She opened her mouth to apologize but snapped it shut when Lily’s face brightened.
“Thank you.” Lily smiled. “I’ll tell Rexar to reduce the number of stalls he has to clean. It won’t hurt him to know actions have consequences, especially when there’s a vehicle involved.” She turned her head when Rexar called her name from the door. “I gotta go. I’ll come over tomorrow evening, and we can get to know each other better.”
Rose watched as she hurried across the room, and her husband tugged her against his side, pressing a kiss to her temple.
Caleb pulled me close like that.
It doesn’t mean anything.
Don’t even think it.
We are not them.
“What are you thinking so hard about?”
“Um—nothing.”
She was saved from answering further by Kacey coming out of the kitchen carrying a plate of food. He waved to the men on Charlie team’s table and jerked his chin toward the one they sat at. She realized he must be telling them he was going to sit with them. He sat in an empty seat between the two men across from them. She realized he and Caleb looked very similar, but one was dark and the other light.
They are brothers, so it makes sense.
“Thank you. Kacey, right?”
He nodded. “Thanks for what?”
“The food, dinner.” Crap, did she screw up again? But she’d started, so she might as well finish. “As someone who doesn’t like to cook, I appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome.” He jabbed his fork around the table. “I like her. Nobody else thinks of thanking me for feeding them. She does.” He glared at Caleb. “Keep her, and don’t fuck it up.”
“Bastard.”
“I might not be very good in the cooking department…” It was nice to offer, right? “But I can wash a plate like a boss.” Thank you, cash-in-hand jobs at way too many restaurants to count. “If you need help in the kitchen, I can do that.” At least if she had something to do, she wouldn’t feel like she was taking advantage of Nemesis Inc.’s kindness.
Kacey chewed on a forkful of food and studied her as if trying to decide if she was serious or not. “Not tonight, but feel free to run into the kitchen if you need something or you get bored. For now. Just chill, and if my brother pisses you off, come find me, and I’ll straighten him out.”
She made a mental note to come over when she knew she was allowed to and offer to help again. “Thank you. I’ll do that.”
17
Caleb wasn’t sure if he wanted to kick Kacey’s ass or thank him for not being his typical jerkish self to Rose. It was a close call, but by the time he helped her to her feet, he was leaning more toward thanking him. He’d have to come back over later and ask Kacey if he’d allow her to help in the kitchen. Maybe if she had something to do, she’d want to stay…
He knew it was purely selfish that he wanted her here for longer than the few days she’d promised. But he didn’t care. Nobody had ever had this effect on him before. Sue him for wanting to explore it. “Did you have enough to eat?”
“If I ate another bite, I’ll explode.”
He’d much prefer to have her exploding for another reason.
Jeez, you are as bad as a stud dog panting after a bitch in heat. Dial it down, boy.
Yet, as they walked back to the house, he found himself catching her hand and interlinking their fingers. “Look.” He pointed out a shooting star. “Make a wish.”
“What?”
“I wish, I wish upon a star…” He repeated the rhyme he’d heard since he was a child. “When you see a shooting star, you make a wish.”
“Is it like birthday candles, and you don’t tell anyone, because if you do, it doesn’t come true?”
“Now you’ve got it.” He brought her to the pasture fence and wrapped his arms around her from behind. “There must be a meteor shower, as there are loads of them.”
