Chapter 21
KEIRA
Neighboring hearts and thin walls
Dinner unfolds in a warm, easy atmosphere. Mary has already left, so it’s just Alistair joining us tonight.
I have to admit—he fits in seamlessly. He jokes with Lachlan, talks farming with Duncan, and completely wins Maggie over by complimenting her sauce.
“You know, Alistair,” my grandmother says as Jamison generously refills his wine, “you’re exactly how I imagined.”
“How so?” he asks, amused.
“Well, from what Keira told us about you…”
I nearly choke on my drink. What exactly did I say?
“Grandma—”
“Oh, don’t be shy!” Maggie continues. “You said he was intelligent, funny, and remarkably handsome. And you were absolutely right!”
Alistair turns to me, clearly entertained.
“Remarkably handsome?” he repeats, one corner of his mouth lifting.
“I said that during a temporary lapse in judgment,” I mutter.
Our eyes meet—and for a split second, something flickers there. Something deeper than teasing. Something that looks suspiciously like—
“More wine?” Jane asks, breaking the moment.
“Yes, please,” I say quickly.
The rest of dinner goes smoothly… until Lachlan, being Lachlan, decides to stir the pot.
“So, Alistair,” he says with exaggerated innocence, “are you staying the night? Would save my cousin from sneaking out to see you.”
I nearly choke for the second time that evening.
“Lachlan!”
“What? It makes sense! You’re basically family now,” he adds, grinning.
I shoot a panicked look at Alistair, who looks just as caught off guard.
“That’s very kind,” he says politely, “but I wouldn’t want to impose.”
“Nonsense,” my mother says immediately. “You’re always welcome here.”
The idea of Alistair under the same roof all night would already be unsettling on a normal day. After this day? It’s pure torture waiting to happen.
“Really, it’s not necessary,” he tries again.
“If you’re worried about Keira,” Lachlan cuts in, “don’t be. She doesn’t bite. Well… not often.”
“Very funny,” I mutter.
“Does anyone care what I think?” Callum grumbles, but Jane leans in and murmurs something that softens him instantly.
At least today has eased his hostility toward Alistair.
Too bad it doesn’t matter—since our relationship is nothing but a performance.
That thought tightens painfully in my chest.
“Well, it’s settled!” Maggie declares. “Alistair stays. Jamison, please prepare the blue room.”
“The blue room”—right next to mine. With thin walls that carry every sound.
“Perfect,” I manage weakly.
Alistair gives me an apologetic look. He didn’t plan this either.
After dessert, we move to the living room for whisky and family stories. Alistair sits beside me on the couch, listening intently as Duncan launches into a tale about our great-grandfather wrestling a bear.
“He’s lying,” Lachlan whispers. “It was a very aggressive badger.”
“I heard that!” Duncan snaps.
“You also lied about that fifteen-kilo salmon.”
“It was fifteen kilos!”
“Five, at best.”
I watch the familiar chaos with a smile. For all their bickering, my family is warm, tightly knit—and somehow, Alistair fits right into it.
“What are you thinking about?” he murmurs beside me.
“Nothing in particular. You all seem very… familiar.”
“Familiar?”
“You argue like real brothers.”
He smiles softly. “It’s nice. I’m not used to that.”
“How so?”
“At home, unless extended family is around, dinners feel more like board meetings. Polite. Controlled. Deadly dull.”
“That sounds peaceful.”
“Stifling,” he corrects.
I glance at him, surprised. It’s rare to see this side of him.
“You prefer our chaos?”
“I love your chaos,” he says quietly. “You argue, tease—but you can feel the love underneath it.”
There’s something almost wistful in his voice, and for the first time, I glimpse the loneliness behind Alistair McKenzie’s polished exterior.
“You know you can be part of that chaos anytime,” I say without thinking.
“Even after…?”
He doesn’t finish.
But we both know what he means.
After our arrangement ends.
My throat tightens.
“Friends are always welcome,” I say carefully.
“Friends,” he repeats.
The word lands heavily between us.
Dangerous ground.
“Well!” Maggie claps, standing up. “Time for bed!”
Everyone disperses. Callum and Jane head upstairs hand in hand, exchanging soft, knowing smiles that make my chest ache. Lachlan disappears with a smirk. Maggie and Duncan continue reminiscing as they leave. My mother follows.
And suddenly—it’s just the two of us.
Facing a night that promises to be anything but simple.
“I’ll show you your room,” I say, standing.
“Keira…”
“What?”
“For today… thank you. It was… nice.”
Nice.
That’s the problem.
Today wasn’t just nice. It was perfect.
Too perfect.
Perfect enough to make me forget, even for a moment, that none of this is real.
“You’re welcome,” I reply. “It’s part of the arrangement, right?”
The second the words leave my mouth, I regret them.
He goes still.
“Of course,” he says, his tone cooling.
We walk upstairs in silence. I show him the blue room, point out the towels, the bathroom… then turn toward my own door.
“Keira?”
I glance back.
For a split second, something in his eyes warms me—something real, something vulnerable.
Then it’s gone.
“Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Alistair.”
I close my door and lean against it, heart racing. On the other side of the wall, I hear him moving around, getting ready for bed. Every sound reminds me how close he is.
As I slip under the covers, the day replays in my mind.
Callum and Jane’s quiet intimacy. The way Alistair blended into my family like he’d always belonged. His hands on my hips during the games. The way we looked at each other by the fire.
And it hits me—with painful clarity.
I want something I can’t have.
And I don’t know how to stop.