He really, really wanted me to do this. “Where will I stay?”
“I’ll have a Keep apartment ready for your use, stocked and ready to go.”
“And a salary?”
He spit out a number that made me blink a few times.
“For three days a week?” I gawked at him.
“Do you want more?”
“Why do you want me so badly for this? There must be a thousand other people more qualified.”
“Of course there are.”
I blinked at his quick agreement, ignoring the stab of hurt.
“But I don’t know any of those people.” He turned away and walked over to the window, watching Evie. “I don’t trust any of those people.”
“Ethan. You don’t trust me either. We don’t know each other.”
The side of his lip curled. “Don’t we? You trusted me when you were in an inebriated state. I trusted you to watch out for the one woman who might save us all.”
He spoke of the night when Evie claimed the Lords’ lands to purge the poison seeping in. Ethan had given me cashmere and brought me food while I sat with Evie as she worked, ensuring no one would take advantage of her vulnerability.
“I will do whatever makes you comfortable, Moira. Write out a contract. Put whatever you require in there. More than likely, I will agree to it all.” His fists clenched at his sides. “Evie is waking up. We won’t have much longer to speak freely.”
Ethan turned and studied me. “You remind me of someone. A person I trusted very much. Maybe you won’t be successful.” He shrugged. “Maybe this won’t work out. How will we know until we try?”
He was so serious about this it made me pause. Ethan would break my heart. I knew it. Maybe he knew it, too. But I wanted to help him. I just didn’t want to leave everything behind to do so.
Ethan exhaled and turned back to the window. “She’s getting up.”
“I’ll think about it,” I said softly. “That’s all I can promise.”
His shoulders slumped. “Thank you.”
Evie knocked on the back door and waved.
Chapter
Twenty-Three
“You two looked serious,” I remarked.
Cernunnos had just dropped us off on Thorvin’s land. The Lord briefly greeted us, thanked me for my help, and hurried back inside. Thorvin was a weird one. He seemed like a decent enough dude, but half the time his head was in the clouds.
I almost felt bad about the time Moira glittered him. Almost.
Moira shrugged. “Ethan is intense.”
Yes, he was. I watched her for a moment. “You’re going, aren’t you?”
“Maybe.” She let out a heavy sigh. “But I won’t live there. And I guess I need to ask Rowan if it’s okay.”
My brow furrowed. “Why would you need to ask Rowan?”
Moira leaned against one of the oaks dotting Thorvin’s property. “I don’t know. I live on Keep property. Will it be weird for me to go between them?”
