Chapter 5

Grace used that excuse to move straight into our house.

On the surface, she was only cooking for Theodore and discussing work with him. In reality, she was taking over my personal space at every turn.

She replaced the artwork I'd bought, threw out the flowers I'd potted, and even made a point of taking my pajamas and wearing them.

Which suited me fine. It saved me time packing.

I was busy meeting with potential partners, out early and home late almost every day.

After several rounds of screening with Claire, we had narrowed it down to a few companies with solid reputations in the industry, pending further talks.

That day, I went to meet the project lead from one of them.

They had made a generous offer and seemed genuinely committed. We had already exchanged several rounds of emails.

I hadn't expected the project lead to be a young man of only twenty-five or twenty-six.

"So sorry to keep you waiting."

His voice was clear and bright, his hair slightly curly. When he smiled, his eyes crinkled, giving him the eager, sweet look of an oversized puppy.

"You must be Midnight? I'm Aiden Brooks, the project lead."

I nodded and motioned for him to sit.

He was visibly nervous, nearly tripping over a chair leg.

"Sorry, sorry."

The tips of Aiden's ears flushed pink, and his thoughts came through too.

[Oh my God, it's really Midnight. It's really her!]

[Should I introduce myself properly? No, no. If I ramble, I'll only annoy her.]

[But what if she thinks I'm unprofessional...]

His thoughts came at me in a rapid-fire rush, one tumbling over the next.

Ever since I gained the ability to hear people's thoughts, almost everything I'd heard had been restless and dark.

It had been a long time since I'd heard thoughts with so much life in them.

"Mr. Brooks, there's no need to be nervous. I'm mainly here to confirm some details in person."

[She's so gentle. Exactly like I imagined.]

[No, wait. She's even better than I imagined.]

I handed him the documents and asked him detailed questions about his vision and plans for the adaptation.

To my surprise, he not only had an answer for every question but also remembered details from the books that even I had forgotten.

"Honestly, I've loved your books for seven years. Snowy Night alone, I must have read it twenty times..."

My hand went still.

[Crap, why isn't she saying anything? Does she think I'm weird?]

[Should I say something to fix this? Come on, stupid brain, think!]

"Thank you, Mr. Brooks. You're the most dedicated prospective partner I've met."

Aiden froze, then looked up at me with those bright eyes and blinked.

"That said, I can't give you a formal answer just yet. But your team can go ahead with the next stage of preparations."

"I'll announce my official decision at the book signing next week."

With that, I smiled, left him my card, and rose to leave.

His thoughts erupted behind me. To my surprise, my own pulse quickened in answer.