Freya’s POV

The word sat there, thick in the air between us.

Special.

It wasn’t dramatic. He hadn’t said it like it was some big confession. But that didn’t matter. My pulse still stuttered, and my thoughts scattered like loose pages in a storm.

I wanted to ask what he meant. How special? In what way? Did it mean something different to him than it did to me?

But I didn’t ask.

Because I wasn’t ready for the answer—not if it ...