It’s like she can see straight through me to those damn butterflies. “Sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I never sleep this long.” A sheepish smile insists on taking over my lips as I collect a bowl from the counter, filling it with hearty vegetable soup. When I find brown bread still warm from the oven sitting next to a dish of smoked salmon, my heart leaps. I snag two slices on my way past, carrying everything over to the table.

My aunt stretches a hand across the table, pressing a cool palm to my forehead the same way my mother used to when I’d complain of any ailment.

It’s amazing how something so small and seemingly insignificant can make one’s eyes burn.

“You do feel a little warm,” she muses. “Hopefully you aren’t coming down with something. I hear Mrs. Willis’s youngest has had an awful fever for the last week.”

Since I have no clue who Mrs. Willis or her youngest are, I assume I haven’t caught whatever ails them.

If my family knew with whom I spent my night, they’d probably blame Everett for my lie-in and insist I bathe to keep the warts away.

The memory of how small my hand looked in his when he used his water to heal me sends my stomach fluttering anew.

This is a big, big problem.

Nia taps her spoon against her smirking lips. “Another dress arrived from Madame Ella this morning.”

Hopefully this one fits. The skirt on the last one was far too long.

“And one of your admirers left something for you as well,” she singsongs over her soup.

The prospect of a charming prince or a handsome scholar dropping off gifts doesn’t excite me as much as it should.

Unless one of them brought desserts. Now, that sounds enticing.

Nia nods toward the solitary silver flower in the vase by the ice box.

“That’s from Ronan.” A heaviness that feels a lot like disappointment spreads through my chest. Perhaps I am coming down with something.

Nia’s smile widens. “Nolan says that he has never heard of Ronan Reve giving anyone flowers before.”

“You should consider yourself very lucky, Kerris,” my aunt says with the barest hint of a smile. “Many women would kill to be in your position.”

I should consider myself lucky, except…

A pair of dark eyes flashes through my mind, and my heart pinches at the memory of Everett so gallantly crossing the border simply to escort me home. I’m dying to tell Nia, but that would mean admitting to breaking my promise. They say all’s well that ends well, but I’m not entirely sure that would be the case here.