"I'm happy to be at this house," I said, picking my words carefully, "but this is as much my home as anywhere else could be home."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, when I found this house, I thought this became my home. It was mine. I owned it. I put my things in it. But that doesn't mean it’s the only place I could call home. Home is wherever I choose, being with the people I choose. So long as I have that feeling, I could make my home anywhere. I don't need to search for something I already have."
"So what are you saying? You don't want to spend some time traveling? You want to change our plans?"
"I'm saying that I could make some changes. I can come back here anytime. I won't miss Annalise's baby growing up. I can see my friends. I can work remotely, or even shimmer into The Amethyst offices every day. We could vacation here. We could spend more time with you at your home..." My voice rose with the happy possibilities.
"My house is a house, it's not a home," cut in Evan. "It's the place where I run my business; and I can do that anywhere."
"If you don't want to go home, we could go anywhere else," I replied, looking up at him, a strange bubbling uncertainty mixed with excitement building in my chest. The possibilities were endless. We could go anywhere. We could build a life anywhere.
Evan tucked me against him, his arm circling my shoulders. "Isn't that the purpose of this going away party?" he asked. "Have you decided where you want to go?"
"Anywhere."
"Anywhere?" he asked, a trace of scepticism running through the word.
I nodded. "Anywhere." I meant it. The world was huge and I had seen very little of it. I saw too much of the bad side, and I wanted to see all that was beautiful and good. I wasn't walking away from anything; I was starting a new adventure with the man I loved and planned to spend my life with. For so long, I searched for home, growing desperate to find a place that deserved the honour of calling it home. I thought I'd found it in Wilding. It was a lovely house, and it would always be there, but I knew now that it wasn't the only place I could call home. Home was where I chose, and where I wanted to be; and I wanted, more than anything in the world, to be with Evan. I pressed myself against him, relishing the familiar flickering flames that arose from. Instead of fear at shimmering this daemon way, I savoured the heat, infusing it with my own power. "Anywhere with you."
"Do you think they'll mind if we don't show up at our own going away party?" he asked.
I listened to the happy voices outside, and the laughter. Someone was singing along to the stereo. It sounded like Daniel. I had no idea he could sing so well. Kitty joined him a moment later, then Astra too, the three of them belting out a popular song. "No."
The heat rose a degree. "And how about that other question?"
I looked up at him. His brows knitted together in expectation. I didn't need to ask which question. He asked it right before we packed, and I had to answer it one way or another. I couldn't make him wait... or me, any longer. "Yes," I whispered, as we dissolved into fire and air, ready to shimmer. "I'll marry you."
About the author
Author and journalist Camilla Chafer writes for newspapers, magazines and websites throughout the world. Along with the Lexi Graves Mysteries, she is the author of the Stella Mayweather urban fantasy series as well as author/ editor of several non-fiction books. She lives in London, UK.
Visit Camilla online at www.camillachafer.com to sign up to her newsletter, find out more about her, plus news on upcoming books and fun stuff including an exclusive short story, deleted scenes and giveaways.
You can also find Camilla on Twitter @camillawrites and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CamillaChafer.
Other books:
Lexi Graves Mysteries:
Armed & Fabulous
Who Glares Wins
Command Indecision
Shock and Awesome
Weapons of Mass Distraction
Laugh or Death
Kissing in Action
Trigger Snappy
A Few Good Women
Stella Mayweather Series (Urban Fantasy)
Illicit Magic
Unruly Magic
Devious Magic
Magic Rising
Arcane Magic
Endless Magic
Endless Magic (Stella Mayweather Series Book 6) Page 25
