Page 27

He tore over to me and took my hands. “I have to meet a client, and I can’t put it off.”

I exhaled. Sinclair kissed the top of my head. “But you’ll be here when I get back. We can talk then.”

“Yeah, I’m not going anywhere.” His hand slipped out of mine and his fingertips brushed over my skin. He reversed a step and placed his warm palm back in mine.

“I don’t want to leave.”

“But you have to go, so shoo.” He let go, but I reached out and grabbed his fingers.

“I’m going to be late.” He tickled my palm with one finger.

“Mmmm. But I miss you already.”

“I’m coming back.” He grinned.

“Fine.” I blew him a kiss.

He disappeared and that stair, the loose one, squeaked.

I busied myself with household chores but didn’t accomplish much as I kept staring out the window thinking about the future and wanting the girls and Sinclair to be home so we’d be together.

And when I picked them up and they talked the whole way home, I kept looking in the rearview mirror at them. I never wanted to do the school run for anyone else.

I pulled into the drive. There was a hum from the workshop, telling me Sinclair was using the ventilator.

We were home.

THIRTEEN

SINCLAIR

Meet me at ten in our favorite place.

I puzzled over River’s text, but I was in the workshop all day and didn’t want to break my concentration by asking him what the heck he was talking about. We were so new, we didn’t have a favorite place, or not that I was aware of.

He vanished after putting the girls to bed, and when it was finally ten o’clock, I wandered the house searching for him. I couldn’t find him anywhere and was about to leave the kitchen, but the pantry door was closed. That was odd, and then it clicked. Our favorite place.

I opened the door. The overhead lights were off, as were the LED ones on the shelves. But a lamp from the living room was on the floor, casting a warm glow over the room. Olives, nuts, crackers, and cheese were on a rug, along with cushions and throws as well as tea.

“Fancy meeting you here.”

River tugged me down beside him, and I kissed his cheek.

“I thought this was the one place we could be without the girls interrupting.”

I placed a hand over his mouth. “Don’t tempt fate.” They were already curious about why I kept disappearing in here. “Do you know why I was in here this morning before Meara called?”

He shrugged. “Because you’re sentimental and this was where I really first scented you.”

I told him he was clever, and he agreed.

My dragon was wriggling inside me, and I told him to sleep so as not to disturb me, but he said there was something wrong with the pantry.

Not wrong exactly, just different.

I couldn’t fathom his moods sometimes. River and I were together, sort of, though I hadn’t marked him.

Isn’t this what you wanted? I asked.