Page 43 of Shattered Oaths

“What’s got you concentrating so hard, Bella?” I ask, nudging her shoulder with mine.

Her eyes snap up to mine in surprise, almost as though she didn’t register me sitting beside her, and she slams her book closed, her cheeks turning pink. “Oh. Nothing.”

“Oh. Come on. Show me.” I urge and she rolls her eyes, her face serious.

“Promise you won’t laugh?”

I hold up three fingers. “Scouts honor.”

This time she laughs and my chest swells with pride at the sound. She has a pretty laugh. “You’re not a scout. But okay.”

She opens her book, drawing both of our attention downward and begins to flip through it. Every page is filled with words and little drawings. It’s chaotic but neat all at the same time. “I’m writing recipes.”

My brows fly up. “Recipes?”

She nods, chewing on her lower lip. “I want to be a baker someday.”

“A baker, huh?” I ask thoughtfully. I can totally see it.

Bella smiles, nodding enthusiastically. “Yep. I plan to open a café in town. I have the ideas written down already. I’ll have a glass case at the front of the store so that the first thing people see when they walk in are the pastries and cakes I’ve made.”

Her eyes take on a dreamy, faraway look as if she’s picturing it and I watch her silently. “It’ll be light and airy but welcoming, with an old diner feel to it. People can come and drink coffee or consume all the sugar they want to,” she continues.

I chuckle lightly. “Sounds like you’ve got it all figured out, Bells.”

“It’s just a dream.” She shrugs, closing the book. “I’ll probably end up working in the supermarket or being a teaching assistant at the primary school.”

Without thinking, my hand reaches out and clasps hers. “No, Bella. I think that you’ll get everything you ever dreamed of.”

Her gaze stays focused on our interlocked hands for a long beat before she beams up at me, her teeth on full display, a hint of pink in the balls of her cheeks. “Thanks, Noah.”

Something about her smile makes my chest feel funny and my heart pounds a little faster than normal. I open my mouth to respond when another voice sounds from behind me. “What’s going on?”

I snatch my hand back from Bella’s and look up into the eyes of my best friend. He’s frowning down at us in a way that tells me he isn’t happy.

“Can I talk to you?” Killian asks, his gaze never straying from mine. I swallow thickly and nod, standing and picking my towel up off the ground as I go.

Daisy switches places with me, taking a seat next to her friend as I follow Killian back to the grassy bank. He stops abruptly and spins. “Not her.”

My feet come to a halt, forehead crinkling. “What?”

“Not. Her,” Killian grits out, looking back toward his sister.

“Are you kidding me?” I ask, confused at what his problem is.

Killian steps closer, his words quiet. “Listen, Noah. You’re my best friend and I love you. You can ask out any girl you want, just not my sister.”

I scratch my neck, confused. “We were just talking.”

“You were holding her hand. She’s younger than us, Noah. And she’s having a hard time.”

I frown, looking back at Bella. She smiles in my direction, and I return it before turning back to her brother. “She’ll fall in love with you and you’ll break her heart.”

Looking down at the ground, I contemplate his words. It wouldn’t be the worst thing. I’ve never been in love before.

“Just promise me, Noah,” Killian pushes and a weird sensation takes over my chest. I don’t want to promise anything. And it hurts a little that he thinks I would treat his sister that way.

“Promise me that you’ll stay away from her,” he says again and I look up at him, seeing the plea in his eyes. It softens something inside of me and against better judgement, I nod.