to do with her.
Cassie either ignored her or made little jabs at her expense, not quite obvious enough for Inzen to pick up on although he obviously sensed the tension between the women. Both he and Mekoi tried to steer the conversation in a neutral direction, but by the time the evening ended, Jade’s head pounded and her jaw ached from the fake smiles.
It only got worse when they returned to the cottage. Lily had been thrilled to play with the other little girls, but by the time they got home, she was tired and cranky. She didn’t want her bath, she didn’t want to put on her nightgown, and she definitely didn’t want to sleep in her own room.
“Sleep wif Dada!” she wailed as Inzen gave Jade a helpless look.
“Fine.” What was the point in arguing? She hated to see her daughter unhappy, and the long, emotional day was catching up with her. “I’ll sleep in Lily’s room.”
She half-expected Inzen to object but he only studied her face and nodded solemnly.
Now, here she was, alone on a narrow bed and unable to sleep despite her exhaustion. She wished she was snuggled against Inzen’s big body but all she could do was hug her pillow. It was a poor substitute but as she finally started to drift off to sleep, she allowed herself to hope that tomorrow would be a better day.
Inzen stared at the ceiling of his room as Lily mumbled in her sleep. He was delighted to be reunited with his daughter, but this was not how he had expected to spend his first night as a mated male. When he had shown Jade the bedroom earlier, he saw the speculation in her eyes and caught the sweet scent of her arousal when she leaned towards him. But then when he was trying to handle Lily’s tantrum, she had abandoned them both to sleep in Lily’s room. Was she still reluctant to sleep with him after his betrayal?
As much as his body—and his heart—longed for her to join him, he wouldn’t rush her. He would wait for her to come to him in her own time. In the meantime, he would do whatever he could to make her happy. As he listened to his daughter—their daughter—settle into slumber, he began to make plans.
The first one he announced at breakfast the next morning. Lily had regained much of her normal good humor, but she still clung to him and avoided Jade. He could see how much it hurt his mate, but he knew it would take time for the little girl to accept her.
“I talked to Cassie, and I thought perhaps you would like to work in the shop with her in the mornings.”
“What about Lily?”
“I will watch over her.” The uncertainty in her eyes pained him but he understood her fears. “I promise we will be right here in the house or the garden. It would give you an opportunity to earn some credits of your own,” he added when she started to shake her head. “Of course you are welcome to everything I have, but I suspect that you would be happier with your own income.”
“Cassie agreed to it?” she asked doubtfully.
“She did.” Eventually.
He and Lily had gone to see Cassie before Jade woke up.
Cassie’s first objection had been that she had no money to pay for additional help.
“I thought the shop was doing well?” he had asked.
“It was. At first. But business has started dropping off and I’m not sure why.”
“It just takes time, Cassie. And you know I am happy to support the shop as long as necessary.”
He had plenty of credits put aside and no qualms about spending them on either of his daughters. Or his mate.
“I will reimburse you for her salary,” he promised.
“Does she know anything about clothes? Or sewing?”
“She is a very talented seamstress,” he said. When Cassie scowled, he immediately realized he had made a mistake, but he would not deny his mate’s talent.
“I guess she can work for me,” she finally agreed, but Inzen could tell she wasn’t happy.
He decided not to share their conversation with Jade. They were both intelligent, caring women. Hopefully, spending more time together would bring them closer.
Chapter Sixteen
Jade scowled out into the townhouse garden and wondered yet again why she had agreed to this arrangement. Her first few days working with Cassie had proved to be an unmitigated disaster. Her distrust was so extreme that Jade would have assumed the woman was in love