Page 106 of Even Beneath the Stars

Maggie brings both hands up to cover her mouth, doing that thing that makes her look like some church lady getting the latest neighborhood scandal at her weekly bridge club. She gasps. "Oh my God, Xavier… you are seriously the sweetest!"

I let out a laugh that comes out more bitter than I mean it to. "Yeah, I'm a real catch." My brow furrows as I remember exactly hownotsweet I was today. "Nothing says romance like watching a guy fertilize a boxwood hedge with the contents of his stomach."

"Stop." She points her tiny paintbrush at me. "We already established your nugget-based apology was more than sufficient."

I drop my head and shake it slowly as I huff out another low laugh.

"So," Maggie drops her paintbrush in a small glass of water. "How are you feeling? You up for a date-night in?" Her lips quirk up. "Or are you permanently fused to that spot on the floor for the foreseeable future?"

I bark out a laugh, running a hand through my still-damp hair. "Think I can manage to relocate. A couple slices of toast and a Gatorade and I'll be good to go."

"You sure?" She grins playfully, standing and taking a few steps toward me. "Because that hedge took quite a beating earlier."

"The hedge had it coming." I scoff, peering up at her. "Looking all perfect and pompous and high and mighty."

Maggie snorts. "Damn pompous hedges."

I take her extended hand, and she helps pull me to my feet.

"So, what exactly does a date-night in entail? Tell me what you have in mind, LeClair, and whatever you want, I'll do my best to make it happen."

She leans in, pulling me closer with her hand still clasped in mine, until our faces are just inches apart. I can feel her breath brush against my jaw; see the constellation of freckles dusting her nose and cheeks.

She blinks.

"I want the moon."

Chapter Forty

Xavier

"So, this is your secret getaway, huh?" Maggie's voice barely rises above a whisper as she steps into the Observatory. She leans down and places the baby monitor on the floor, just in case Finn wakes up.

The moonlight streams through the glass dome overhead, casting silver shadows across her face. She's wearing those ugly flannel pajamas again, and she's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

I nod, a faint smile tugging at my lips. "Yeah."

"It's a cool space." Her eyes travel up to the glass dome overhead, then sweep across the room, taking in the brass fixtures and ancient star charts.

She was up here that time she caught me playing guitar, but it's not like she got a chance to check out the space or anything. She was too busy handing me my ass. Also, I made it pretty obvious she wasn't welcome.

I've spent countless nights in this room, playing guitar or just lying on the floor, staring up at the stars, and the quiet has been my closest friend sometimes. There's a warm kind of silence in this space that feels precious and fragile. The way Maggie speaks, soft and almost reverently, I can tell she feels it too. The way she moves carefully, like she's exploring an ancient temple, her footsteps soft against the oak floors as she drifts around the room, pausing to study the star charts, fingers ghosting over the brass fixtures.

"I've never invited anyone else up here," I say, watching as she traces the edge of the telescope platform with her fingertips.

"Not even Finn?"

"Not even Finn."

The admission feels heavier than I expected.

Maggie's fingers brush across the stack of leather notebooks on the desk. "It's good you have a place like this… where you can be alone," she says, and it eases the guilt of admitting I've never brought my brother up here.

She picks up the top notebook, weathered and soft, and flips it open. Black ink fills the pages—lyrics, chord progressions, random thoughts scrawled in margins. My chest tightens for a moment as she fans the pages with her thumb.

"Are these all songs you're working on?"

"Yeah," I manage, my voice rougher than I intended.

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