“I think we’re crossing a line.”
“I know.”
“Does that scare you?”
“It terrifies me,” I whisper.
He lets out a quiet laugh—and it does something to my chest.
“Me too.”
His face moves closer to mine. I feel his breath against my lips, my heart racing so loudly I’m sure he can hear it. His eyes search mine, asking a question I’m dangerously close to answering.
“Keira,” he whispers again.
“Alistair…”
We’re inches apart. The world narrows to this moment—rain, time, logic—all suspended as we hover on the edge of something irreversible.
Then—
A loud thud at the entrance.
We freeze.
“What was that?” I whisper.
Alistair frowns, glancing toward the doorway.
“I don’t know…”
THUMP. THUMP.
The door swings open, revealing?—
“Is that?—”
“Hamish?” Alistair finishes, just as stunned as I am.
The soaked animal stares at us.
“Hamish!” I call, scandalized.
Alistair runs a hand through his hair. “How did he even follow us here?”
“He’s smarter than he looks,” I say. “And apparently has the worst timing in existence.”
The animal disappears again.
We step toward the entrance cautiously.
“Hamish?” I call.
When it reappears, I blink.
Not Hamish.
Just… a sheep.
