Chapter 17: Ernest’s Mate Maeve “Don’t say your name? Why?” *Just in that context. I don’t… we can’t-” “I know,” I said hurriedly, feeling foolish. It couldn’t be personal. That had to be what he meant. I fidgeted, looking past him toward the door. He followed my gaze, then snapped his head back around, giving me a serious look. “Leave them alone, Maeve. I know what you’re thinking.” “I just really need to talk to Ernest—” “No, you don’t.” “You don’t understand, Aaron. Gemma is in a bit of a crisis right now,” “Because they’re mates? That doesn’t sound like a crisis to me.” He stood there, staring at me blankly as my jaw dropped open. “How the hell did you know that?” “Uh, he told me? Is it supposed to be a secret-” I turned from him, pacing over to a set of couches that had been pushed up against the wall so that the maid could polish and wax the floor. I felt a little guilty as I looked down at the very obvious footprints left in the fresh wax, but the room was rarely used. It was my first time spending more than a few minutes here myself. “Well, if you know about it then it’s not a secret, is it?” He shrugged, reaching up to crack open the window. “What do you need to talk to him about that’s so pressing you’d interrupt them?” “I wasn’t going to interrupt them,” I lied, pursing my lips as he cast me an incredulous look. “I just wanted to talk to him privately.” “About why he won’t marry and have children?” Igaped at him again, my jaw nearly hitting the floor. “You know about that? You know why?” “Yeah, he told me all about it.” Aaron’s tone was so casual that I laughed, unable to stop myself. He peered at me, tilting his head as I sat down on one of the dusty couches.copy right hot novel pub