I thought about the burly, terrifying bikers she’d sent to my house. With tattoos, leather vests and their Harleys, they were imposing as all hell. And a good amount of them were incredibly handsome. Fiona had been in her element.

And they’d all turned out to be polite, good men... outside of the bedroom, Fiona let me know with a wicked grin.

“I roped my brother into coming down here for the first summer after I bought the place.” I smiled fondly at the walls, at the floors, at the things I had created with my brother. “He did the heavy lifting. And the electrical stuff.”

I missed my brother terribly for a second. Like a missing limb. Of course, the distance between us always hurt, but there were moments when I felt incomplete, like I made a terrible mistake, moving so far from him. But I’d done it because I’d had to. I couldn’t be in the same city as that woman. And for whatever reason, Ansel couldn’t leave her.

She had her hooks in deep.

“Your brother’s an electrician?” I was thankful that Rowan’s question jerked me out of my thoughts.

“He is. Got certified a few years ago. He’s back in Chicago.”

“He older?”

My lips lifted of their own volition. “By two minutes… something he lords over me any chance he gets.”

Rowan inclined his head as he regarded me, a gesture I now recognized as his way of showing he was not just listening but hanging on my every word.

“You’re twins?” he asked, surprise evident in his tone.

That amused me for some reason. “You seem shocked. Do I not seem like a twin?” I teased.

He rubbed his hand over his jaw, brushing at the thick stubble. “No,” he replied instantly. “You seem like one of a kind.”

Holy crap. What did someone say to that?

I cleared my throat, not knowing what to do with my body, so I just chugged the rest of my coffee, scalding my tongue and throat in the process.

“I’ve got to get to the bakery,” I announced, wincing at the burn.

Rowan watched me for a beat before nodding. He returned to the kitchen, not just to rinse his mug and leave it in the sink for someone else—meaning me since there was no one else—to take care of like Nathan had done with every single one of his glasses, mugs and plates. No, he rinsed it, putting it in the dishwasher.

Such a simple act of common courtesy shouldn’t have seemed so big to me. But it did. And it highlighted yet another concession I’d made for Nathan. Another way I’d given him permission to walk all over me.

Even with Rowan in my space, I retreated into my mind as I went through the motions of getting my purse and closing the house up for the day.

Maggie rubbed her head against my thigh, as if she could sense that I was spiraling. I scratched her ear, grateful to her for simply existing. I needed a dog. The companionship. The unconditional love they provided. Except I was gone from five in the morning every day. And I could not bring a dog into a bakery since that was a health code violation. So no, it didn’t make sense for me to get a dog. I would just have to make the most of this one.