Lunch With Wolves
1767 Words
Rhea’s POV
My eyes were cutting across the room at that girl, the way she was pressed against Rowan like she had every right to be there. But Rowan didn’t waste time. He pulled free from her arms and grabbed mine instead.
My heart did a full spin. I almost turned around to make the most ridiculous victory face, but I held it together. I was Rowan Langston’s wife. Composure was the bare minimum.
“My daughter!”
Noona’s voice rang out before she was even fully through the door. She pulled me into a hug that smelled like rose water and warmth, the kind that made you melt a little without meaning to. Behind her, Rowan’s stepmother stood with a smile stretched so wide and so empty it might as well have been painted on.
“You look pale, my dear.”
Noona held my face in both hands. “Has he been treating you badly?”
The yes sat right at the back of my throat. I swallowed it down and smiled. “I’m fine, Noona.”
“Good.”
She looped her arm through mine and started pulling me forward. “Come on in everyone, our guests are waiting.”
I glanced back once. That girl was trailing behind us, close enough to be a shadow.
The house was packed. Bodies everywhere, voices overlapping, laughter bouncing off the high ceilings. The moment we walked in, heads turned. My stomach tightened.
Rowan dissolved into the crowd almost immediately, shaking hands, smiling that easy smile he never gave me, completely at home.
Noona took it upon herself to introduce me to every single person in that house. I smiled so much my cheeks began to ache.
By the time she finally let me breathe, my ankles were throbbing. I found a chair in the corner and sat down, bending to rub the soreness out.
A shadow fell over me before I could even close my eyes.
I looked up. The girl. Up close her smile was wide and bright, but it stopped just below her eyes. Nothing behind it.
“Hi, I’m Mia.”
She stretched out her hand.
I was reaching for it when she pulled it back and sat down in the chair beside me instead. I let my hand fall slowly back to my lap.
“So you’re Rowan’s wife?” she asked, like it wasn’t already obvious.
I looked around. The whole room knew. But I smiled anyway, because courtesy costs nothing. “Yeah. And you?”
The nonchalance in my voice made her stupid smile falter, and I caught it, but she recovered fast.
“I am a family friend. I basically grew up in this house.”
She said it with her shoulders squared and her chin lifted, like she was planting a flag.
“Okay,” I said.
Silence settled between us. I was fine with it. She wasn’t.
“You don’t really look like Rowan’s type,” she started again, leaning in like we were sharing a secret. “I mean, he’s always been with supermodels, actresses, women with… experience.”
She looked me over slowly, head to toe.
“You’re ordinary and plain. You can’t handle Rowan.”
I almost laughed, but patience had fully clocked out.
“Hmm.”
I tilted my head. “Since you can handle him so well, he’s right there. Go take him.”
I stood, smoothed my dress, and met her eyes one last time.
“Until then, excuse me. It was nice meeting you, Mia.”
Then I turned and walked away. Back straight, steps even. I had seen women do that in films a hundred times and always thought it was dramatic. Turns out it felt incredible.
I found the balcony and claimed it. The air outside was cool and quiet. I sat down and just breathed, letting the noise of the house fall away.
It wasn’t long before Zoe came to call me in for lunch.
The dining room was nearly full. One seat remained, pressed between Rowan and Noona. I slid into it, already feeling the weight of Mia’s stare from across the table and the practiced coldness of Rowan’s stepmother beside it.
The food arrived in waves. I was too tense to even reach for a plate, Rowan seemed to notice and helped me dish my food.
I flashed him a quick smile.
I was just starting to relax when Rowan’s stepmother set down her fork and smiled in my direction.
“It’s lovely having you back, Rhea. You look quite different and…” She paused, giving me that look of disgust“Expensive.”
“The perks of being Rowan’s wife, I suppose.” It was out before I could stop it.
A few people laughed. Her face went red.
She recovered with a smile that didn’t match her eyes. “Yes, well.” She turned to the unfamiliar faces at the far end of the table.
“You know, Rhea’s father works for Rowan. Right after the wedding, he got a promotion. My Rowan is so generous.”
I opened my mouth.
A sharp crack cut across the table, cutlery hitting porcelain. I flinched and turned.
