Page 49 of Rejected Exile

While I'd gladly shove Kieran off my front porch again, I can't help but wonder how much of the ass he's turned into is because of everything he's been through.

Then again, if it weren't for the curse, he'd be living happily in Juniper with a new mate, completely uncaring that he hurt me. Maybe I shouldn't spare him so much sympathy.

Cat is still staring at me expectantly. "I don't want to get back together with Kieran, if that's what you're asking. But it's still awkward, me dating one of his... friends. Even though they aren't close."

"You shouldn't even factor him into your choices." Cat shakes her head as she puts another perfect white plate away in the cabinet. "Herejectedyou, Lilah."

"I know that."

"Do you? Because it seems like something changed for you the moment you found out you had a chip in your neck." She frowns unhappily. "I can't help but worry part of you is thinking that if you just get that chip out and find your wolf, you'll get to be with him, and it'll be like it never happened at all."

A spasm of pain goes through me. Pulling my hands out of the soapy water, I set aside the final clean plate, then yank up the chain to unplug the sink. Then I turn to Cat and level her with a head-on stare.

"There's nothing in this world that can make me forget what happened to me that day.Nothing."

Cat takes the last plate, wipes it off, and stacks it with the others. "But you have to admit that it's something you still want. Don't get mad at me—I've been there, girl. I just... worry."

"I know you do." Wiping off my hands, I pull my fingers through my ponytail and yank it loose, easing some of the tension at the back of my head. "I worry too, okay? It was one thing to hate him from afar. Somehow it's harder up close. Especially knowing that he's suffered without me."

"He's suffered. But it had nothing to do with you, Lilah." I wince, and she gently grabs onto my arms. "Don't fool yourself into thinking he mourned you or missed you when he hasn't said a thing about it."

In a quiet voice I tell her, "I have to believe that he cared a little. Otherwise, so much of my life was a lie that it's like it never happened."

"I know." She squeezes my arms. "He probablywassad. But don't let a man's sadness for you be mistaken for love, or sorrow, or understanding. Okay?"

"Okay." I nod sharply, and take in a steadying breath.

"Also, don't let an opportunity pass you by," she adds. "There are threeextraoridinarilyhandsome men knocking at your door on the regular, none of which ever treated you like shit. Don't ruin a good thing by pining for someone who hasn't been pining after you."

"I won't."

"Especially because ifyoudon't take them, I will." Her eyes glimmer as she takes a step back from me and moves over to the fridge. "If Finn reallyisthe one you're choosing—"

"I didn't say I'd made a choice!"

"—then I want Roarke to myself. Those blue eyes of his?" She fans herself as she grabs a bottle of white wine out of the fridge door. "Heavens, I swear he looks like a celebrity."

"I know. It's hard for me to believe he's even the same boy I knew growing up. He always used to get teased because he was such a softie."

"Knowing he's got a kind heart and a sad past just makes him that much more attractive." She grins at me over the wine glasses she pulls from the cupboard. "I'll gladly let him tell me all about his sad childhood so I can comfort him until it all goes away."

I roll my eyes at her and accept a glass of wine. "You stay away from him, cougar. He's too young for you."

"And you want him for yourself?" She shakes her head at me and pours a little more wine into her glass. "Don't get greedy, Delilah. Just because you're the only eligible female werewolf in town doesn't mean you'll get all the pack bachelors. Maybe us human women want a werewolf or two for ourselves. I've heard they howl when they come—ah-woo-wooo!"

She tips her head back to make the sound and everything, pantomiming a man's finishing thrust with her hips. I laugh so hard that I choke on my wine, cough half it out into the sink, stumble on the tile, and have to pour a new glass because I've spilled mine everywhere.

But at least, I realize as Cat and I fall into helpless giggles throughout the night, I'm finally happy.

Something I thought would never happen for me in Juniper.

* * *

The next day another order of hardware supplies comes in, and the contractor shows up unexpectedly with a few workers. A miscommunication in scheduling put him ahead of the curve—and he shows up ready to fix some of the interior walls up with new insulation so it doesn't drop down to freezing.

"I should be able to fix up the upstairs bathroom walls, and the kitchen downstairs," he tells me after a brief consult. "After that, we'll redo the exterior insulation and siding—get the house in better shape for next winter."

Meanwhile, though, we need to make space for all his men and equipment. While Roarke and Finn are already in the middle of a project in the living room, which will be free, Lance and I won't be able to work on the floors upstairs while the contractor makes small holes in the wall and sprays in insulation. That means moving ahead to a different project: landscaping the backyard.

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