Page 75 of Keeping Score

“I don’t want to go—”

I interjected, knowing she was going to list off a myriad of places I wouldn’t bring her, anyway.

“Babe, trust me.” Reaching out my right hand to place on her knee, I felt her relax. “I know everything about you. I’m not going to take you anywhere you don’t want to be.”

She settled, contenting herself to stare out the window as I drove to a spot I’d been waiting to take her to. A spot that might look even more beautiful in the darkness.

Plus, there was a weight in my pocket consisting of all my dreams of the future that I was desperate to make known.

And a girl sitting beside me that I was aching to make mine. Permanently. For good. Forever.

Now seemed as good a time as any.

Piers Park always felt like the edge of the world. When you stood at the overlook, staring out at the harbor and the skyline, it was easy to feel like you were finally outside the hustle and bustle of it all—far enough away to just breathe it in.

You could admire Boston from a distance without being swallowed by its noise. Just for a moment.

And tonight, under the cover of the black winter sky, the city lights in the distance and wide space around us seemed like the perfect place to bring Maggie.

“This okay?” I asked, pulling into a parking spot.

She exhaled a sigh of relief.

“Perfect.”

I jumped out of the car, digging for a coat from the backseat.

I held it out to Maggie, rolling my eyes when she shook her head in refusal.

“I don’t need it.”

I frowned.

My stubborn, obstinate girl.

“Babe,” I fixed her with a look. “I don’t care how hot you are physically, it’s February and I’m not letting you outside without a coat on.”

“Fine,” she wrinkled her nose at me, accepting the offering. “But only because I like getting compliments.”

“Good thing I like giving them.”

“To everyone?” She faked a frown.

“To you,” I told her. “Only ever to you.”

She smiled, contented so easily.

Some people thought Maggie was complicated. Hard to understand. She wasn’t. She just wanted to be loved, and reminded of it often.

It was easier than breathing to give that to her.

She slipped the coat on, swallowed by the enormity of it. I knew it wasn’t the fashion statement she hoped to make, but God, she looked gorgeous in it regardless.

“This is the perfect spot,” she sighed contentedly, looking out at the skyline. “You know why?”

“Why?” I smiled at her, following as she led me to the railing.

“Because I don’t feel as lonely here.”