He had not imagined Rowan incapable of apology, exactly, but he had not expected one so direct. So exposed.
Rowan’s fingers tightened around Atlas’s lead. ‘I’m sorry.’
The words settled between them.
Marcus looked down at his fish and chips, then back at Rowan. His first instinct was to make a joke. To smooth it over. To let Rowan off the hook because tension made him itch.
But he was tired. Too tired to sparkle over something that had hurt.
‘I’m sorry too,’ Marcus said. ‘For snapping.’ Rowan nodded, but Marcus held up a hand before he could speak. ‘I’m not sorry for what I said, though.’
Rowan went still.
Marcus forced himself to continue. ‘You do keep stepping close and then backing away. And I don’t know where that leaves me.’
The silence that followed felt heavier than the scent of vinegar in the room.
Atlas sat beside Rowan’s leg, calm but watchful.
Rowan looked down at him, then back at Marcus. ‘I don’t know where it leaves me either.’
That was not an answer. But it was honest. And somehow, that made Marcus’s chest ache more than an answer would have done.
Rowan glanced at the chair opposite him. ‘Can I sit?’
Marcus nodded.
Rowan sat carefully, Atlas settling at his feet. For a few seconds, neither man spoke. The parlour around them felt too quiet, too intimate, the soft evening light catching the damp shine of the freshly cleaned floor.
‘You were right about something else,’ Rowan said eventually.
Marcus lifted his brows. ‘Careful. I may get used to hearing that.’
This time, Rowan did smile. Briefly. Sadly.
‘Blaming myself isn’t loyalty.’
Marcus’s breath caught.
Rowan looked at Atlas. ‘It just feels like the only thing I have left to give him.’
Marcus’s throat tightened.
There it was.
Not the whole story. Not yet. But another door opening, just a crack.
He put the food aside.
‘Maybe what he needs from you isn’t guilt,’ Marcus said softly. ‘Maybe he just needs you to keep showing up.’
Rowan’s eyes lifted to his.
‘And what about you?’ he asked.
Marcus’s pulse gave one hard thud. ‘What about me?’
Rowan’s voice lowered. ‘Do you need me to keep showing up too?’