Rowan was staring at his stepmother, his jaw tight.
“It’s a hot day and we just drove miles to get here.”His voice was low, controlled, the kind of calm that made people stop breathing. “Can you manage to not embarrass yourself at the table?”
No one moved. The whole room held still like it was waiting for permission to exist again.
His stepmother opened her mouth. Noona spoke first.
“All of you should be ashamed, bickering in front of a new family member.”
She looked around the table, and people suddenly found their plates very interesting. Then she turned to me, her hand covering mine.
“Forgive them, Rhea. Now tell me, what is it like being married to this difficult grandson of mine?”
My voice vanished. I opened my mouth twice and nothing came out. Then I just pushed through it.
“He’s mostly busy,” I started, “but he makes time. He’s not as tough as you think, Noona. He’s actually quite soft with me.”
I felt Rowan’s eyes before I saw them. I looked over.
He was staring at me with an expression that very clearly said, what the hell are you saying.
Noona burst out laughing. “I knew it. His grandfather was exactly the same way.”
Lunch resumed. Cutlery scraped, conversations restarted in low murmurs. I started to breathe again.
“So I imagine I’ll be getting great-grandchildren soon,” Noona said, still smiling.
I choked on my juice. Rowan’s hand was on my back in seconds, the other passing me a paper towel.
“Noona.” He said. “She needs to finish college first.”
“Sorry, child,” Noona said rubbing my hand.
Noona passed me a glass of water, still looking far too pleased with herself.
“Come on, Rowan,” Liam said from across the table.
He had been quiet this whole time, and I had noticed the way he kept looking at me, the same flat assessment Mia had given me. He looked nothing like Rowan. Not in face, not in energy, not in anything.
“Don’t you want to give Grandma what she’s asking for?”
Something in the air shifted. I felt it.
I reached over and looped my arm through Rowan’s before the moment could stretch any further. He stiffened briefly, then settled.
“Of course we will,” I said, looking at Liam with a smile. “We just don’t want to rush.”
Liam looked like he had a response ready. Then Rowan raised his head and looked at him, just looked, and whatever Liam was about to say died quietly in his throat.
I pressed my lips together and stared at my plate.
Composure.
After lunch, Noona swept me away to her sitting room and kept me there for hours. We talked about Rowan, about my mother, about everything in between. She showed me photos of him as a boy, all serious even then, and I laughed more than I had in weeks.
At some point, a tray of snacks appeared, then another. By the time we noticed, it was dark outside.
She was the warmest person I had ever met. If Rowan had even half of whatever she was made of, things might have been very different between us.
She walked me out and we nearly collided with him in the hallway.
“Someone missed his wife,” Noona said, delighted.
Rowan smiled at her. “Of course. And she needs to rest. I’m sure you’ve talked her into exhaustion.”
“I loved every bit of it,” I said honestly. “She told me so many good things. I’m a willing victim.”
Noona looked satisfied. “Good. Now take her, draw her a warm bath, and let her rest.”
She patted Rowan’s arm and disappeared back down the hall.
His hand settled on my shoulder as we walked. Like he wasn’t sure whether to leave it there. I didn’t say anything. I could hear my own heartbeat in the silence between us.
He opened the room and we stepped inside. He let go of me almost immediately.
“I’m sorry about lunch,” he said, not quite looking at me.
“It’s fine,” I said. “A little tension never killed anyone.”
He nodded once, then moved toward the wardrobe.
“Freshen up. Zoe will bring dinner. I’m going to catch up with some people, so leave the door unlocked.”
I was still processing when it hit me. We were sharing a room. Actually sharing it, not the careful distance of home.
“You’re sleeping here?” I asked, before I could think better of it.
He turned and walked back slowly, stopping close enough that I could feel the warmth coming off him.
“Of course.” His voice was quiet. “We’re married, remember?”
“But…” I started.
His finger touched my lips. Just the tip, enough to make me swallow my words.
“Don’t be scared.”
His eyes dropped briefly to my mouth, then came back up. “I don’t bite. And even if I wanted to, I can’t.”
He brushed my hair back lightly, the same way he had done the very first day I met him. Then he stepped away and walked out.
- Writer
