"It's the stones. That's why this place has held up so well. The wood is all mostly rot, now, but the rest of it is in pretty good shape."

Malachi was walking around inspecting the whole place, making little notes in his phone. Whatever spectre of the past Rose had caught a glimpse of earlier was gone, replaced by the architect responsible for making her dreams for the place come to life. But Rose couldn't dwell on that, couldn't dwell on how she had felt liquid sunlight pooling inside her when he looked at her, couldn't dwell on that cursed corner of her heart that refused to stop hoping. There was no time for that, no space. And she had a hotel to build.

"We'll need new wood, then?" she asked quickly, following him as he walked through a particularly crumbly door.

"Yes. For the doors, the windows, trellises, railings, bannisters. All of it, really. The glass will need replacing too, most of it is broken." He paused, eyes narrowing at the particularly distasteful grafitti spray-painted on a wall. "And pressure cleaners," he added.

"Be thankful we got the needles and garbage cleaned beforehand."

"Quite the haven," he muttered, moving on to another area. "I'll get some of my people here tomorrow, work on drawing up proper blueprints. I'm guessing you don't want to renovate much, just restore?"

"The ground level should stay exactly as is," Rose concurred. "But we will have to make some changes to the upper levels, where the rooms are. It is a hotel, the rooms will have to be commercially usable. But I don't want any of the original parts ruined. I'll mail over a list of requirements per room, be sure to incorporate it all when you're drawing up the prospective blueprints."

Malachi stopped pacing, turning his gaze away from the ancient stone to look at Rose. "Noted. What else will you need?"

"The original blueprint. I want to compare them to ensure that there isn't too much being changed."

"Why, don't trust me?"

Rose looked at him, her gaze sharper than a shattered shard of emerald. "I asked for it, you will get it to me."

Malachi's lips twitched, almost as if a smile was threatening to crack through his mask of ice, before he lowered his head in a nod of assent. "What else?"

"We'll need to redo the roof—most of the shingles are missing. And I'm sure there'll be water damage on the top floor, so that will need to be looked at." Rose listed off, looking at Malachi, who was diligently noting everything down. Through the hair falling over his face, Rose could swear he was smiling. But she couldn't dwell. There was work, so much work. "The whole place will need wiring for electricity," she continued, "and a pipe system put in. But I don't want the original stone damaged, is that doable?"

"Should be. Worst case, we'll add wood panelling that goes with the furniture to hide any errant wires." He lifted his eyes from his notes, looking at her, his face schooled back into neutrality. Perhaps it had all been her errant imagination. He raised an eyebrow, stylus poised over his phone. "What else?"

Rose bit the inside of her cheek, looking around the place, trying to remember what else she needed. She walked towards a window, trying to focus on the task at hand, trying to ignore the sharp pressure of Malachi's unwavering gaze on her.

"Landscapers!" She suddenly exclaimed, whirling around. "We need the entire area scoped, we need to to see if the foundation can support a pool being dug out nearby."

"Good." Malachi said, pushing his hands into his pockets as he walked towards the main door. "I'll get it all arranged. I'll mail the blueprints over to you as soon as they're ready. Until then, you need to pick out the materials that'll be used to rebuild."

"Today?"

Malachi stopped, looking over his shoulder with half a smile. "Eager, much?"

Rose bristled, her fingers curling around the edge of the coat's sleeves. "No, I just wanted to know when—"

"Day after tomorrow," he clarified as he turned around, walking out the door. "I'll get in touch with some suppliers, arrange for a timeslot. I'm guessing any time works for you?"

"That's presumptuous," Rose muttered.

"Oh, am I mistaken?"

Rose zipped her lips shut, her footsteps slightly louder as she shouldered past him to get out of the manor. "Are we done here?" she asked, whipping around to face him once she had made her way onto the porch.

Malachi shrugged, his eyes travelling around the overgrown shrubbery, before landing on her. "For now."

-🥀-

The short winter day was already beginning to end when they pulled into the parking lot of the office. The ride hadn't been quite as silent as before, with occasional mutters and suggestions about construction and supplies filling the air between them. Strangely enough, it was the most real she had felt in a long time. The most like herself. As the engine's soft purr silenced, Rose shifted to open the door, trying to ignore the strange feel tugging at her, trying to get her to stay inside the car for a breath more. She paused for a moment as she stepped out, her eyes lingering on Malachi.

"I'll get the coat dry-cleaned and return it," she said after a beat, catching the way his eyes flicked down, and seemed to linger on her hand that was holding the door open.

"Don't bother. I have enough coats."

"Excuse me? I'm not going to just keep your coat—"

"Then you can donate it."

He dragged his eyes away from her hand and back to her face, a muscle twitching in his jaw, before reaching across the seats to grab the door, pulling it shut. Rose blinked, barely managing to take a step back as his car peeled out of the garage, leaving her standing alone in the darkening place. She didn't like how it made her feel.

The whole afternoon had gone well. They had mostly talked about the manor, sure, but there was still something warm about the conversation, something that had made him feel not quite so distant. But, as she watched his car disappear from view, that horrible chill settled back in her bones.

No.

She couldn't dwell on that. She wouldn't.

Sebastian was upstairs, waiting for her. The plans for the hotel were coming together. Her first day at work had gone pretty well. And winter was slowly but steadily melting away. These were the things she would focus on. Mind made, Rose started making her way up to her office, when her phone dinged softly with an incoming message. She swiped it open, her heart sinking as she read the text that Sebastian had sent her.

Had to leave early. A cab is waiting to take you back whenever you're ready. Sorry.

Rose stared at the bright screen for a long minute, before shoving her phone back in her pocket. Wrapping Malachi's coat tight around herself, she stormed out. Sure enough, a cab was waiting outside, but that didn't make Rose feel any better. This was a big day, and here she was, completely alone. The entire ride back, she seethed, although who the anger was directed at, she wasn't sure. Not Malachi, surely. He owed her nothing anymore. He was a stranger now, clearly. Nothing more. But not Sebastian, either. She couldn't expect him to spend his days waiting on her, trying to make her smile.

Maybe herself, then. For letting her ever greedy hopes and expectations get the better of her, for not allowing herself to get used to the emptiness.

Yes. That's who she was mad at.

Rose paid the driver before stepping out, her feet heavy as she walked towards the door. Keys jingling, she unlocked the door and stepped in.

And gasped, her hand flying up to her mouth.

Candles lit up the entire house, their flickering flames casting the entire room in a soft, golden glow. Dark red rose petals littered the floor, the table, and every free surface that she laid her eyes on. In the midst of it all, by the sofa, was Sebastian, a small smile on his face, a cake in his hand.

"I figured we should celebrate this," he said softly, walking around the table and towards her. "Our first official day at work together."

Rose could feel tears prick at her eyes.

"I tried baking a cake," he added, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. "But... I'm not sure if this turned out okay."

Rose had no words. So she did the only thing she could think to.

She covered the distance between them in a heartbeat, and threw her arms around him, face burying in his chest. She could feel the soft rumble of his laughter against her cheek, and almost melted as he wrapped his free arm around her waist, pulling her closer.

"Thank you," she whispered as she looked up at him, two drops of tears unabashedly racing down her cheeks. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Sebastian chuckled softly, leaning down to place a small kiss atop her head. "Thank you, Rose," he mumbled, his lips still pressed against her hair.

Rose leaned into him, her eyes fluttering shut as his warmth surrounded him. She was happy. Truly, genuinely happy. And she would not let it slip away this time.