He gave my hand a small, coaxing shake. There was something a little pleading at the corners of his mouth.
"Don't be angry. I have a surprise for you. Call it an apology."
I lifted an eyebrow.
"What surprise. And so we're clear,if it's lazy, I'm not accepting it."
He refused to tell me, only smiled and asked Rowan for the car.
We drove almost an hour. The road climbed and climbed until the city had fallen out of sight behind us and we stopped at the foot of a small mountain. He took my hand and led me up the stone steps. The wind on my face carried the scent of something sweet and growing.
When I came around the last bend, I stopped breathing.
The mountainside was on fire with red roses. They covered the slope from foot to crown, blooming in heavy waves that moved in the wind like a
