“Don’t apologize. You did amazing. Fifteen minutes on your first try.” He presses his lips to my forehead, and I breathe him in, letting his scent calm my racing heart.
When we return to the cabin, Billy reluctantly prepares to leave for work. He sits on the edge of the bed to pull on his boots, movements deliberately slow.
“Will you be okay?”
“Maya said she’d stop by,” I assure him, though already, I feel the anxiety building at the thought of him leaving. “I’ll be fine.”
He stands and crosses to me, cupping my face in his hands. His thumbs trace my cheekbones as he studies me.
“Call if you need anything. I mean it.”
“I know.” I turn my face into his palm, pressing a kiss there.
He kisses my forehead, lingering longer than necessary. “I’ll be thinking about you.”
After he leaves, the cabin feels too quiet. I try to distract myself with chores, but my mind keeps drifting to this morning, to how right it felt waking up in his arms.
Maya arrives around two, bringing groceries and gossip. She takes one look at me and grins.
“So, how was your night with the pillow wall?”
I groan, dropping onto the couch and covering my face. “There was no pillow wall by morning.”
“Shocking,” she says dryly, unpacking groceries with practiced efficiency. “And?”
“And he’s being a perfect gentleman. Which is driving me crazy.”
“Good. You both need time to figure this out properly.” She pauses, holding a box of tea. “Though from what I hear, he’s having a rough time at Taaffe’s.”
My stomach drops like a stone. “What do you mean?”
“Some of the pack doesn’t trust him. He worked for Leon until last week, unlike Marcus, who got out years ago. There’ve been... comments.”
Guilt washes through me, cold and sharp. I haven’t considered what Billy is facing in town.
“What kind of comments?”
“Nothing violent. Just... distrust. Questions about his motives. Some think he’s only here to cause trouble.”
“But he saved me. He betrayed his own father…”
“I know.” Maya’s voice is gentle but firm. “But trust takes time. Especially with the Lennox name attached.”
I spend the rest of the afternoon anxious about Billy, pacing the cabin like a caged animal. When he returns that evening, I study him more carefully. There’s tension in his shoulders, a tightness around his eyes.
“How was work?” I ask carefully, moving to meet him at the door.
“Fine,” he says, but I catch the lie in the way his jaw tightens.
“Billy.”
He sighs, sinking onto the couch. The cushions dip under his weight, and I settle beside him, close enough that our thighs touch.
“It’s nothing I didn’t expect. They don’t trust me. Fair enough, I wouldn’t trust me either.”
“What happened?” I take his hand, threading our fingers together.
“Just comments. Looks.” He runs his free hand through his hair, the gesture tired. “Sean almost didn’t hire me, but Ethan vouched for me. Even then...”
