I cringed. “Would it help if I say he started it?”
“Did he start it?”
My shoulders slumped. “No. I shattered his wards.”
Rowan let out a belly laugh.
The sound lightened my heavy heart. But I had to be honest with him. “I—I can’t promise you anything. Not right now. I need time. What I can say is I feel this, too. There’s somethingbetween us, something pure and good, but I can’t move on this quickly. It’s not fair to either one of us. Or Caelan.”
He grimaced and shoved a hand through his hair. “I’m guilty of antagonizing him as well. Caelan knows what we are to each other.”
I stared at him for a long moment. “I’ll assume there’s a reason you told him.”
“Well, he pissed me off.”
I rubbed a hand over my face and let out a sad little laugh. “Not the best reason, but I’ve done some things when I’m angry that haven’t ended well for me.”
“He said some unforgivable things. Unlike him, I do not allow others to speak ill of those I love.”
I jogged over and wrapped my arms around him. Rowan lifted me up and I buried my face in the crook of his shoulder, inhaling his wild scent.
“You weren’t gone long, but I missed you,” he murmured against my skin. “I wasn’t sure you’d be back.”
“I knew I wouldn’t stay there. Not after everything. If you’ll have me, I’ll find a place in town somewhere. But I might need help finding a place for Moira and the others. And I’ll need to figure out the shop.” A sigh escaped me. “This sucks.”
“You and your people will stay on Keep property. Tomorrow, or whenever you’re ready, I’ll have Hope take you into town and search for a new place.”
“About that.” I pulled back. “Dad did some wizard stuff and took my entire shop.”
Rowan stilled. “Like the brick and mortar and all of it?”
“Sort of, I think? Dad can explain it better than me. All I know is everything is sort of floating in space waiting for a new spot.”
His grip tightened. “You do keep things interesting.” Rowan tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. “You don’t have to make any decisions now. My offer has no strings attached.”
I framed his face with my hands. “Are you sure? I don’t want things to be weird between us. And I don’t mind finding a rental or something until I can settle in.”
His palm settled over my hand. “I am not Caelan. Nothing I offer you has strings. All I ask is that you tend the land.” Rowan’s soft smile soothes the jagged edges of my heart. “The place likes you, and you claimed it, so that will be the rent payment. Do we have a deal?”
I search his face for any cunning or manipulation and see only honesty shining from his hazel eyes. “What about Moira and the others?”
“We have community nights. Declan puts together a monthly schedule of duties, things like cooking, cleaning, etc. I can have him add the others.”
“I’ll ask, but they don’t plan to stay too long. Just enough to find an apartment or house. They’ll be happy to help while they’re here, though.”
“Hope will assist them, too.”
“Thank you. You cannot understand how grateful I am to you for everything you’ve done for me. I hope I’m able to somehow repay you for your generosity.”
He pressed a finger to my lips. “No strings, Evie. Never between us.”
Rowan dropped his finger. I pressed forward and brushed my lips over his. He stilled, breath catching. My fingers scratched through his hair and deepened the kiss before I pulled away. He tasted like wind and rain and other deeper things I couldn’t afford to think about. “A little time. That’s all I ask.”
His eyes burned molten gold. “You will have it.” He set me down but kept his arm around my waist. “The others can come in now.”
Dad and everyone else appeared a moment later, walking through the fog. Hope came from the opposite direction, waving when she spotted me.
“Simone and Garrett?” I asked.
