Page 27 of The Rebel

“Rowan, let’s make one thing very clear. You are my gift,” I growled. “This is just something small, and with limited resources, it was the best I could do.”

“I love it already.”

Her face proved that as she began to unweave the layers of toilet paper that I’d wrapped around my creations, the small designs falling onto her hand. “You made these?”

“Yes.”

The two paper cranes were sitting on her palm, along with the flower, and she traced her fingers across the sharp folds and steep points. The colorful paper was from the magazines I’d found on the coffee table.

“Cooper, these are incredible.”

“Our nanny, growing up, was an origami wiz. It’d been a long time since I’d applied the skills she’d taught my brothers and me.”

“I really, really love them.” She took her time looking at each of the cranes, both slightly different, and the flower, which had taken the longest because I didn’t have any scissors. “I’m blown away.”

I laughed. “Put me in the outside world, and I can do a hell of a lot better than some bent paper.”

“But I don’t need you to. This was so thoughtful.” She held up a finger. “I’ll be right back.” She took the origami with her and disappeared into the bedroom, returning less than a minute later with just a small bag in her hand. “I was going to give this to you later, but now feels like the right time.”

“You didn’t have to do this.”

“I wanted to.” She smiled again. “When you were in the shower, I wandered into the gift shop downstairs. At that point, they were pretty much sold out of everything, except this. When I saw it, it made me giggle and immediately think of you.”

I took the bag from her and pulled out a small wooden bear from inside, just big enough to fit in my palm, the etchings and markings done by someone who was outstanding at woodworking.

“According to the salesclerk, Banff is known for its grizzlies and black bears, so this will be the perfect memorabilia from your trip here.” Her smile grew. “But why it made me giggle and think of you is because, until you, I’d never met a man who roars.”

“I roar?”

“Oh, yes.” Her eyes widened. “When you’re teasing my body. When you’re inside it. And it’s loud.”

I was surprised by what she was telling me. She was the first woman who had ever mentioned anything like that, which made me think that sound was just for her.

“You did good, Rowan.” I set the bear on the side of the table. “This little guy is going on my desk at home.”

She laughed, her expression so fucking beautiful.

“Now that the gifts are out of the way, I want to know more about you.” I took one of the shrimps from the metal bowl of ice and dipped it in the cocktail sauce. “Tell me something. Something everyone in your life knows but me. Something I’d never guess. And something no one knows about you.”

She nodded toward the appetizer. “I don’t eat shrimp.”

I laughed. “My first wrong guess.”

She bit half of a fry and chewed. “My family would tell you I’m sensitive. That my heart is the reason why I ended up selling my business. The weight of carrying employees and angry customers was too heavy on me. That I took it all in and it became too much. That’s not the truth.” She lifted her knife and cut her burger in half. “The truth is, I saw a hole in their company, and I knew what I could bring and how I could fill it. My family needed me, and that’s why I sold. Because honestly, I could have dealt with bashing customers and difficult employees for the rest of my career, and it wouldn’t have bothered me.”

“Most people wouldn’t give up their dreams to help someone else. That’s admirable, and it says a lot about your character.”

“Or it’s extremely stupid.”

“Only you can decide that.”

“At this very moment, I’m going to say I don’t know.” She chewed off the corner of her burger, moaning a little. “This is better than it looks.”

“Yeah?” I glanced down at the plate, the juice from the burger oozing out. “Because it doesn’t look very good.”

“It’s going to surprise you. The swiss cheese and mushrooms really make it.” She wiped her mouth. “Just like I’ve surprised you.”

I glanced back up at her. “You have.” I paused. “In ways I wasn’t expecting.”

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