~ Adeline ~

Adeline squints against the sunlight as she steps off school grounds. The air is crisp, the faint scent of early winter creeping in. Ronan is on his bike, waiting across the street, its engine softly idling. Even from this distance, she can feel his presence-a steady silent strength she's always trusted.

“Ronan,” she calls softly, crossing the road with caution. She feels her stomach flutter-not from nerves, she tells herself, but from that strange mix of excitement and fear ...