Keith had been here before for a shoot, so he knew the terrain was tricky. A few years back, developers had dug up thend, leaving behind dangerous pits. Falling into one could mean getting buried alive under copsing dirt and rocks.


    So, when he heard that Amara had fallen into one of those unpredictable pits, worry gnawed at him.


    He, along with Will and the others, raced over there. As they ran, Keith''s mind was racing too. He made a silent vow: if Amara came out of this unscathed, he''d ept whatever life threw at him.


    Even if she had a kid with Finnian, so what? Kids eventually went off to school, then college, leaving the nest. It wouldn''t change much in the grand scheme.


    And Amara saying she wasn''t ready for marriage? That was just past heartbreak talking. Keith thought if he put in the effort to win Amara over, showering her with tenderness, surely she''de around.


    Even if she didn''t, he''d keep trying. Persistence would pay off eventually. Once he figured all this out, Keith felt a weight lift off his shoulders.


    At this point, whether or not Amara had a child didn''t matter. The priority was being there for her, helping her heal from her previous heartbreak, supporting her through the pregnancy, and maybe finding the right moment to confess his feelings.


    Unaware of Keith''s internal resolution, Amara returned to her room. She immediately peeled off her dirt-covered clothes and headed for the shower.


    After a thorough scrub with shower gel, she finally felt clean. She rinsed off, got dressed, and stepped out of the bathroom.


    It was eleven at night. Ordinarily, with an early shoot the next day, she''d be climbing into bed soon. But today had been extraordinary. Amara decided to jot it all down; it might serve as inspiration someday.


    She opened herptop and started typing. After about thirty minutes, she had captured the day''s events. She closed theptop and prepared for bed.


    Then came a knock at the door, echoing loudly in the quiet night. Amara paused, ncing at the time from herptop. It was 11:40. Who could be visiting at this hour?


    She pushed her chair back and went to the door, asking, "Who''s there?"


    "It''s me."


    The maic deep voice came through the door, a familiar one. Amara bit her lip. What was he doing here?


    She nced down to ensure her


    thick bathrobe was securely tiedet


    Finding nothing amiss, she opened the door. "Mr. Everly, is something wrong?"  swnovel


    Why was Finnian here sote? Was he checking on her after the rescue? She hadn''t expected such kindness from him.


    "I wanted to see how you were doing," he replied, surprisingly aligned to what she''d assumed. "May Ie in?"


    "Oh, sure, Mr. Everly,e in."


    Amara silently chided herself. How could she be so slow on the uptake? Her rescuer was here, and she had left him standing outside instead of ushering him in.  swnovel


    Then again, it waste, and she was a woman living alone. Inviting a man into her apartment at this hour wasn''t exactly ideal.


    "Mr. Everly, have a seat. Would you like some water? I''ll get you a ss."


    Amara turned to find a ss, eventually locating a new paper cup. She filled it


    with water from the kettle.


    As Finnian watched Amara bustling


    around for him, his gaze deepened


    at the fealization that she was


    treating him better now than when he''d been hospitalized.  swnovel