It’s not like they’ll have much choice if we’re unable to break the bond.
Rowan studies me, looking thoughtful. “I have to admit, I’m intrigued by the future the mate bond is offering. Getting married, eventually starting a family with you—I want that. But I want you to choose it.” He pauses. “I want you to choose me.”
I touch his face, nearly sighing at how good the connection feels. “Then break the bond so I can.”
He takes my hand and presses a kiss to the inside of my palm. “That’s the plan.”
Chapter 4
I Inherited that Handsome Mage
On the way to the cottage, I silently debate how to reintroduce Rowan to my parents. What tactic should I take?
Is he my friend? That owl I mentioned? My employee?My mate?It’s all gotten so complicated.
But when Rowan stops his trap outside the garden gate, I temporarily forget about my relationship troubles because an auburn-haired pixie emerges from the front door. I blink at my childhood friend, wondering if my eyes are playing tricks on me.
“Nadine?” I hop from the cart and meet her in the middle of the front yard, hugging her tightly.
“This place is amazing!” she exclaims. “Just on the way to the cottage, I made friends with three sparrows and a baby bunny.”
“What are you doing here? I was just telling Rowan about you!”
“I came with your parents.”
Nadine is a few inches shorter than I am. She wears her hair long, but it’s almost always pulled up in a messy bun. She has pretty freckles, bright green eyes, and a way about her that endears people to her almost instantly. Like my mother, she’s an autumn pixie.
“You’re the surprise.” I smile at my parents when they emerge from the cottage as well.
“I had to come see the town that stole you from us.” Her eyes move to Rowan, and her lips part with surprise. “Oh my.”
I follow her gaze. Rowan stands near the gate with Chester. Though almost always composed, he seems uncomfortable right now.
I look at him like I’m meeting him for the first time. He wears his usual waistcoat, button-up shirt, and pressed trousers—a look I’m beginning to think of as the Neilfellow dress code. Though he’s not bulky, and his lines are long and lean, his shoulders are broad enough to hint at the muscle he built while he was an owl.
The evening sun brings out the red in his thick, dark brown hair and highlights his handsome face. Unlike other mages I’ve come to know, his fae heritage shines far more brightly than his human.
He’s…perfection.
How is this man my mate?
Quietly, so only I will hear her, Nadine says, “The natives are certainly easy on the eyes, aren’t they?”
“It’s all the high fae blood in town,” I murmur.
“Is he taken?”
“So taken.”
“Yours?” she asks.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Nicely done.” She grins. “Does he have a brother?”
“No, but he has a cousin. You don’t want him, though. He’s a pain in the tail.”
“Noted.” She grins in Rowan’s direction and raises her voice so he will hear her. “Hi there.”
