Page 111 of The Beekeeper

She huffed. “Because we’re part of the same hive,” she said like it was the most obvious thing in the world, meanwhile, it felt like the ground was going out from underneath me. “You smell like Harper all the time, so I have to, too. That’s how everyone knows we belong together in the same hive.”

Oh god. I felt the blood rush from my head.

She knew. I mean, obviously, she didn’t know fully, but she knew Blaze smelled like me and that was enough. We thought we’d managed to keep this from her like our own dirty little secret. And here, she knew all along.

“I see,” Blaze said, doing his best to mask the tightness in his voice, but even the best actor couldn’t hide when something hit him right where it hurt.

This was only supposed to be a temporary situation until the lawsuit and the press settled down, but because of us, because of our contract, we’d inadvertently made it something more. Wildfire.

Pain banded around my chest. How could I have ever thought we could hide this? How did one hide an uncontrollable blaze? How did one hide the smoke and the ashes? Even if you couldn’t see the fire, you could smell it in your nostrils and taste it on your tongue.

How could I blame Paisley with the way things had unraveled? All the time we spent together? The things we did? The life we’d been living as one whole unit. It was no wonder she used my perfume, deciding they belonged here. What other option had we given her?

“Are you mad?” Paisley asked quietly.

I held my breath, needing his answer just as badly as she did.

“No,” he assured her with a shake of his head. “Of course not, pumpkin. Why don’t you show me the cake?”

And just like that, her uncertainty passed and she was back to her bubbly mood. Meanwhile, the conversation lingered like a stinger under my skin, burrowing not only pain but the question whether or not everything Blaze and I had, everything that we’d tried to keep hidden, had just had its guts ripped out into the open?

The bees never survived that. How would we?

Blaze

“What a relief,” Lou said, sipping her iced tea beside me. In front of us, in the grass, Wade and Harper were chasing Pais around.

“Yeah,” I answered because saying “you have no idea” felt rude to my sister-in-law. “I can’t…” I trailed off, letting out a deep exhale. “I can’t believe it’s finally over.”

“Oh, that, too,” Lou said, and I looked down at my sister-in-law, confused.

“What were you talking about?” Now, I was curious.

“Paisley,” she said and lifted her chin toward my daughter. “I can’t believe how much she’s changed in the last few months since you moved here.”

My stare followed hers, settling on my daughter who laughed and chased Harper through the flowers.

“She smiles and laughs so much now compared to when you first came to Stonebar. And the way the smallest thing scared her, my heart broke every time.”

I couldn’t deny anything she’d said, but this was the first time someone other than me acknowledged the change.

“She…has grown,” I replied.

Pais smiled now. She was curious—adventurous, especially when it came to bees, and that was something she’d never been before, always too afraid of what could hurt her. Now, she loved the little creatures that could be notorious for their sting.

And all of it, I had to accept, might not have happened at all without the woman who smiled like sunshine and baked cakes in thunderstorms.

“She’s not the only one.”

A puff of air blew through my lips. “Having a kid grows you up real quick.”

“Oh, absolutely,” Lou agreed. “But so does feeling safe. It gives…who we really are a chance to shine.”

“And who am I really if not Hollywood’s famous rogue and your fake ex-boyfriend?” I countered and we both laughed.

“You’re a good dad and a good man, and you deserve some happiness for yourself. Not just with Paisley,” she said, and now, I realized, we’d reached the crux of it. Apparently, Wade’s comments to me the other day weren’t enough, I had to have Harper’s and my quasi-secret relationship dangled in front of my face.

“I don’t know if I’m ready for that.” I let out a slow breath, recalling Paisley’s stunt from earlier; That’s how everyone knows we belong together in the same hive.