Rowan was dangerous. Unpredictable. The kind of guy who’d screw over anyone for a dime.
“Are you all right, love?”
I looked at Briar. “Hmm?”
Worry sparked behind his glasses. “You were staring off for quite a while, and you’ve barely touched your dinner.”
“I’m okay.” I tried extra hard for a smile, which normally came so easily for me. “Just have a lot on my mind, I guess. And I’m tired. The café was super busy again today.”
“Finish your dinner, and then I’ll run you a hot bath. It’ll help you unwind before bed.”
“I like baths,” I said. “Especially when you’re in the tub with me.”
The slight tension around Briar’s eyes smoothed. “If I’m in the tub with you, no rest will be had.”
Heat swarmed my veins. “I fail to see the problem.”
He chuckled and nodded to my bowl. “You need to eat.”
The words came out gently as opposed to demanding. Unlike Maddox, who often bossed me around like a total hard-ass. A hard-ass I loved though.
One who currently chewed his food with a smug gleam in his eyes as the knights discussed how tough he’d been on them during training lately.
After dinner, Briar and Lake gathered everyone’s plates and took them to the sink to wash. When I tried to help them clean up, I was scolded and told to go sit down. So there I was, sitting down like a good boy. Trying not to jump right back up and help anyway. I hated doing nothing while others were working.
Quincy challenged Baden to a game of cards. Apparently, losing the muffin-eating contest had urged him to try to winsomethingthat evening. And it was common knowledge that Baden sucked at poker. The guy couldn’t bluff to save his life.
“Deal me in.” Maddox pulled out a chair and joined them.
Quincy’s confidence crumbled away. “Y-yes, sir.”
Maddox smirked. Looked like Quincy would be going home that night with no wins.
I watched the first game before getting up at the start of the second. Maddox glanced up from his hand of cards, his brow arched.
“Just gonna get some fresh air,” I said before kissing him on the forehead. Even with him sitting and me standing, I didn’t have to bend down much to do it. Cursed small genes. However, being small and cute had its advantages. One of them being how it allowed Maddox to throw me over his shoulder and toss me around like a rag doll—both in and out of bed.
“Wait.” Maddox stood and retrieved the cloak he’d draped over the barstool earlier when coming home. He secured it around my shoulders. “Wear this. It’s chilly tonight.”
I rose up on my tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. “How chivalrous of you, my dear knight.”
He did thatthing,then, where he stared at me in silence and brushed the backs of his knuckles along my jaw. Maddox was a man of few words, but he always spoke the loudest when saying nothing at all. The action said he adored me. And fuck, I adored him too.
The cloak was kind of heavy, but I welcomed the weight of it as I headed toward the back of the cottage. It was like a weighted blanket that helped people with anxiety. As I passed the kitchen, voices snagged my attention, and I paused in the hall.
“Evan isn’t taking care of himself,” Briar said. “It worries me.”
I crept closer and peeked around the archway to see him and Lake at the sink. Lake washed the dishes, and Briar dried and put them away.
“I’ll make sure he rests more tomorrow,” Lake said. Suds covered his forearms as he scrubbed a bowl.
“I feel the only way you’ll manage that is by strapping him down.” Briar sighed and accepted a bowl from Lake. He dried it off and added it to the stack of others. “I know I’m not one to talk, seeing how I do the same, but he’s working too hard without giving his body time to rest. He’s lost weight too.”
I have?I glanced down at my belly and patted it once.
“Something’s weighing on his mind.” Lake’s voice had quieted. “I feel it.”
“Perhaps it’s the kidnapping?” Briar handed Lake a rag to dry his hands. “Evan says he’s fine, but I don’t think he truly dealt with it. He did what he does best and put on a smile so wewouldn’t worry about him. He could be throwing himself even more into his work as a distraction.”
