Rowan's POV
I found her the way I usually did lately, curled in the same chair near the window, a book slipping loose from her fingers, candlelight catching the particular way her hair fell across her cheek.
In previous instances, I'd left her the blanket, moved the candle and slipped quietly away, telling myself the anonymous kindness was sufficient, that staying would cross some boundary I wasn't yet ready to name directly.
Tonight, I didn't leave.
I settled into the chair across from her instead, gathering one of the books she'd left half-finished on the low table between us, and simply began reading, the manor settling into its usual nighttime quiet around us, the fire burning low and steady in the hearth.
It felt considerably more significant than the act itself should have warra
