Page 87 of Tattered (Lark Cove 1)

“I can see you do a lot of cooking,” Thea teased, standing beside me and taking out a bottle of water.

“Me and cooking don’t mix.” Not that I’d ever really tried. “Delivery is the safer choice.” I grinned and grabbed my own water. After a long drink, I called to Charlie, who was pressed up against a window, looking outside. “Hey, peanut. Want to see your room?”

She spun around and her jaw dropped. “I have my own room?”

“You sure do. It might not be exactly how you want it, but while you’re here this week, you can get it all set up just right.” I winked at Thea. “In case you decide to extend your vacation.”

The second the words were out of my mouth I wanted them back. Damn it.

Thea’s guard went right back up. She gave me a smile—the fake one—and walked out of the room, looking to the right, then left.

“Down the hall,” I told her as I set down my water and picked up Charlie’s suitcase.

As she disappeared toward the bedrooms, the doubts I’d had on the plane returned. Maybe I shouldn’t have pushed her to come out here so soon. Maybe we should have waited until the fall.

Still, having her and Charlie in this house was incredible. Today was the first time it had felt like home.

I spent long nights at the firm, especially when I’d just been starting out. But that habit had continued and there were still times when I’d catch a few hours of sleep on my office couch and shower in the partners’ lounge.

There just hadn’t been any reason to come home.

“Which one is my room?” Charlie asked as she jogged after Thea.

“Third door on the left.”

I walked down the hall after them, passing a bathroom and my office. Mostly, I did foundation work from home when I didn’t feel like going downtown.

There were five bedrooms in this penthouse, three upstairs and two down. I’d decided to give Charlie the biggest room downstairs because it had the fewest windows. For what I’d asked my assistant to arrange, I’d needed it to be as dark as possible.

“Whoa.”

I chuckled as I caught up to Charlie and Thea. They were standing in the doorway, both wide-eyed as they took in the room.

I hadn’t had the chance to see the room since I’d ordered it done the day after I’d asked Thea to come back with me, but my assistant had sent pictures.

And tomorrow, I was giving him a raise.

“It’s like a fort,” Charlie whispered, carefully stepping inside. “The best fort ever.”

“Logan, this is . . .” Thea swallowed hard. “This is wonderful. Thank you for doing this for her.”

I stepped closer, bending to brush a kiss on her cheek. “It was my pleasure. I want you both to feel comfortable here. For whenever you want to come and visit.”

Her frame relaxed as I threw in that last part.

As much as I wanted them to stay for good, I’d pushed enough today. If I alienated her this week, I might never get her back.

I didn’t know why Thea was so resistant to being here, but there was something she wasn’t telling me. As we’d flown into the city, she’d had the same look on her face as she had the night I’d found her old Polaroids.

“Mommy, look at the trees.”

“I saw them! They’re so cool.”

The walls had been painted a dark tan, with birch trees in a lighter shade stenciled on top. Charlie’s four bedposts were all made to look like branches too, their limbs extending to the ceiling, then coming together in the middle to form a canopy.

Because the room was so dark, there was a string of golden lights that ran above the crown molding, giving the space a soft glow.

The bedding was a soft cream, the floors a deep brown wood. All the room needed were a few of Charlie’s touches, like her artwork or some books on the shelves.