Penelope POV
"You are really not worried people will believe there is something going on between us?"
I keep my voice flat. I do not look up from my teacup. The rose tea is hot, burning my tongue, but the pain keeps me steady. We are standing in the centre of the Governor's Estate garden. The air smells like wet soil and old money.
Kael does not stop what he is doing. He holds a pair of silver shears in his right hand. He snips a thick stem. The sound of the blades cutting through the wood is loud. Sharp. Like a bone snapping.
"Worried?"
Kael turns around slowly. He holds a single red rose between his fingers. The petals are thick. They are covered in heavy drops of morning dew. He walks toward me. His boots crunch against the gravel path. One step. Two steps. Three steps. He stops ri
