"No. I'll manage on my own. Thank you," I added, not looking behind me as I shut the door on the bedroom, alone in Hunter's beautiful marble bathroom. I sighed at the ensuing silence. Yes, this was better. I needed to retreat and order my thoughts again. It was too impossible to keep my head straight when surrounded by the three of them.
And worse, there was something exciting about the past twelve hours, about the lot of them fussing over me, fighting and cooperating, crowding me.
Being alone made more sense.
Moods had settled again, theirs and mine, by the time I found them in the dining room. Hunter had left another outfit for me, this one a simple, pretty sky blue blouse with embroidered vines running down the buttons and purple blooms at the collar. There was a dark blue skirt and jacket to match in a lovely, thick twill. I dressed slowly. My hand was still healing, but I'd taken the bandage off and cleaned it thoroughly. As long as I was careful, it wouldn't bleed again.
Hunter smiled brightly as I met them in the outfit he'd left for me.
This is the man who might give you a life outside of the theater, I told myself, smiling shyly back at him.
But as much as I tried to avoid the urge, my gaze trailed down the table to Ronan and then to Nireas. Ronan surprised me with a gentle smile. No hard feelings, then, for me walking away earlier. And Nireas was only studying me, all the passion from last night's moment on the stage hidden away once more. It was what I wanted, but it made breakfast taste bitter on my tongue.
Make up your mind, I told myself. But it was my heart's decision I was growing wary of.