“I think it’s better if we wait until he comes in a few weeks. We’ll tell him then. I don’t want him to have to deal with all of this.” I was being purposefully vague because of Rowan listening to every word, but Fiona understood what I meant.

She grimaced. “He’ll be spitting tacks once he finds out.”

“He will,” I agreed. “But I can handle him being angry over the… alternative.”

“Got it.”

No one else spoke of Ansel after that, though I knew that Rowan had noted the strained interaction. As he always did. Luckily, he didn’t press me on it. I wasn’t strong enough to go down that road yet. I would at some point, but not then.

Eventually, everyone left after they assured me they could handle the bakery.

Well, everyone except Rowan.

He stayed.

Practically the entire time I was there. He went home to shower, change, check on Maggie—who was hanging with Kip. But every other moment, he was by my side, touching me in one way or another, as if he were reminding himself that I was still there.

And then when I was discharged, he waited on me hand and foot. He even left Maggie to look over me in his absence. She did not move from her spot on the foot of my bed. I’d reassured him countless times that I wasn’t going to die in his absence. He hadn’t found that funny.

Rowan had also gone to my house before I was discharged, which was evident when I got home. The place was filled with flowers and food from my friends. But that’s not what told me Rowan had been there.

It was the greenhouse off my kitchen.

The last time I’d seen it, I hadn’t really seen it at all since there were tarps up between the two spaces. I had been dying to peek, but Rowan had grumbled about a surprise, and I didn’t want to face his wrath. Beyond that, I’d wanted to be surprised.

When I laid eyes on the greenhouse—the one that looked almost identical to the Practical Magic one with the white wood, the ceiling, the light fixture, the rows of herbs and antique style drawers running along the edge of the structure—I went back on my foot and probably would’ve collapsed if it weren’t for Rowan’s arms around me.

“This isn’t a g-greenhouse,” I stuttered, staring at the space in wonder. “This is an addition to my house. You literally added another room to my house.” I turned to Rowan. “How did I not notice this?”

He was grinning. “You’ve been distracted.”

“No one is distracted enough to not notice another room being built onto their home,” I retorted, my eyes darting around, overwhelmed by what I was seeing.

“Fiona helped with the styling shit and the herbs,” Rowan apprised me, rubbing the back of his neck.

I should’ve known Fiona was involved in this. I was surprised she’d managed to keep her mouth shut; she normally sucked at keeping secrets. Beyond that, she’d been itching to get her hands on a room in my house since I was too much of a control freak to allow her to make any decisions on my décor.