“Rowan?” I coax gently.
“She said she broke off her engagement and is moving back to Moss Hollow.”
I jerk back, reeling. “What?Why?”
Rowan shakes his head, looking both frustrated and worried. “Because that’s Keira’s way. I messed up her plan. She was willing to move on when no one knew where I was, but now she’s determined to fix the past, right my wrongs, and pick up where we left off.”
“But…we’re bonded.”
“I said it’s her plan, not mine. Things are different now. I’m not going to let her force her will on me.” He strokes my shoulder. “You have shown me what healthy relationships look like. Believe me when I say she and I didn’t have one.”
I don’t fight my sparkles this time. I want Rowan to know how much I want him—how much I don’t want him tucking tail and running back to Keira.
I think back to my conversation with Anna. She told me Keira made a five-year plan and herded Rowan into it. What a strange dynamic they must have had. He admitted he never loved her, but did she love him? Or did he just check all the boxes? Handsome, driven, from a good family, and about to get his degree—Rowan was certainly a catch.
Is a catch.
Mycatch.
Rowan is mine. My friend, my faux-shifter mate. Keira had her chance. Maybe if she hadn’t been so pushy, he wouldn’t have turned himself into an owl to escape her.
Okay, that’s not nice. I wince at the thought, not feeling like myself.
“I can’t decipher the look on your face,” Rowan says.
“You don’t want to know,” I admit. “The bond is making me a little crazy.”
Maybe a little mean, too. I need to work on that.
He meets my eyes. “Even if our magic wasn’t fused, I wouldn’t go back to her. I had seven years to think about my mistakes, and Keira was the greatest. I wanted her because Ash wanted her. And then I stayed with her because I was too gutless to leave.”
“Ash wanted me too,” I say. “What does that say for us?”
Rowan laughs, his mood brightening. “Yes, but I didn’twantto like you. You just made it impossible not to. I don’t like you because of Ash. I like you because ofyou.”
Oh, my heart.
“We should get back in there,” he suggests, his mood lighter than it was when he came downstairs.
“Are you okay?”
“I am. I’ve been dreading that conversation for seven years, and now it’s over.”
Not completely over, if Keira is breaking her engagement and moving back to Moss Hollow. But that’s not a worry for today.
“You did well,” I tell him.
Rowan’s gray eyes meet mine before trailing to my mouth. I hold my breath, wondering if he’s going to kiss me. It would be the most natural thing for him to do.
He brushes his thumb over my cheek, his expression warm, and then…drops his hand and sighs. “I really need to undo the bond.”
We’ll never be able to move forward in our relationship until we do. But there is a significant part of me that wants to leave thebond intact and get on with our lives. We’re happy, aren’t we? Why tamper with a good thing? Agreatthing.
But Rowan needs to know if my affection is real. And I suppose I need to know, too.
The bells on the door chime, telling us we must get back to work. Reluctantly, we step apart.
“I’m sorry for…” Rowan trails off, sheepishly gesturing between us.
