Miss Spelled Read Free Page A

that was done?’ I ask, horrified.
    ‘As well as a bucket load of engineering and stress tests. I tell you, this is safer than most houses. It just looks scary, that’s all,’ Davo says.
    I look to Aiden. I don’t want to disappoint him but the terror rising in my gut has left me barely able to stand.
    Aiden steps towards me and takes me in his arms. ‘Sweetie, if you don’t want to go in it, we won’t. It’s okay.’
    ‘But you’ve put so much effort into making tonight perfect.’ How can I let him down now? This must be how he feels about letting his family down if he were ever to leave the finance industry. Such pressure!
    Aiden would never do anything to put me in danger or hurt me. Apart from my family, I trust him more than anyone. What if he’s going to propose? He can hardly do it here, in the doorway to the cube. It just wouldn’t have the same impact. There’s a tug of war happening in my body—to stay right where I am, borne out of a complete and utter irrational fear of heights, and the desire to see what happens inside that cube. He’s arranged for us to have after-hours access to it for a specific reason, right?
    ‘Let’s do it,’ I say, hoping my voice sounds more convincing than I feel.
    ‘That’s my girl. Davo, we’re ready mate,’ Aiden says.
    The lights are turned on as Aiden steps into the cube first and then holds his hand out to me. It is safe. Of course it’s safe. Just look at it. It’s cantilevered against the entire building, hundreds of people step into it each day. But, what if each of those hundreds of people have weakened the supports just a little bit, just a fraction? Multiply that by hundreds and…oh my God…it could fall off the side of the building at any moment and plummet to the ground below.
    The football-sized lump in my throat is making it hard to breathe.
    ‘Lou?’ Aiden asks.
    Would we pass out before we hit the ground? Apparently losing consciousness is common when falling from freaking great heights, and it provides a strange level of comfort. There couldn’t be much worse than seeing the concrete rise up to meet you in the fleeting seconds before death.
    ‘Lou?’
    Aiden is smiling, that sexy GQ cover boy smile that is impossible to refuse. Even with all of this fear consuming me, there’s nothing more I’d like to do than kiss that smiling mouth.
    I shake myself and inhale a deep breath, probably my last, take Aiden’s hand and step out into the enclosed cube. His warmth slows my heart rate a little, and his smile reassures me that everything is going to be okay. If those honey-coloured eyes are to be the last thing I see before being splattered all over the concrete below, then at least there’s no complaining about the view.
    ‘Right, mate, I’m going to turn the lights off now. Just text me when you’re finished,’ says Davo as he closes the doors and walks away.
    The lights go out and I can’t see a thing. It’s pitch black. But despite the temporary blindness, there’s the sense that there is a great, cavernous void between my feet and solid ground, the thought of which makes my shoulders tighten and rise up towards my earlobes.
    ‘Close your eyes,’ Aiden says. ‘It will help them to adjust quicker.’
    I do as he says and can feel the sway of the building in the wind underneath my feet. My thigh muscles tighten in readiness to turn and run. As the fear starts to consume me again, Aiden stands behind me and wraps his arms around my shaking body. With his guidance, we walk the three metres to the far wall of the cube, where my fingers automatically clutch the railing in front of me. Eyes still closed, my grip is such that my knuckles feel like they are about to pop out of the skin.
    Aiden puts his hands over mine and intertwines our fingers. Even though it means I have less of a grip on the railing, their warmth and strength is welcome, and my heart rate slows a fraction.
    My body shudders slightly as he steps closer, his hips now