Celia looked up at him in surprise, and Darian grinned.His uncles were good people.
They stayed at the shop until the afternoon light grew heavy in the sky.
“I should get her home,” he told his uncles.
Celia no longer looked pathetic—a cinnamon roll and some good company had brought the light back to her eyes.And as much as he hated to bring her home to where she would be lonely, he knew she wouldn't want to stay in town with him.
While she didn't mind visiting town, she had told him before she would much rather be near the mountains.If that was where she wanted to be, that was where he would bring her.And maybe someday, stay with her.
But for now, he would settle for bringing the smile back to her face.
Chapter fifteen
Celia
Theairwasgrowingcool as Celia and Darian walked through the forest toward home, and she wished she’d brought her shawl.
She shivered as a breeze whisked past her, and Darian let go of her hand to shrug his jacket off his shoulders.
“I can’t take that,” she protested as he put it around her shoulders.
“Too late,” he said cheerfully, taking her hand and setting off again.
Would he keep visiting her now that the dragons were gone, or had his interest only been in them?
She hoped it wasn't, and based on the way he was walking her home and distracting her today, perhaps it wasn't.But even with the way his hand held hers tightly as they walked, she still wondered if maybe they were meant to be together, or if the dragons were the only thing keeping him tied to her.
Maybe she should ask him.
“I suppose you won't need to come out to the meadow anymore,” she said, trying to keep her tone light and easy.“Now that there aren't any more dragons.”
Darian looked down at her.“Do you not want me to come anymore?”
“Well, I only mean that I'm sure you have better things to do with your time than coming out to see me,” she said, trying to keep the words lighthearted.“I don't need help anymore.”
“It was never just about the dragons,” Darian said.“There were other reasons for my visits.”
Celia's heart was pounding faster as he stopped walking and reached for her other hand, holding both of them and looking at her eyes with an intensity she rarely saw from the happy-go-lucky man standing in front of her.
“You were just as much my reason for being there as the dragons,” he said quietly.“I don't know what it is about you that calls to me, but I don't want to stop seeing you just because there are no more dragons.And I would never ask you to leave your cottage and come to town.So I will come to you as often as you'll let me.”
Celia's heart was beating so loudly it wouldn't surprise her if he could hear it too.“You came for me too?”she asked.
Darian squeezed her hands with a smile.“Yes.Even when you didn't want me to, I couldn't stop thinking about you.And I couldn't imagine a world without you in it.Now I spend far too much time thinking about you,” he teased.“It's aggravating, honestly.”
“I'm sure it is.”Could he hear the laughter behind her words?“But somehow I can't stop thinking about you, either, so I suppose it's all right if you continue to visit me.And since I don't have baby dragons threatening to burn down my home, I suppose I might be able to visit you too,” she said.
Darian grinned.“I would love that, and so would my uncles.”
“Your uncles just want me to feed them,” Celia pointed out as she let go of his hand to resume walking.
She stumbled on a stick, and he immediately offered his arm, tucking her hand securely into his hold.
He was too good for her.
“It's definitely a benefit of you coming around, I won't lie to you.”
“I suppose I can live with that,” Celia said.“It seems a fair price to pay for all of the things you brought me without me paying for them.”
