Page 85 of The House Guest

Dorian: There have been two additional fire alarms after the one I set off trying to cook for you.

Primrose: I guess some things don’t change.

Dorian: Nope. Still burning stuff, despite those lessons we took together.

Primrose: I’ve gotten better at it. I guess that’s what happens when you’re responsible for keeping another human alive and you don’t want her eating crap all the time.

Dorian: Makes total sense, yeah.

After a few moments, I typed again.

Dorian: She turned around and waved at me.

Primrose: Rosie?

Dorian: Yeah. It was cute. She obviously has no idea what a troublemaker I really am.

Primrose: She’s very trusting. It’s something I have to keep an eye on.

Right. Definitely no reason to trust me. Especially since the sole purpose of my being in town is to see if I can steal you away for my own happiness. And fuck everyone else. God, I’m despicable.

Primrose: Anyway, I just wanted to check in. I felt bad that I couldn’t say hello to you and Benjamin.

Dorian: Please don’t worry about that. Despite the surprise, it was nice to see you and informally meet your daughter.

Your boyfriend, not so much.

Dorian: I’ll see you Monday?

I prayed she still planned to come back.

Primrose: Yes. See you then.

I let out a sigh of relief and forced myself not to write back.Leave her be.

Putting my phone aside, I closed my eyes, hoping the heat from the fire would calm my foolish heart. She’d been thinking about me tonight, though I couldn’t let that go to my head. Any false hope at this point could very well wreck me in the end.

But the more I tried to think about something neutral, the more my mind kept returning to what happened today and her daughter’s angelic face.

Rosie, you should’ve been mine.

CHAPTER 23

Primrose

Casey stopped in the kitchen before he left for work Monday morning.

“Any plans today?”

The spoon I’d reached for to stir my coffee slipped out of my hand. I couldn’t bear to lie to him, so instead I asked, “Didn’t you say you have something after work today?”

“Yeah. A staff meeting. They’ll be providing dinner. So I’ll be home late. You girls eat without me.”

“Okay. Sounds good. I’ll make something for Rosie and me that I know you don’t like.” I smiled. “Have a good day.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You okay?”

God, he’s always so perceptive.“Yeah.” I forced a smile. “Of course.”