Amerie Grace Keating
It’s like seeing someone you’ve only ever admired from afar suddenly smile at you. I cradle the book as though it’s made of glass and then carry it up toward the front.
The librarian finally breaks eye contact with her computer screen when I slide the book across the counter.
“What She Left Sleeping,” she says, reading the title aloud. Her eyebrows lift, vaguely amused. “Again?”
Heat floods my cheeks. I force a polite smile. “It’s a comfort read.”
“Amerie Keating. I might have to give one of her books a go myself. Due back in two weeks. No renewals this time. It’s been on your card six times already.”
“That’s fine,” I say, clutching the book to my chest. “I won’t need it that long.”
She purses her lips but doesn’t press the matter. She simply returns to her typing like I was never there.
Outside, it’s wet and miserable.
I collect my bike from the grass and toss my leg over the side. The roads are slicker thanks to the rainfall.
I ride for miles, until I’m so sodden and cold I don’t feel any of it anymore.
The numbness has taken over.
It drives me forward until I’m cycling past the village sign for Rosethorne. I chain up my bike at a tree outside a local pub, then walk the rest of the way.
Their house glows like something out of a dream.
The dining room window is in perfect view, the four of them appearing through the rain-streaked glass.
Declan passes something over to Amerie. She laughs at what he says, her shoulders quaking and her head tipping back. A loose curl falls over her cheek.
He just can’t help himself; he reaches out to tuck it behind her ear. His hand lingers and their eyes connect. The laughter fades from her face and they focus on each other.
Then he slowly leans across the table to kiss her.
All of this as their two children are at the table, seated to observe how in love their parents are.
It isn’t showy. It’s intimate and earnest.
It feels like a punch to the chest.
Emmett is in his highchair, flinging mashed carrots onto the tray with tiny, sticky fists. Willow is on the other side, adjusting the bib on her doll instead of eating her dinner. She’s chattering away in a way that makes Declan chuckle and Amerie glance over with a fond smile.
They look so…perfect.
I’d say it’s scripted, but I know it’s real. They have no idea how lucky they are;shehas no idea how lucky she is.
I step back, disappearing among the shadows and sheets of rain.
Tonight, I’m stuck watching from a distance, but I’ll be back soon enough.
Amerie said it herself in the welcome email. I’m part of the family now.
Chapter 5
Amerie
We weren’t expecting anyone for another hour. Which is why I’m still in my robe, silk scarf wrapped around my head, with Emmett balanced on my hip and Willow following me like a shadow, when someone knocks on the front door.
