Page 66 of Forever To Me

And I don’t know who that moment is bigger for.

Maggie smiles knowingly.

I clear my throat. “I’m gonna lock up.”

Maggie follows Mack upstairs, leaving just me and Violet on the couch.

She exhales, looking out at the night sky through the floor-to-ceiling windows. “Your home is beautiful, Walker.”

I glance at her, the glow from the candle on the coffee table casting soft shadows over her face.

It’s not just the house that’s beautiful. She’s stunning.

I walk beside her towards her room, keeping my hands stuffed in my pockets so I don’t do something stupid. Like reach for her.

Because damn it, I want to.

She’s close to me, too close. Barefoot, her hair up in a messy bun, her t-shirt slipping off one shoulder like it’s begging to be touched. She looks soft and sleepy.

I glance at her and say, “At least when I walk you to your room, you don’t live that far.”

She huffs out a soft laugh. “Yeah, well, I usually live farther than down the hall from you.”

We reach her door, but I don’t stop, and I step in a little closer, watching the way her breath hitches and her fingers twitch at her sides.

“Guess I don’t have to worry about you being safe,” I murmur.

She rolls her eyes but her lips curve, “I think I’ve always been safe here in Bridger Falls.”

She doesn’t move and neither do I.

Something stretches between us, thick and heavy.

I glance down and find her staring at me, her lips parted slightly. My gaze drops to her mouth before I can stop it, before I can remind myself that we’re supposed to be just friends. I can’t go there. I’m not supposed to go there.

She sucks in a breath, and I watch her throat bob as she swallows.

Hell.

I’ve said goodnight and dropped her off a bunch of times. Watched her step inside, made sure she was safe.

But this time feels different.

We both jolt when a door creaks open somewhere in the house, snapping apart like we’ve been caught.

She exhales, then clears her throat. “Night, Walker.”

I take a step back. “Night.”

I head down the hall and realize I’m not sleeping tonight. I can’t sleep after that.

Mack barely waits for the truck to come to a full stop before she hops out, slinging her backpack over one shoulder.

“Be good,” I call after her.

She throws a smirk over her shoulder. “No promises. Bye.”

I shake my head as she disappears into the school, already chatting with a group of her friends. Fifteen going on twenty-five.

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