Page 34 of Reign

“Adam?” I ask, turning the corner. “What are you still doing here?”

He gives me a casual smile, his crooked teeth lining his grin. “Hi, Mrs. Guerrero. I thought since I was already here for the trees, I might as well do tomorrow’s work today. I have a busier schedule tomorrow so it was better timing. I hope that’s okay? I was going to ask but I couldn’t find anyone once I was done with the lemon trees, so I just got to work.”

Of course he couldn’t find anyone because we’d all left to go to Joelle’s. Maybe he shouldn’t be here while we’re gone. Although nothing of importance is left out in the open, he still has access to the inside of the house and I don’t love that.

“Sure, it’s fine for today. That’s my fault, I should have let you know we were leaving. I’ll be sure to let you know in the future.”

He gives me another toothy grin before asking, “Mind if I grab a water from the fridge?”

“Help yourself.” I look around me and realize suddenly that Camila isn’t down here. I wonder who he was talking to as I was coming downstairs because I know I heard his voice.

Man, the stress of this situation with Mateo is really taking its toll. Nonetheless, I don’t want him to leave my sight. It’s getting close to being a reasonable time to start dinner so I start milling about in the kitchen, hoping he’ll take the hint and go back outside.

He doesn’t.

He takes a seat on one of the barstools and watches me.

“Um, Adam? Casandro is going to be home any minute and I’m not sure I can keep him from doing something aggressive if he finds you and I alone together for the second time in a day.”

“He shouldn’t leave such a beautiful woman home alone,” he says with an eerie threat to his voice.

Thank God, Camila turns the corner. “Who said she was alone?” she fires back, obviously hearing the same thing I did.

At this, Adam’s eyes light up. Forgetting all about me, he says, “I was hoping I’d see you again!”

“You could have just asked Isabel if I was here. She’s right you know; if Cas catches you in this kitchen alone with her, he’ll rip your head from your shoulders,” she confirms, walking to the island and bracing both elbows on it as she leans over to see what I’ve taken out of the fridge for dinner tonight.

She’s in a seafoam green, strappy dress that hits mid-thigh. She looks beautiful with her hair down around her shoulders but I can’t stop thinking about her scars.

“I didn’t want to be creepy,” he says sheepishly.

“News flash, you’re the gardener. Sittinginsideat the island while she prepares dinner, talking about being home alone,iscreepy,” Camila says, totally calling him out.

A look flashes across his face, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. Embarrassment, perhaps?

I place dinner in the oven to heat up while I get out a small veggie tray, chips, and dip to snack on in the meantime.

“Well,” he bites out harshly even though I can tell he’s trying to hide it, “I was going to ask if you’d care to join me on the patio. The first of the lemon buds are sprouting,” he says.

Camila cuts her eyes to me in question. “Go ahead,” I tell her, “I’m just going to heat this up. Cas should be home any minute.” I smile. “But here, take this, I know you’ve got to be starving like me.” I pass her the small plate I just made for myself.

“Thanks.”

She and Adam head for the back door and I hear him chatting happily away about how well the lemon trees are doing and he wants to plant lime trees next. Based on how sharp she was with him just a second ago, I think her excitement over his attention has diminished in light of Nikita’s tongue hitting her skin a short while ago.

I smile, shaking my head. What a weird life I live.

I hear the door to the garage open and yell out just to make sure it’s Cas.

“Hello?”

“Just me,” he calls. He sounds tired and my heart aches.

“I’m in the kitchen,” I declare, checking on the progress of the dish in the oven and then scrounge around in the freezer. I’d come across the bottle of Codigo yesterday and it sounds like he could use a glass. Cas comes into the kitchen and takes the seat recently vacated by Adam.

Always observant, he says, “This seat is warm.”

“Adam’s still here. He was just having a bottle of water before going back out.” The intermittent cloud cover was nice while we were in the pool, but as evening approaches, even more have rolled in, giving the sky a sinister gray color. It makes me want to snuggle on the couch, pour a cup of tea and watch a movie.

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