Chapter 123: A Good Person, an Insult, and a Shopping Trip (1/2)

"Master Caretaker. Wren. We're over here." Mara flailed her arms to get Rowan's attention from her seat at the table as if he wasn't only ten feet away looking directly at her. Her hair bounced in time with her movements, and she grinned at them both.

She and Loma had picked this cafe for lunch specifically because of the outdoor patio and because according to Mara, Rowan and Wren needed to get out more.

After all her fuss, the other diners glanced toward Rowan at more or less the same time. He still hated having their attention on him, and the press of their eyes made his skin prickle in an uncomfortable way even though he couldn't detect any animosity at all. The curiosity was much better than the disgust that used to shadow him everywhere he went, but he still didn't like it.

"It's a good thing you shouted at us." Rowan raised his eyebrows at his overly-enthusiastic part-time assistant as he and Wren approached. "I never would have found you otherwise."