Chapter 4 #2
“Hmm.” I touched the silky soft petals. “How about I do it for you? I’ll need to get some information from you about how you bred the new cultivar and probably some other things, but I can register it in your name.”
He shook his head. “Register it in yours.”
My jaw dropped. “Rowan. That’s—”
“I insist. My name can’t be tied to this, but you’re right. I’d rather it belongs to someone I trust than someone looking to get rich.”
I stared down at the plant. “Something this stunning deserves to be shared. What do you think about me carrying these in the shop?”
Something flashed in Rowan’s eyes a moment before a smile tugged his lips up. “I wish we’d met first.”
My heart did a little flip. “We do make a good team,” I acknowledged.
Rowan tugged at a lock of my hair that had escaped my messy bun. “You think these would sell?”
I snorted. “Like frigging hotcakes.”
He laughed. “Alright then. Let’s do it. You take eighty percent.”
My stomach lurched. “What? No. Absolutely not. This is your cultivar. I’ll take five.”
“Nope. You’re doing all the legwork to get it registered and caring for all the cuttings and doing all the sales. Seventy.”
“Rowan. No. You are terrible at business.”
The Lord laughed. “I’m not, but I like you and never thought something like this would be worth anything. It’s a hobby, after all. Fine. Fifty-fifty. Final offer.”
My eyes narrowed. I hoped he met someone who understood just how giving and generous this man was. “How about I give you sixty percent, I take ten, and the other thirty goes into a scholarship fund for botany and horticultural students who maintain a B+ average in school?”
Rowan blinked in surprise. “I—Dammit, Evie. Think I could take Caelan in a fight?”
“Let’s not find out. So how about it?” I held my hand out. Texas has a ton of good colleges, but so does your territory. Any preference on a college?”
“None.” But he didn’t shake my hand.
“Rowan,” I groaned. “It’s a good deal.”
“It’s a great deal, but I have a counteroffer. I take thirty, you take twenty, then we put fifty into that scholarship.”
I wouldn’t get a better deal. “Sold.”
We shook, Rowan’s callouses sliding over my equally work-roughened hands. I’d taken too much time off and my hands had paid the price.
“Deal.” Rowan wandered over to the couch and sat down. “There are a couple more goodies in the box, but that’s not the main reason I’m here.”
I followed, laying a hand over my chest. “I’m wounded to my very soul that you didn’t make a special trip from the PNW out to see little ol’ me.”
He grinned. “Sit, Miss Sassy Pants.”
I settled opposite him. “Is the world ending? Because I just got back to work and that would be a real bummer.”
“Not quite. I’ve just come from Caelan’s, and he asked that I pop by here to warn you. He’s caught up in meetings all day.”
“Warn me about what?”
“The Council is pissed about Donovan, and I smelled your magic all over his territory. Want to tell me what went down?”
My cheeks colored. “Erm. How about the highlights?”
Rowan grinned. “From Caelan’s preening, I take it things went well that night?”
“Shut it.”
He threw his head back and let out a bark of delighted laughter. “About time.”
I rolled my eyes and started the tale, leaving out all the things I couldn’t tell him. When I finished, Rowan’s eyes had narrowed, a hint of gold shining in his hazel irises. “You’re leaving a lot out, aren’t you?”
“I told you everything I could so I could leave it at PG-13.”
“Hmm. You took out two Chimeras all by yourself?”
“With help.”
He didn’t say anything for a long moment. “And Donovan?”
I wasn’t sure what Caelan had told Rowan, so I stayed mum.
“Evie,” Rowan growled. “If the Council grills you, silence will sign your death warrant.”
I snorted. “They can try.”
The Lord sighed and dropped his head in his hands. “Why do I even try to reason with you?”
“I appreciate you trying,” I said sweetly.
“Look. Caelan already accepted responsibility. He said you had nothing to do with it.”
“Donovan was trespassing on his territory and betrayed his office by consorting with divinity in an effort to destabilize his rule.”
Rowan’s lips twitched. “How quickly you’ve caught onto politics.”
I sipped my coffee. “It’s because you lot won’t leave me alone.”
“That, my dear, is because Caelan won’t leave you alone. His fascination with you tipped his hand.”
I didn’t agree with his assessment completely. “And yet, you Lords couldn’t stay out of his business.”
Rowan’s grin was not wolfish. It was… My eyes narrowed. “You aren’t a wolf, are you?”
“A man never tells his secrets,” he said primly, eyes twinkling.
“Are any of you wolves?” I’d been around Soren, Rowan, and Caelan the most, but Caelan had never kept his animal a secret.
“I won’t spill the other Lords’ secrets, either.”
“Dammit, Rowan. What good is a Lord friend if you won’t gossip with me?”
He laughed and stood. “If it helps, Caelan has instituted strict rules about visitors, especially other Lords, coming into his territory.”
“Does that mean you can’t come see me at will anymore?” The thought of it made me sadder than I expected. I liked Rowan. A lot. While I wasn’t as close to him as Moira and the others, I felt like we would be if we kept spending time together.
He reached over and cupped my chin. “Aw, Evie. You break my heart.” Rowan shook his head.
“You can come see me whenever you want. Caelan locked his territory down. Any time I want to visit, I have to jump through hoops.” He grinned.
“Though I will say he’s made those hoops infinitely worse for the others. ”
“Maybe I will come see you.”
“Good.” Rowan went over and unloaded the rest of the box, tucking it under his arm. “Don’t be surprised if the Council calls you as a witness after what happened with Donovan. Is there a way to undo what you did to his territory?”
I cringed. “If I knew how, I would.” As it were, his territory was calling me, its tug something I found difficult to resist. Soon, I’d have to drive up there and walk Donovan’s land, or mine, I should say, no doubt complicating Caelan’s relationship with the other Lords.
His eyes widened. “Shit. You claimed it, didn’t you?”
A pained expression crossed his face before he let out a bark of laughter. “No.” He held up a hand. “Don’t answer that.”
I pressed my lips together.
“Does Caelan know?”
All I could offer was an awkward smile.
Rowan shook his head. “I’ll say this about you. Caelan has never been on his toes this much since he stepped into this shop.”
“I was happy living in floral obscurity,” I said primly.
Rowan leaned over and brushed a kiss against my cheek. “Keep telling yourself that.”
With a shake of his head, he opened the front door. “I’ll hold you to your promise to visit.” He winked and headed out.
I locked the door behind him and picked up the broom, thinking about Caelan and the complications I’d brought into his life.
“Ha,” I muttered to myself. “Serves him right. I told him to leave me alone.”
But even as I said it, I didn’t believe it. Having him around felt like slipping my arms into a cozy shirt right out of the dryer.
Warm and comforting.
Except when it wasn’t.