I latch onto the safer subject. “Most likely. It looks a lot like the label on the whisky you had me taste.”
“The one made on the border between our lands?”
I nod.
A flash of lightning floods the room, followed by a thunderclap so loud it rattles the windows. The lights flicker… then go out, leaving only the firelight.
In the sudden darkness, Keira shifts closer to me. Our shoulders brush, and I fight the urge to wrap an arm around her.
“Looks like we’re officially cut off now,” I murmur.
“At least we have the fire,” she says.
The flames dance across her face, making her look almost unreal. A strand of hair falls across her cheek, and without thinking, I reach out and tuck it behind her ear.
She doesn’t pull away.
Her eyes lock with mine—something unreadable in them.
My heart starts racing as my gaze drops to her lips, and I wonder what would happen if I leaned in just a little closer?—
Another thunderclap shatters the moment. We both jerk slightly. The lights flicker back on.
“We should probably get ready for bed,” Keira says, a faint blush on her cheeks.
“Yes. Right,” I agree, still shaken by what almost happened.
The bed looms between us again.
“Look—” I start.
She sighs. “We’re not doing this again. That bed is enormous. We can share it like civilized adults. Unless you’re worried you won’t be able to resist my irresistible charm?”
Her tone is teasing—but there’s something underneath it.
“I think I’ll manage,” I reply lightly. “Though your tendency to hog the blankets might test me.”
“How do you know I hog blankets?”
“Deductive reasoning.”
Our bedtime routine becomes another awkward dance—taking turns in the bathroom, avoiding each other just enough.
Then the lights go out.
We lie side by side in the oversized bed, a respectful distance between us. Despite the long day, sleep doesn’t come easily.
“Alistair?” she whispers.
“Yes?”
“Thank you. For opening up tonight. I know that wasn’t easy.”
Her voice is soft—vulnerable—and something shifts inside me.
“Strangely… it was,” I admit.
Silence stretches between us.
