“Oh, um, cleaning mostly. It’s what I’m used to spending a lot of time doing.”
She shrugs when I look at her.
“When I lived in Ivan Hamilton’s house, I basically worked as a cook and a cleaner, all day, every day. It was what I was born into. I thought it was, anyway. Colleen didn’t tell me any different.”
“Colleen?”
“The woman who basically raised me. My mother died when I was too young to really remember her. Colleen was the cook, and cleaner. I helped her.”
“Sorry, that sounds hard.”
She sighs. “I didn’t think it was. At least while I was there. Now, I don’t know.”
I reach for her hand, and she lets me take it, curling her fingers around mine.
“It’s okay to be confused. You’ve been through more than most people ever deal with in their lifetime. You don’t have to process everything all at once.”
She nods slowly. “I’m doing better than I should be. I have Falcon to thank for that. He got me out of that house when I didn’t even know I needed to be rescued. I feel pretty lucky, all things considered.”
She hasn’t started to heal.
I can see that so clearly.
Finally, my teeth stop tingling.
It’s such a relief that my nerves die on the spot.
“Falcon told us he was staying, working with security,” I start.
“He was digging a trench,” she says. “And he looked exhausted when I came out here for my lunch break, so I gave him my suite key and told him to go get some sleep.”
I blink.
Did she just say Falcon’s in her room? Sleeping, sure, but … In her room?
“Um, is Lana okay with that?” I ask, because I can’t not.
She seems a little uncomfortable with the question, but I can’t take it back.
Her cheeks flush pink as she shrugs.
“She knows we’re fated, and she won’t stop me when I want to make the decision to be claimed, so she won’t kick him out.”
“She spoke to you about that?”
“Yeah. It was kind of awkward,” she admits. “But I’m glad she brought it up.”
“So, Falcon’s sleeping in your room right now.”
I sound stunned, I know, and I can’t help it.
Falcon spent a few hours with her and now he’s in her room.
“It’s fast, I know,” she says, biting her lip.
“He won’t rush you,” I blurt.
She flushes all over again. “I know.”
