And love, like the man who left her, would never return to this cottage.
“Eliza?” Someone was calling for her. It sounded far off in the distance, like she could run to it if only she could open her eyes from the spell she was under. She didn’t want to go so soon. Shewanted to sit with Isadora in her grief, even if she couldn’t see or feel Eliza there.
“Eliza?” Her name came again. Closer now.
Someone was shaking her awake. The cottage around her swirled back into fractured pieces, first starting with sound, then light, and then, finally, feeling. Pine and sugar hovered nearby.
Lachlan was over the top of her, one hand braced underneath the base of her neck. The other was steadying her waist, his face drawn tight with worry. Beside him, Puffcake nudged at her arm, his caramel-colored scales glinting in the overhead light. The dragon’s little lavender eyes were glossy with concern.
She blinked the rest of the way awake. The cool tiles were hard against her back, and there was a terrible throbbing in her head.
“Wh-what happened?” she croaked out.
“You fainted,” Lachlan explained. “Puffcake woke me up.”
She turned her head to the tiny familiar. “You did?”
Puffcake’s gingerbread tail gave a proudthump-thump-thumpin response.
Eliza reached out and scratched behind his ears, smiling brightly. “My little hero.” Her comment only made Puffcake’s chest puff wider.
Lachlan helped ease Eliza upright, steadying her. “Careful,” he whispered, his voice gentle and almost tender. He drew his fingertips along her temple, checking for any damages. “No bleeding. That’s good.” He shone his mobile light in her eyes. “Follow my fingers, Snow.”
She squinted, the brightness causing her head to pulse in angry protest. “I can’t follow anything with how bright this light is in my eyes,” she winced.
“Try for me,” he whispered.
His hand tumbled slightly as they moved from side to side, testing her vision. She followed. Eliza tried to focus, but all shecould think about was the closeness of him—the sharp evergreen clinging to his skin, the warmth of his breath. It wrapped around her like a spell.
He lowered the mobile. “Are you good?”
Eliza giggled. “I’mfine, Lachlan. A little dizzy, but fine. Just a little bump, that’s all.”
He studied her face, not seeming convinced. His eyes lingered on hers, gazing into them deeply. “You have the most brilliant eyes.”
Eliza’s breath caught in her chest. “Thank you.”
He looked down at her lips. Her heart sputtered out of control in its usual manner around him. Puffcake nudged her cheek, breaking her away from the moment.
“I think he’s trying to tell me it’s time for bed,” Eliza yawned.
Lachlan carefully scooped her up and carried her up the creaky staircase. His arms were strong, and she felt the muscle beneath his shirt as it strained against her weight. As he crossed the threshold and into the bedroom, the door behind them swung shut and shuddered closed with a soft click. Lachlan turned at the sound, his brows furrowing.
He gently set her down on the bed before crossing the room to inspect the door. He fumbled around with the handle, but it didn’t budge. He just looked at it like it had personally insulted him.
He ran his hands through his hair. “I don’t sleep around on the first date,” Lachlan said, his tone half-embarrassed, half-flustered.
“I don’t know if this would be considered a date,” Eliza said.
“Isn’t, like, this whole week considered that, whether we want it to be or not?” Lachlan pointed out.
“Touché,” she smiled widely before nodding to the bed. “But really, we’d just be sleeping in the same room. Not ... well, you know.”
“I know,” he said quickly, sitting on the edge of the mattress. He made it a point to keep as much distance from her as possible, his shoulders tense. “I just was a bit much yesterday when we were decorating the tree,” he confessed. His eyes found hers in the darkness, and they were softer now. “I respect you, Eliza.”
Her throat tightened at the sincerity of his words. The warmth of his voice pulsed through the air like magic.
“Stay with me,” she whispered.
