Leo forced a reassuring smile. “That I was helping a new neighbor get settled. It’s not even a lie.”
She returned the smile, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. The distance between them had widened again, and Leo felt it like a physical ache. This morning had given him a glimpse of what they could be together—the warmth, the ease, the sense of rightness. Now that vision seemed to be receding, replaced by complications and constraints he hadn’t expected.
“Okay,” he said finally. “This stays between us. For now.”
Relief softened her face, though the guilt was still there underneath it. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“It’s what you need,” Leo whispered. “That’s enough for me.”
He wanted to kiss her goodbye, to hold her close and breathe in her cinnamon-dragon scent once more before facing the day. But Adara was watching now, her gold-flecked eyes curious and observant. So instead, he settled for a light touch on Estelle’s arm, a promise in his eyes that he would come back.
“I’ll see you both later,” he said, forcing a brightness into his voice that he didn’t quite feel.
“Bye, Leo!” Adara called, waving Fizz’s sparkly wing at him.
As Leo headed down the path, happiness no longer felt simple. He had found his mate, shared her bed, glimpsed the future he wanted—and now he had to carry all of it in silence.
Chapter Nine – Estelle
Estelle folded the tea towels with military precision, then turned to the spice jars on the counter as if basil and salt might somehow solve her problems.
Do you think that if you keep busy, it’ll stop you thinking about our mate?her dragon asked.
I’m not trying to stop thinking about him,Estelle snapped back, though the tightness in her chest said otherwise.I’m trying to create some stability.
Her dragon snorted.You’re alphabetizing spice jars. We have four spices.
Estelle glanced at the neat row on the counter—basil, oregano, pepper, salt—and sighed. Her dragon wasn’t wrong. She’d been moving through the cottage like a whirlwind since Leo had left after breakfast, organizing and reorganizing things that didn’t need it, all to avoid the hollow feeling that had settled in her stomach the moment the door closed behind him.
“Mama, look!” Adara called from the living room, where she was arranging her small collection of toys on the windowsill. “Fizz says this is our lookout spot. We can see if anyone’s coming.”
Estelle’s heart squeezed. Even in play, Adara was always watching, always alert. Like mother, like daughter.
“That’s very smart,” she said, crossing to stroke her daughter’s curls. “Fizz is a clever dragon.”
Adara beamed up at her. “Leo might come back. Fizz wants to see him again.”
Only Fizz?her dragon teased.
Shut up,Estelle thought back, though without any real heat.
The cottage felt wrong without Leo in it—quieter, flatter, emptier than it had any right to after knowing him for such a short time. The place seemed to echo with his absence, as if he’d somehow become part of it overnight.
You’re being ridiculous,she told herself firmly.You’ve known him for less than two days.
And yet he’s ours,her dragon countered.You felt it. I felt it. Even Adara felt it.
Estelle turned away from the window and back to her unpacking, determined to focus on practical things. There were curtains to hang, beds to make properly, and a kitchen to stock. Normal things. Safe things. Things that didn’t make her heart race, or her palms sweat, or her body ache with a longing so fierce it frightened her.
“Can we go outside, Mama?” Adara asked, abandoning her lookout post. “I want to see if there are any pinecones for my collection.”
Fresh air. Yes. That would help clear her head.
“Good idea,” Estelle said, grabbing their jackets. “Let’s explore our new yard.”
The morning air was crisp and pine-scented, the sun casting dappled shadows through the trees surrounding their clearing. Adara immediately darted toward the edge of the forest, searching for treasures with Fizz clutched tightly in one hand.
“Stay where I can see you,” Estelle called automatically, her eyes tracking her daughter’s movements.
