My breath catches. “You think he’d talk to Lena?”
“If you want.” Rowan’s fingers trace my hairline. “We can’t force anything on her. It would only need to be a conversation, if she wants it.”
The band that’s been tight around my heart since Danny attacked my sister loosens. Not gone, but less crushing.
“Thank you,” I whisper, the words inadequate but all I have.
Rowan pulls me closer, his chin resting on top of my head. “You don’t have to figure everything out alone anymore, precious. That’s what I’m here for. We’re a team. We’re in this together.”
Rowan’s arm tightens around me, his breath warming my hair, as the apartment building wakes around us.
A pipe rattles somewhere in the walls. A car door slams outside. An alarm goes off somewhere below us.
I lie there for another minute, listening to Rowan’s heartbeat beneath my ear, letting the steady rhythm ground me.
Then my stomach growls.
Rowan huffs out a quiet laugh. “There it is.”
“What?”
“The signal that I need to get up and feed the monster in your belly.”
I lift my head to glare at him, but the corner of his mouth has already tipped upward in smug satisfaction.
“You’re assuming a lot.”
“Am I?” His fingers trail down my arm before releasing me. “Tell me you don’t want coffee.”
“Youwant coffee,” I snipe.
Rowan tickles my ribs. “Desperately.”
A giggle escapes, and I smack his hands away. “Go. Get out of my bed and make me breakfast. I think there are some eggs left.”
“I am at your service.” With a kiss planted behind my ear, he rolls out of bed.
I admire his fine physique as he moves around the room, locating his pants and shirt to dress before slipping from the room.
Faucet pipes groan as Rowan runs water in the kitchen, and the coffee maker gurgles to life, its scent sliding under the bedroom door. With a groan, I get up for the second time and dress, pulling on clean clothes washed in our cheap detergent, so different from the luxury brand Rowan uses.
When I step into the kitchen, I find Rowan already at the stove, spatula in hand, looking even larger in our cramped space.
Lena appears from her room in an oversized sleep shirt that hangs off one shoulder, her hair tangled from sleep. She squints at Rowan, suspicion lasting only seconds before a smirk spreads across her lips.
“I’m happy you’re back together,” she announces, dropping into a chair at our small table, “but keep it quieter next time. The walls are paper-thin.”
Heat creeps up my neck as Rowan turns to her, eyebrow raised. “Good morning to you, too, Lena.”
“Morning.” She stretches with a smirk. “Just soyou’re aware, Mrs. Kapoor next door banged on the wall twice. I caught her muttering about ‘indecent noises’ when I went to the bathroom.”
My mortification must show, because Rowan laughs, the sound rumbling through our tiny kitchen. “Sorry about that.”
“No, you’re not,” Lena says with a grin.
The tension breaks, and I find myself laughing, too. “Brat.”
“Learned from the best.” She steals a piece of bacon from the plate Rowan sets on the table. “And what have you been learning from Rowan?”
