Page 31 of The Beat of her Heart

Giselle’s eyes stayed on the road, her grip on the wheel loosening just slightly. “The hospital or the town?”

Addie chuckled. “You pick.”

“Well, I came here to work, so I guess the town doesn’t count. The hospital is fine,” Giselle said.

Did you come here just to work?Addie thought. She could almost swear that that wasn’t the entire truth. Something must’ve happened. People didn’t just happen to move to Phoenix Ridge. Often they were trying to start again, to escape something. At least, that’s what she’d always heard her parents say.

Addie didn’t push Giselle any further, though. Instead, she let the conversation sit for a moment, waiting to see if Giselle would offer anything else.

Ten seconds, nothing. Twenty, nothing.

Addie shrugged. Perhaps conversation wasn’t her strong suit, either. Surprisingly, after a beat of silence, Giselle spoke again.

“What about you? Have you been here long?”

Addie nodded. “Born and raised. I left for a few years for med school. My moms moved out to Boston, so I lived there for a while before I came back.”

“Why? Loved the town that much?”

“Lost one of my moms,” Addie said. “I came back here, and that was it.”

Giselle shrugged. “Now you’re stuck here.”

“Of course not,” Addie said. “I choose to stay here. It’s home.”

Addie caught Giselle wince the second she saidhome. Could that be it? Could her cold exterior stem from not feeling like she had a real home?

“I’m sorry about your mom,” Giselle said, her voice softer and more genuine than Addie had ever heard it.

“Thanks,” said Addie.

Giselle’s eyes flicked to the rearview mirror, where Sophie was quietly playing withher toy in the backseat. “It must be nice living here, then.”

“It is,” Addie said, hoping to keep the conversation going. “Phoenix Ridge is a nice place. Quiet for a city, but not too quiet. There’s always something to do.”

Giselle let out a small, dry laugh. “Something to do? Like watch the fire department pull out every afternoon?”

Addie blinked, surprised by the humor in Giselle’s voice. She hadn’t expected it, but the sound of it made her smile. “It’s a big deal around here, didn’t you know?”

Giselle glanced at her, a ghost of a smile tugging at her lips again. “Remind me tokeep that in mind, right at the top of the list of information I’ll never use.”

Addie laughed softly, appreciating the moment of levity. Giselle’s dry sense of humor caught her off guard, and Addie wanted more of it. She wanted to see more of this side of Giselle, the side that wasn’t all walls and distance.

They drove in silence for a while longer.

It was clear that Giselle wasn’t one to share personal details easily, but even thesmall glimpses Addie got were enough to intrigue her.

But she couldn’t push too hard. Giselle wasn’t someone who opened up easily, and Addie didn’t want to scare her away. She had to let things happen naturallyandlet the conversation grow in its own time.

“Do you miss it?” Addie asked after a while.

Giselle looked at her again. “Miss what?”

“Wherever you were before. The other places you’ve worked.”

Giselle was quiet for a moment, her eyes focused on the road. “Not really.”

“Why not?”

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