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through the sand. El’s eyes softened with pity.
    “Oh, I’m so sorry.”
    Rogan shrugged again.
    “It’s okay. My da died when I was only eight. Mom… about four years ago. That was a little harder.” Rogan fiddled idly with a rock in the sand then tossed it toward the water. El reached out and placed her hand gently on his.
    “That’s a terrible loss for you.”
    Rogan shrugged off her concern, forcing a layer of stone to wrap around his heart, keeping in the painful memories contained in his depths.
    “Yeah, thanks. I’m over it. So what about you? You have parents or just a personal assistant?”
    El laughed at that, rolling her eyes.
    “Oh no, I definitely have parents.”
    “You don’t sound too thrilled about it.”
    “Things are just a little….tense right now. We don’t really see eye-to-eye. They just want me to be something I’m not.” She sighed and looked up to the sky. “It’s hard to explain, I guess. They had this specific idea of what they wanted from me and I don’t think I’m anything close to it.”
    Rogan smirked, thinking of the constant look of worry and frustration in Lorena’s eyes. He definitely wasn’t living up to any of his aunt’s expectations. One more thing they had in common.
    “Yeah, I know how hard that is. But you should be happy you still have them. Living without them is a lot harder.”
    He was suddenly aware of how close she was to him. He could feel the warmth of her skin bridging the space between their arms and the sensation sucked the moisture from his throat—as if her mere presence extracted the life force right out of him. He retrieved a flask of water from his back pocket and took a swig, then offered it to her, pausing as the shimmer of her emerald eyes ensnared him.
    “So will you always grow grapes then?” she asked as she accepted the flask, breaking his trance. Rogan thought about it. Would he? He shrugged.
    “I guess so. I’ve never really thought about doing anything else. The farm—the vineyard—it was my father’s and his father’s before. It wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t keep it going. Ari—that’s my sister—she doesn’t exactly have an interest in getting dirt under her nails.”
    “What about your uncle?”
    “Jasper’s part owner; he’s been running things since my da died, but he’s not really an Elwood. He’s family, but not blood—married to my mom’s sister. Besides, they don’t have any kids of their own. So in the end, there’s no one it should really go to other than me.”
    “It’s nice that you keep your father’s memory alive.”
    He shrugged, beating back threatening emotions. Even after all this time, it was hard to talk about his father.
    “So what about you? You still in school?” He switched the focus to her. She nodded.
    “I’ll be finished this summer. I attend a…private school outside the city.”
    “Figured as much,” Rogan laughed. “So then what? Big plans to run off and marry the Emperor of Suell?” He teased. El seemed to study him for a moment, and then her face relaxed.
    “Oh, I’ll take over the family business as well,” she said with a resigned nod. “Not a lot of choice in the matter on that one.”
    “And what’s that, leader of the new world?”
    A coy smile crept over her and she brushed a few rogue strands of fiery hair from her cheeks. Rogan felt the space between them bubble with energy as she cocked her head and shifted her weight ever-so-slightly closer.
    “Something like that.”
    “Well, keep me in mind when that happens,” he said with forced breath as he tried to ignore the butterflies tap dancing in his chest.
    “I just might.” She smiled and turned her attention to the waves.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

 
    CHAPTER 6
    Three months later
    Since the first day he had helped a haughty, naïve little girl with a twisted ankle up the cliff, something had taken over inside of him. It was something in the way his eyes took in her