He caught sight of the dirt staining her fingers and buried beneath her nails. His lip twitched upward. “Did you come straight here from the nursery?”
Red spread across her face. “Yeah,” she said. “I left the book on a cliffhanger this morning, and I wanted to get back to it as quickly as possible.” Her eyes flicked down to her fingers, and she stiffened as she took in their state. “Sorry,” she said. “I didn’t realize.”
He shrugged. “Not sure why that would bother me,” he said dismissively.
A brief flicker of surprise flashed across her face, then was gone. “I just assumed you would be unhappy with me tracking dirt in here.”
“Why? It’s your room.”
She blinked, her brow furrowing deeper. “And you’re not upset that I’m reading instead of doing something more productive?”
There was a strange tone to her words, as if she were waiting for an outburst or some other scolding.
He shrugged. “I mean, I like to relax after work, too. If I’m not doing chores right after work, then I don’t see why I should expect the same out of you. And even if I did do chores after work, I wouldn’t pester you about yours. You’re a smart, capable woman. You’re more than able to take care of anything you need to take care of on your own time. I trust you.”
“Oh.” Her voice was quiet, but he could sense the confusion and discomfort in that single syllable. She studied him for a long moment, then glanced away almost self-consciously.
“How was work?” he asked, trying to push the conversation in a different direction, hoping it would put her more at ease.
She shrugged. “Nothing interesting today. Mostly dealt with some wilting gardenias, but beyond that, it’s smooth sailing over there. Now that spring’s turned fully into summer, the early gardening rush is over, which is nice. It’s a bit quieter now.”
“Most of my experience with plants comes from movies,” Cillian said. “And by movies, I mean horror movies where plants eat humans and slowly take over the world.”
Amber laughed. The sound made him grin. She had a pretty laugh. Musical and light, but warm at the same time. Her eyes crinkled at the edges.
“I mean, there are some plants that probably would do exactly that if they had the chance,” she mused. “I can think of a couple at least.”
This time, it was Cillian’s turn to laugh. Amber’s own grin widened, even more of the tension that always seemed tosurround her dissipating. Maybe it was that ease that made her ask her next question.
“Is there anything going on this Friday?” she asked.
He tilted his head, brow furrowing. “Not that I can think of. Why?”
“I was thinking of going out with a few friends at the end of the week,” she said. “It’s been a really long time since I’ve gotten the chance to talk with Nikki, and I’ve really missed spending time with her.”
Cillian frowned. “Why can’t she just come here and spend time with you? Or you could go over to hers and Jasper’s house, if you want to go somewhere else.”
“That’s not the same,” Amber argued. “I can’t remember the last time I got to go out to a bar with my friends and just chat and gossip.”
“You can do that here, though.”
Her demeanor shifted. Where she had been relaxed before, now she went on alert. She stared at him with something close to unease, her lips turning into a thin, cautious line.
“Sure,” she conceded, snapping the book shut. “But it’s still not the same. And to be honest, I’ve been cooped up in this place for so long that I need to get out.”
“You’re not cooped up. You go to work nearly every day.”
“Go to work, come back, go to work, come back. That’s all.”
Now she was getting angry. She had straightened and was facing him. The book rested on her lap, fingers curled tight around the spine. Her eyes began to burn, and it was everything Cillian could do not to recoil. Once again, for the briefest ofmoments, he had to admire that strength that sometimes shone through.
“Nothing else,” she said. “I’m starting to go insane here. You can’t seriously think that holding me here like this is healthy.”
“I’m not holding you here,” he protested.
She raised an eyebrow. “What would you call it, then? You’re stopping me from seeing my friends. I didn’t think you were the type of person to do that.”
There was a bite to the words, as if there was some deeper meaning beyond them, but at the moment, he didn’t care.
