Page 27 of The Photograph

I nod while she sips her glass of water. “How are you, Aelin?”

As she’s about to reply, a little boy whizzes past our table, and Aelin jerks sideways spilling out a little bit of water over the table.

“Fantastic,” she mutters as she wipes off the mess while the kid plops himself down on a chair of the table next to ours. Seconds later, two women, each carrying a young child in their arms follow suit and settle at the table.

She leans back against her chair. “We just need Jen to work her magic on the gardens, and the house will be ready.”

“Danny, stop this right now or we’re all going home!”

We both whip our heads toward the shorter woman who scowls at the wailing boy. She grabs the little boy’s wrist and leans in until her face is inches from him.

“Danny. No. We’re all having fruit and if you eat it all and be a good boy, you can get a waffle, okay?”

After the waiter comes back with her tea—the eager fool pours it for her—she lifts her tight smile to me.

I lean in. “Aelin, I’m sorry for not calling you after our evening was interrupted, and—”

She throws me another smile that doesn’t reach her eyes while her slender fingers curl around her tumbler. “It’s fine, Gabe. Let’s focus on Holloway. If you want to come by next week, I’ll—”

“It’s not fine, it was a shitty thing to do, and I’m trying to apologize.” When her golden gaze dives into mine, I add, “I’m sorry and thank you for helping out that night.”

Her eyes soften. Which makes me hard.

“Thank you.” She twists toward the family’s table with a scowl.

Not a fan of kids?The Danny kid is quiet, in fact the whole table is quiet, all of them busy shoving apple quarters in their mouth.

Her lips are pinched, and her hand fisted next to her untouched tea. “Gabe, do you mind if we leave?”

That’s a lot of fucking drama.

“Please?” she whispers.

Without waiting, she darts toward the door. I throw a bill on the table and follow her out of the pub and catch her arm from behind. Her face is pale, her eyes shine too bright, and her hand strangles the strap of her bag.What’s going on?

“Aelin, what’s wrong?”

After a big inhale, she nibbles her bottom lip. “I…” She clears her throat. “It’s nothing. I just had to get out of there,” she whispers with her eyes downcast.

Who the hell hates kids that much?Pulling her to the side of the eatery, I try to keep my anger out of my voice. “Not a fan of kids?’

She lifts her eyes brimming with unshed tears.No, that’s not it.“Aelin?”

Her face is flushed as she dips her chin and clears her throat again. “I have a … condition.”

“A condition?”

She breathes out a trembling sigh and raises her wet gaze to mine. “It’s called misophonia. Hearing people chew or slurps triggers … anxiety.”

Shit.Tension rolls off my shoulders, and I make my tone gentle. “So, hearing the kid yell wasn’t the problem?”

I don’t know how, but she winces and it’s cute as hell. “No, the yelling I can take. It’s the whole family deciding to have crispy apples for breakfast.” She takes another deep breath. “I can usually find ambient noise to focus on. But it’s quiet today, and once it starts, I… uh, I—”

Her chin quivers while she gives a little shrug. She’s genuinely going through something.

“Come here.” When I pull her to me, her heartbeat drums fast against my chest and her breath is choppy against my neck. She loops her arms around my waist, and I hold her until her breathing evens out.

Falling into her eyes, I touch the soft skin of her cheek. “Better?”

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