Page 63

I keep going.

A big hand closes gently around my wrist.

I stop.

Maverick releases me almost immediately.

“Are you okay?”

“Yep.”

I keep my face turned away.

“Noelle.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re crying.”

“I am not.”

He says nothing.

I wipe beneath one eye.

“Okay, that’s very rude of my face.”

For a second, there’s silence.

Then I hear it.

A low, quiet laugh.

I look up. Maverick is smiling. Not much. Just a little. But goodness gracious, that should come with a warning label.

“He’s just really sweet,” I say.

“He is.”

“And I know this is all weird.”

Maverick leans against the wall. “What is?”

I gesture between us. “This.”

“Specific.”

I blink.

“Did you just tell me to be specific?”

“Yes.”

“You really are a businessman, aren’t you?”

His mouth twitches. “Apparently.”

I sigh. “The marriage. Me being here. Shiloh.”