Page 248 of Sweet Nightmare

Interesting.

Stevie notices him staring and immediately looks away.

Her ears turn pink.

I tilt my head. “Do you like Stephen’s producer?”

She freezes and her eyes grow so wide I think they might fall out of her head.

“N-no.”

Too fast.

Far too fast.

I raise an eyebrow. “You blushed.”

“It’s the cold.”

“Your ears are pink.”

“Yeah, that happens when I’m cold, Artemis,” she snaps.

I stare at her, not believing that my sweet Stevie just snapped because she’s embarrassed.

Then, despite myself, I smile.

She gasps as though she just witnessed water turning into wine.

“Oh, God. You really are so pretty when you smile, my precious grump!” She shrieks, grabs me and pulls me into another hug.

Not again.

Too much hugging for one day.

I tolerate it for three seconds before patting her shoulder twice. “There. That’s enough. Go away.”

Stevie laughs against me but eventually lets go, her expression softening as she looks at my face.

“I’ll call you tonight, okay?”

“You call every night.”

“I sure do and I’ll always will.” She reaches for my hand and squeezes it. “I love you.”

I don’t say it back.

I rarely do, not because I don’t feel it, but because some words have always been easier for me to carry than to speak.

Instead, I lift my hand and place two fingers over my heart.

The gesture my father taught us.

Stevie’s smile softens and then she returns the gesture, pressing two fingers to her own heart.

“Forever,” she whispers.

Forever…