Chapter 212

"Not that rough anymore." After sending Chris off to study in the office, Beckett hugged Madeleine from behind, watching her arrange flowers. She tensed up instantly, clearly not used to this level of closeness. "Ouch." Beckett reached for a loose red rose on the table, only to get pricked by a thorn that hadn't been trimmed. A small drop of blood appeared on his finger. Madeleine grabbed his hand in panic, looking up at him, overwhelmed and unsure of what to do. "Madeleine..." Beckett lowered his head, their faces just inches apart, the moment charged with something unsaid. "I… um..." She looked down nervously, fumbling to snap off the thorns from the rose. "Red roses can hold up better than white ones—wind, rain, whatever. That's their nature." Beckett gently took the rose from her hand. "And the thorns? They're part of it. Hurting someone isn't the rose's fault." She looked up at him, her eyes trembling ever so slightly. He let out a soft sigh and kissed her—slow, longing. Those scu