“I live ten minutes away,” Simon says. “I’ll be here in the morning, and if you ever need me at night to take you guys anywhere, Reaper, erm, Samuel can call me, and I’ll be straight around.”

She flicks her gaze my way before looking back at Simon. “Okay, well, thank you.”

“No worries. See you both tomorrow.” He flashes me an I’m sorry glance, for dropping the Reaperman bomb, then turns and walks down the road, hands in his pockets.

“What if he wants a glass of wine, but then we need him to drive us?” Carolina asks me.

“He doesn’t drink,” I say.

“Oh. Do you?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Nothing, just you said you didn’t drink while at work, but you’re going to be at work all the time. Maybe for weeks. So that means you can’t have a drink for weeks.”

“And?”

She looks away. “Seems a long time, that’s all.”

I watch her closely. “If a person can’t go a few weeks without a drink, I’d say they might want to examine that.”

“Oh, you would, would you?” She narrows her eyes, then turns smartly on her heel, and strides up the wide steps to the front door.

Yeah, I damn well would.

I follow her and place my hand on her arm before she can grab the door to the house. “There’s a new alarm fitted. Let me get the bags.”

I grab our things and lock the car, and then I key in the code on the brand-new alarm system. It beeps twice and deactivates.

The first thing that greets me is the scent. A huge vase filled to the brim with lilies.

“Someone has good taste in flowers,” I say, nodding at them.

She shrugs. “I have some delivered twice a month.”

Getting regular flower deliveries. Fancy.

Carolina leads me into the kitchen. “I guess you’ve been here already, so no need to show you around.”

It’s not framed as a question. She must know as much from the conversation at her parents. “Yes. Your father gave me a key, so I could come and set up security.”

“That’s how you know where my bedroom is, where your room will be, and all about the alarm you’ve placed on my door.” She folds her arms over her chest and widens her feet a little.

Her stance is body language for I don’t like this.

“Yes, ma’am.”

She blows out a sharp breath. “I swear to God, cut the ma’am stuff, please?”

I raise one brow but nod. “Of course. Do you prefer Carolina or Miss Herringbone?”

“Carolina, for God’s sake. Why did that guy call you Reaper out there?”

“Joke name,” I reply.

She narrows her eyes at me but doesn’t push.

“I’ll take your bag up because I’m going to get changed.”