep coming back every year, hoping to find that gir—”
“You’ve got a train pulling in, Simon.” Aeron’s voice cut sharply. His hand tightened against my back, knuckles pressing through my shirt—like he was bracing himself, not steadying me.
The conductor's gaze darted between me and Aeron, regret immediately shadowing his face, as though he wished he hadn't spoken at all. “Right.” He shifted uncomfortably. “I'd better go.”
There was a loaded silence. I searched Aeron’s face for an answer—any answer—about who the girl the conductor almost mentioned if not for his intervention.
But he said nothing. He simply closed his hand around mine, pulling me along.
I stumbled, not from my shoes, but from the weight of what was going unsaid.
He had cut off the conductor’s words, but my mind had already filled that silence with questions. He was hiding something—a big secret. Realizing he didn't trust me enough to share it stung worse than knowing he had a secret.
The train started moving. I'd imagined this ride so differently—teasing him about not pulling me up last time, laughing it off, maybe even burying the memories I'd hidden away five years ago by making better ones with him. Instead, all I got was silence—awkward, heavy, and painfully loud.
As if it had finally gotten to him, he squeezed my hand. “Astrid.”
He sounded cautious, ready to drop the truth. Funny how desperately I'd wanted the truth minutes ago, but now wished he'd keep buried.
“About the girl—”
I didn't let him finish. Grabbing his collar, I pulled him close, pressing my mouth to his—urgent, possessive, wanting to drown out any thought of her with only me. He quickly took over, deepening the kiss until we broke apart, both breathless.
“Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.” Whoever she was, whoever had kept him coming back every year, she was his past. I was here, his present. And I wasn’t letting anyone else into this moment. Into our moment.
“You’re the only thing on my mind right now. I promise.”
His words coaxed a smile I couldn’t hold back.
Aeron didn't know casual sincerity. If he said I was the only thing occupying his mind, I’d bet my last breath on it.
I wrapped my arms around his waist, burying my face into that warm crook of his neck, clinging like a Koala who’d finally found her favorite tree.
“You went from angry to feisty to cuddly in about ten seconds, you know that?”
I tilted my head up. “My period’s almost here. I get mood swings.”
“I thought it was your default setting.”
“Don’t encourage me.” His phone rang just then, vibrating close to my hand resting against his thigh. I slipped it out of his pocket, stifling a laugh when Nosy M flashed on the screen. He deserved a medal for his persistence. Before Aeron could even glance at the phone, I pressed answer.
“Aeron! How dare you ignore my calls—”
Aeron swiftly took the phone from me, and with an I’ll call you later, cut the call without even acknowledging him.
“Who is he?”
“My editor,” he said. “He’s been pushing me to take on a project I’ve been avoiding.”
“Why?”
“Mom needs me here. I have a choice to make. Besides,” he added. “I doubt I could survive more than a week without seeing you.”
The butterflies in my stomach multiplied.
I pushed them away, focusing entirely on him. “It’s your passion, Aeron. You’ve loved it since you were a kid. I know the business needs you here, and that you feel responsible, but you don’t have to choose. You can do both
Promise me you won’t let it go.”
He still hesitated.
“You’re taking it,” I said firmly, leaving no room for debate.
He sighed. “Yes, your Highnes.”
My mood was back and happy.
All that gloomy tension had lifted, replaced by a rush of excitement as we stood together on the footboard, the vineyards speeding past us. Aeron kept pulling me back whenever I leaned out too far.
“You were an ass to me last time,” I reminded him.
His lips twitched into a small, annoyingly attractive smile. “I held your hand to stop you from falling, remember?”
I turned my full glare at him. “My head was about ten seconds away from being sliced off.”
“I pulled you back twenty seconds before that.”
I looped my arms loosely around his neck, tilting my head up at him, teasing. “If I’d never said sorry?”
He tightened his hold, pulling me flush against him, his eyes serious despite our playful tone. “I still would’ve pulled you in.”
“Why?” I studied him. “You hated me.”
“I never hated you. Not even then.” His tone was sincere.
Never hated?
“When did you start liking me?” I'd wondered about it before. Was it back in the archive room, or after that interview when I'd made him laugh? But his answer made everything inside me pause.
“At first sight.”
I blinked at him. “You sure had me fooled.”
He only smiled, not giving me a clear expression to make my assumptions. “It’s just…an Astrid thing.”
Astrid’s thing
I love the sound of that.