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each other’s hackles up.”
    The other woman grimaced. “He hasn’t been a very good patient from the get go. His mother called in Ren and Cami time and again for help, and all the other Velvet Lemons kids tried too, but none of us have been able to keep him content and quiet for long.”
    “Perhaps it’s a sign that he’s healed.” Rose didn’t want to talk herself out of an employment check, but she had to be honest.
    The kettle whistled, and Cilla prepared two mugs of tea, then handed one to Rose. “How much do you know about his accident?”
    “Uh…that he was in one?”
    “Men.” Cilla sighed. “I should have known Ren would leave out the salient points when he called you. I’ll have to give him a piece of my mind about that.”
    Rose grinned. The man had a dark and dangerous air that she couldn’t imagine responding well to a lover’s scolding. “Oh, I’m sure that will be effective. Once suitably chastised, I’m certain Ren will sit, worshipful, at your feet.”
    Cilla laughed. “Ren is never suitably chastised.”
    “Worshipful?” Rose asked.
    The other woman had one dimple which dug itself deep. “In only the naughtiest kind of way.” Then she sobered. “Payne was driving a Formula E car when he crashed.”
    Rose blinked. “Formula E?”
    “Like a Formula 1 car, those sleek, low to the ground vehicles, but it runs on electrical power.”
    “Oh.”
    “He was going one hundred fifty miles per hour during a practice run when another racer clipped him. It popped off his right front wheel which sent him into a skid. When he hit a barrier, the car flipped into the air, then landed upside down.”
    Rose’s fingers tightened on her mug. “Oh my God.”
    Cilla looked down at her tea. “I only watched the video footage of it once. That was one too many times, I’ll tell you.”
    “I had no idea.”
    “He was left with lots of bumps and bruises, a collarbone broken in four places, a concussion. Worst of all, he had internal bleeding.”
    Rose’s glance darted in the direction of the living room. A sudden urge to see Payne, touch him, ensure he was alive and whole, nearly overwhelmed her. She forced her back against the countertop, anchoring herself there so she didn’t dash to him and then do something stupid like run her hands all over him.
    That wouldn’t be the least bit businesslike.
    “What—” She had to swallow to lubricate her dry throat. “What did they do about that?”
    “Opened him up.” Cilla sipped her tea. “They found his liver was badly torn. He nearly died on the operating table.”
    He nearly died on the operating table.
    Rose felt a wash of cold sweep down her back. “But…but he’s okay now.”
    The other woman nodded. “He’s recovering well. But he needs to take it easy. Not overdo until the doctor clears him—we hope in just a few more weeks.”
    “Ren asked me to help out with light housekeeping, cooking. To drive him to his salvage yards and let him put in some hours working if he feels up to it.”
    Cilla nodded. “That’s right. We considered splitting up the duties amongst all of us—trading days or tasks—but we thought he’d respond better to someone outside of our tribe.”
    Rose grimaced. “I’m not sure how well he’s responding to me.” Guilt poured into her as she thought about how she’d goaded him both yesterday and today.
    “Don’t coddle him,” Cilla said. “He’d hate that. But he must be made to rest and then you might need to find a way to…entertain him.”
    Before Rose could think up an appropriate response, Ren stuck his head into the room. “Ready, Cilla? I have a meeting in my office in an hour.”
    “Sure thing.” The woman placed her mug in the sink and crossed to Rose. “You can do it,” she said under her breath. “These rock princes just require a little patience.”
    Rose might have questioned that a little further, but Cilla was already gone and Payne now sauntered into the room. She crossed to the