“Gwen?” he asks.
I smile and shake my head. “She is fine.” I gesture at her and how both the capybara and porcupine are following her around while she is chatting with Elodie and Annie. “I think she is actually enjoying this. It makes me happy to see her like that.”
“I see.” Liam pauses. “Dario?” he asks.
“I am not sure,” I admit.
“Marius?”
I blink. “How…”
“He was distracted during our meeting, and he isn’t here right now. Since he and Dario are missing, it’s the only logical conclusion.”
“You truly never stop being a big brother, huh?” I ask.
“It’s hard to get out of my skin, and I don’t think I have to.” Liam pats my shoulder. “Let’s join the others.”
“Seriously, no questions?”
“No, I don’t think we need to know everything all the time. It’s not always our business. Sometimes, if you insert yourself toomuch, you become overbearing and pushy. We are not entitled to know all their secrets. Occasionally, it’s better to let them handle a problem the way they want to, or at least give them the time they need to open up.”
I frown. What’s he getting at? I am starting to believe this is not so much general advice, but something much more concerning Dario. “Don’t get me wrong, but it sounds like you are lecturing me.”
Liam grins. “I am not getting you wrong, and neither are you.”
“It’s just hard when I am worried about him,” I admit. “We are twins after all.”
“Yeah, but you are also your own person. You can’t protect him all the time. If it’s honestly something dangerous or something that would deeply hurt him, you would know. But it isn’t. Allow him to have things he doesn’t want to share. Give it time.”
“I guess you are right.” I sigh. “What a long day this has been.”
“You are right. For one single day, almost too much has happened.”
I decide to take his advice and attempt not to constantly worry about Dario when he is on his own. He knows I am always going to be there for him. Gwen, fortunately, chooses this moment to wave at me. The look in her eyes is so longing that I immediately walk towards her.
It reallywasa long day - for everyone.
When I gaze around the room again, I notice how Marius and Celine have returned. Celine joins Dalila, while Marius is talking to…
Oh, yeah, so much fornotinserting ourselves. I furrow my brows when I look at Liam, but apparently, I don’t look in any way threatening because he just looks amused.
thirty-six
A New Presence
*GWENDOLYN*
Our guests left a clean house, meaning I don’t have to clean up after them, which is frankly amazing and attentive. It makes me happy all over again.
The only task that remains is tending to the animals. I feed our ‘indoor‘ pets, inside, while Felix is outside and tends to the ones in the barn. He has fresh hay prepared for our alpaca and chats with it while making sure it has plenty to eat.
He is the cutest.
When he returns, I have already wrapped up everything on my part and even showered and changed into my pajamas. Felixkisses me when he walks past me, twirling me around. “I am just taking a swift shower, or I will reek of hay the whole night.”
“It’s a nice smell,” I tell him.
Felix grins. “I might have cuddled too much with our alpaca. Seems like I made a new best friend!”
