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“Move!” I yelled, trying to walk around him but not look at him, afraid he’d figure out how raw I was, how close to the surface my traitorous emotions had erupted.

“Billie…” He tried to reach for me again.

“Just move.” I shrugged him off.

He did.

I went back out and joined Luisca, picking up a trowel.

“How’s your back?” she asked, her eyes lingering on my face.

“It’s almost healed. Whatever he does seems to help a lot, not to mention he keeps wanting to redo it.”

She was barely moving, putting more concentration on me than her planting.

“It’s all good,” I said, wondering if my eyes were red or something. I should’ve waited a few more minutes, but I’d wanted to get out of that house. I’d rather crack a little in front of Luisca than completely self-destruct in front of Kaden.

“You know, it’s normal to have some bumps early on in a relationship.”

“I know.” I nodded and dug some more.

She let the subject drop, even though I caught a few more worried looks.

“It’s Chastity’s birthday tomorrow night, so we’ll all gather outside and barbecue for dinner. There’s too many people to gather in one house, so this is what we do for larger birthdays. If you don’t feel up to it, I can make excuses for you.”

“I’m invited?”

“Invites usually encompass an entire house, plus Kaden would always be invited. As his mate, it’s automatically extended to you.” She nodded over to the side. “That’s Chastity, if you don’t remember from the other night. I know you met a lot of people.”

I looked over to the youthful woman across the field. Oh yes, I remembered that one. She’d barely greeted me but seemed quite content talking to Kaden.

“I’ll be there.” No way I’d miss that party. I might not want him, but that didn’t mean she could have him. Not yet, anyway.

I dug and planted, trying to shove the fight with Kaden from my mind, put it in its little box and forget about it. None of this mattered anyway. It was a means to an end. I’d be back to normal soon, and getting stronger. I’d come up with some plan to kill Herrick, we’d find a way to get this mating undone, and we’d all go our separate ways.

When I felt Kaden walking by, I ignored his presence and went about my day.

Chapter Twenty

I got so engrossed in what I was doing that I barely realized how much time had passed until Luisca tapped my arm, handed me a drink, and motioned for me to stop for a late-afternoon break.

It was one of the nicer things about this place. At some point in the afternoon, as if on cue, everyone would stop working and relax for a little while, including Kaden.

As much as I tried to force his presence from my mind, it was still there, nagging me and telling me where he was. Earlier, he’d been back on the roof with Tiber.

Right now, he was standing not fifty feet from me, his shirt off and a fine sheen of sweat glistening. All I could think of was our esposmata night, not even a week ago.

I was pretty sure everyone was speculating on what might’ve happened, that we’d gone from the esposmata and a feast to one-word interactions.

I looked in the other direction, and yet I still couldn’t seem to stop tracking him in my peripheral vision. Chastity stopped beside him with a pitcher and a glass.

Normally he’d take his glass with a brief nod and a quick thanks. Not this time. He gave her the most charming smile I’d ever seen. I’d been on the other end of that smile. I knew what it could do to someone, let alone a woman already looking for crumbs of affection, as this woman’s return smile seemed to allude to.

“I can see where your thoughts are going, but that’s nothing,” Luisca said. “He barely pays attention to her.”

“I’m not so sure. Seems like she’s garnering quite a bit right now.”

“I don’t think he’s flirting. Or flirting back, I should say,” she added.