“What are you doing, Killian?”
He flashed a big, sunny smile as if he hadn’t just dropped life-changing information on my head the night before. As if I hadn’t spent the night in my room, furious at him and craving him. “Just some renovations. I figured it was time we changed up the great room to better suit our growing community.”
Renovations? Was that what he was calling it? “Uh-huh. What’s this room for?”
“Pack gatherings. Big meetings. And the most important thing of all—movie night. Want to give us a hand?”
“I’ll pass.” I scowled at him. “But if I was going to help, I wouldn’t have sofas facing away from the movie screen.” I walked over and started trying to push a sofa on my own and was surprised at how heavy it was.
Killian and his friend were quick to rush over to give me a hand. “Don’t you go and hurt yourself. You can just direct traffic and we’ll move things to where they need to go.”
“You’re going to want to go with that letterCarrangement, I think, with the number of sofas you have and where I think the screen should go.”
“As you wish,” he said with a smile.
“And your rug arrangement. They don’t justnotmatch; they’re practically getting into a fistfight. They clash so badly. And that chair is at a weird angle.” I pointed.
More shifters wandered in and helped me. Someone brought in a selection of rugs for me to look over and approve. Maeve brought trays of snacks—and some human wedding magazines.
“Burn them,” I ordered her.
“Save them for later? Of course.” She twinkled at me. “You’d look amazing with a sweetheart neckline.”
“You’d look amazing being absolutely silent.”
“Yes, ma’am. Not a word. I shall be silent. So silent you don’t even know I’m here. I won’t talk about the three-tier wedding cake or the ice sculptures which will be shaped like wolves, or how I see the colors as being rose gold, or—”
I was walking away. She followed, still talking.
“Killian! Do not put that side table there! Are you trying to hurt me on purpose?” I cried out.
Killian and the pack followed my orders. A seamstress took down suggestions on how to enhance the curtains with trim to give them some personality. Talon and Gage carried in a few paintings, and I gave a thumbs-up to a couple and thumbs-down to others.
After everything was finally in place and looking like a place I’d be truly proud to call home. I collapsed onto one of the sofas next to Killian but with a little distance between us.
Even fully clothed, it was so calming to be close to him.
“You messed up the room on purpose, so I’d have to help, didn’t you?” I smiled wryly, reclining.
“Worked, didn’t it?”
“Why bother?”
He stroked my hair. “I just want you to feel at home here, Daphne.”
“Eww,” Sarah said, and leapt to her feet and stalked out of the room.
Killian’s evil plans were working. I felt more at home than I ever had before in all of my years scrambling from place to place with my mother.
I signed and leaned my head on Killian’s shoulder and then abruptly straightened up.
My mother.
I was worried about her—although I also had to admit that being away from her this past week had resulted in me feeling the least stress I had in a very long time.
“Your place is here.” Killian took my hand in his. And I closed my eyes and tried to believe it—at least for now. Because even if it was a lie, it was such a pretty one.
Eighteen
