Three

Gaius winced at the pain in his knees, the old arena combat injury warning that hot, humid weather was coming. Funny thing was he’d felt no pain for the last hour while Nessa was going on about her kitchen. All he’d felt then was irritation at having a spitfire of a young woman telling him how to build a damn kitchen.

She’d had such dreamy light in her eyes as she bounced through the big, empty space. She practically danced from imaginary stove to imaginary counter, waving her graceful hands and describing the whole place in such vivid detail he could easily picture it himself.

That annoyed him too. She couldn’t have known he already intended to suggest Ig move the kitchen and was dreading the wrangling he’d have to do to get the stubborn dragon shifter to see reason. Yet there waltzed in this pretty little bear who clearly had both the Hot Wings boys wrapped around her little finger, and all she had to do was smile that sweet, dimply smile and Ig caved.

He snorted as he pulled out the plans and unfurled them across a makeshift table he’d set up in the center of the empty space that’d soon be Nessa’s dream kitchen. She had a good sense of space, that was for sure. Everything she’d described had been more or less how he’d imagined the place looking, only nicer, he had to admit. Pity that her old man’s kitchen wouldn’t fit. He already knew once the new kitchen was built, the old one would likely wind up recycled for raw materials. Ig wanted a new rehab center down there and the old kitchen’s location was ideal.

He eyeballed the updated plans, making little tweaks here and there. It was far less complicated than he’d let on, and the plans for the rest of the house somehow flowed effortlessly out of that central hub.

His nose twitched and his stomach rumbled. Some delicious aroma had started to fill the room, and he lifted his head to stare at the old dumbwaiter on the far wall where the scent was emanating from.

With a growl of frustration, he packed up the plans and left. It was tricky enough having her on his mind when he was working; the distraction of her cooking would do him no good. He wasn’t due to start work until the next day and could make the rest of his calls from home.

* * *

Home. Such as it was.

He parked his little solo transport in the gravel driveway and stared up at the skeleton framework of the house he’d started almost a year ago and had yet to finish. The empty window frames stared back accusingly and he grumbled as he stalked past to the outdoor kitchen he’d constructed on his deck. The outer deck and frame of the house was more or less complete, but the interior was something he had lacked the necessary motivation to finish.

Once he’d thrown together a cold lunch, he grabbed his communicator and stared at it while he chewed. He scrolled down, searching for the number of the building supplier. Gerri Wilder’s name popped up on the little screen and his finger itched to call. It wasn’t because he was desperate. He’d only been retired from the Arena League for two seasons. After decades of single life, he was in no hurry to settle down. Being a bachelor suited him just fine.

Yet he’d given Gerri his info the very day of his retirement, then bought this land and started constructing this house the following week. The house that he intended for his eventual mate.

He growled and tossed his communicator aside. She’d call when she found someone. If she found someone.

Resolving to make his calls before dinner, Gaius dug into his meal, enjoying the cold spiced meat sandwich and the spectacular midday view—his own little piece of paradise in the mountains of Nova Aurora.

But for some reason that afternoon, the usually comforting solitude felt more like exile. After a leisurely shower under the nearby waterfall followed by a long soak in his swimming hole, he still couldn’t shake the sense of loneliness.

Later, as he climbed into the hammock strung between two posts on his front porch where he could see the stars, he couldn’t stop picturing Nessa’s troubled frown as she stared wistfully around the old kitchen. And instead of falling asleep to the sight of moonrise, he drifted off with the first image he’d had of her that day, spinning around in the garden among the flowers like some fertility goddess.