Page 238 of Override

Something creaks in the hallway. Neither of us notices.

"I'm still nervous."

"You've been nervous since the delivery truck."

"I know." I sigh.

Before Rachel can answer, a familiar voice drifts through the open bedroom door.

"I love it."

Everything inside me stops. I look up so quickly I nearly drop my bowl. Keaton stands in the doorway, still dressed in black tactical gear. His duffel hangs from one shoulder. His glasses have slipped slightly down his nose.

He looks tired. He looks like he's been awake for far too many hours even though he hasn’t been gone that long.

And he's looking around the room the way someone looks at a place they don't quite recognize.

My heart drops into my stomach. "I..." I set the bowl aside so quickly the spoon clatters against the nightstand. "I didn't know if you'd—"

Before I can finish, his eyes find mine. "I love it." He says it again.

Not to Rachel. Not to the room.

To me.

Chapter 54

Keaton (Skee)

"I love it." The words leave me before I've finished taking in the room.

Soft gray bedding. The reading chair beside the window. The warmer wood tones. The absence of memories I'd spent months carefully walking around instead of through.

My gaze moves slowly across the room before finally settling on the woman standing beside the bed. She's watching me with nervous eyes, twisting the edge of her sweater between her fingers as though she's preparing herself for disappointment.

"I..." She swallows. "I wasn't sure if—"

"I love it," I repeat quietly.

Not because of the furniture. Because she looked at a room I'd abandoned months ago and saw something worth bringing back to life. Because somewhere between unpacking boxes and choosing lamps, she'd decided I deserved to have a bedroom again.

Something inside my chest shifts. Not suddenly. Not violently. More like a lock quietly sliding into place after searching for the right key.

I know this feeling. Or...I know what I'm looking at. The evidence has been accumulating for weeks.

Every unnecessary coffee. Every song. Every excuse to hear her voice. Sleeping outside the Gallagher estate because I couldn't tolerate another night without knowing she was alive. Wanting her beside me instead of merely safe. Wanting her to stay. Wanting...Home.

The conclusion is no longer avoidable.

I love her.

The realization doesn't scare me. What scares me is how completely certain I am.

I could tell her. The thought appears almost immediately. Just say it. Tell her. Three words. Simple. True.

Wrong. She's still married. Ronan is still missing. She's been free for less than a week. The last thing Maeve needs is another man asking her to carry the weight of his feelings before she's had the chance to rediscover her own.

No. She deserves time. She deserves freedom. She deserves the opportunity to choose a future without anyone standing beside her hoping she'll pick them.