When he turned back towards the house, he paused. “If you need space, take it. But if you need help—”
“I’ll ask,” she said.
A corner of his mouth lifted, barely there. “I figured.”
She watched him walk away, realising something with a clarity that surprised her.
Adrian wasn’t watching her to protect her.
He was watching because he had already accepted her presence as something that mattered.
And that, somehow, felt more solid than any promise.
**CHAPTER SIX.
The kitchen smelled like bread.
Not fresh — reheated. The kind that had been baked earlier in the day and warmed again without ceremony. Comfort without effort. She found Tanner at the counter, sleeves rolled up,humming under his breath as he sliced it thickly. A radio murmured somewhere nearby, low enough to be ignored.
“You eat like you’ve worked,” he said without looking up, sliding a plate towards her. “That’s a good sign.”
“I didn’t realise there was a test.”
“There isn’t,” he replied easily. “But if there were, you’d be passing.” She took the plate and sat, the simple normality of the moment catching her off guard. No tension. No watchfulness. Just a table, food, and the sense that she wasn’t in anyone’s way.
Tanner poured tea into mismatched mugs and joined her. “Adrian keep you busy?”
“He showed me how not to break things,” she said. “Mostly.” Tanner laughed. “That’s his love language.”
She smiled before she could stop herself.
It surprised her how easy it felt — the sound of it, the lack of effort. She hadn’t realised how tightly she’d been holding herself until that moment.
“You’re different when you relax,” Tanner said, not unkindly. She raised an eyebrow. “Am I?”
“Yeah. You stop bracing.” He took a sip of his tea. “Most people don’t even notice they’re doing it.”
She considered that. “You do.”
“I notice patterns,” he said with a shrug. “Keeps things running smoothly.”
They ate in companionable quiet for a few minutes. Tanner broke off another piece of bread and buttered it with careful precision, then slid it across to her without comment.
She accepted it. “You always look after everyone?”
“Someone has to,” he replied lightly. “Cole plans. Adrian watches. I make sure nobody forgets to eat.”
“That’s a role.”
“It’s a necessary one.”
She studied him — the ease in his movements, the way he filledspace without dominating it. There was strength there, but it wasn’t loud. “I don’t want to disrupt that,” she said.
Tanner met her gaze steadily. “You’re not.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because you ask,” he said simply. “People who cause problems never do.”
