“I do.”
His expression softened.
As Lake sang a lullaby in his native tongue, I focused on the inflections of his voice, the words unfamiliar but the melody calming the racing of my thoughts and allowing me to finally fall asleep.
Chapter Six
Shadows are a Boy’s Best Friend
The sea sparkled under the bright sunshine, the crystalline water giving one the impression that maybe pirates were right all along. There be treasure in those waters, me boy.Argh.
“What’s going on in that mind of yours?” Rowan asked.
“Hmm?” I looked at him.
“You’re thinking hard about something.” He poked my forehead. “What is it?”
“Oh. Pirates.”
His amusement grew. “Fancy a life as a rogue, little treasure? Your captain will be awfully sour about it. Which can only mean one thing. I approve of your plan. Let’s run away, commandeer a ship, and sail off into the sunset together.”
“It’d be quite the adventure.” I shoulder-bumped him. “But you know you’d miss Maddox too much. You’d start crying, and we’d have to turn the ship around.”
“They’d be tears of joy.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’ll get the two of you to call a truce someday.”
“Good luck with that.” He smirked and ate a roasted almond from the bag we’d purchased in the market before coming to the beach.
Lupin had said Rowan and Maddox would butt heads a lot, and they were certainly proving him right so far. The two stubborn goofs.
Sighing, I returned my attention to the sea.
With the café closed, Rowan had taken full advantage of the sunny day and whisked me away from the cottage like the thief he was. The water was too cold to even dip our toes into, but the sea in wintertime was beautiful. We’d found a place in the sand and laid out a blanket to sit, listening to the gentle crash of waves against the shore.
“I wonder what Lake’s doing.” I pressed closer to his side, loving when he didn’t shy away like he once had. Little by little, he’d let me past the walls of his dark fortress. Trusting me.
“Probably talking to his vegetables,” he said.
“I think it’s sweet when he does that. I heard him singing to the roses once. When I asked why, he said their petals looked sad.”
“The pup has a pleasant singing voice. I’ll give him that at least.”
“Just admit you like him.”
Rowan scoffed. “I’d rather eat sharp rocks. Or worse, one of your chocolate cupcakes with the grossly sweet frosting.”
“Hey!” I swatted at his arm.
A loud laugh filled the air. “So feisty. Just how I like ‘em.”
“Keep being a jerk and you won’t get any more of those spicy truffles.” The one sweet he actually liked; even if he claimed otherwise.
“Hit me where it hurts.” He sighed and kicked one leg out, bending the knee of his other. “I admit, playing chess with him was fun. Kind of. Even if he says I cheated.”
“Because you did. Lake told me all about it this morning.”
“I did not.” Rowan rolled his eyes. “Using shadows to steal his pieces and shift them around the board isn’t cheating. It’s called being strategic.”
