“I don’t see why not,” Aric replied, although he remained rooted to his spot. “I’d like to know how she found us first.”
Aric is suspicious by nature. I love him, but he’s a hard pill to swallow sometimes. He takes his role as my protector a little too seriously. Paris is one of the best friends I’ve ever had. Sure, we’d fallen out of touch in the last few years, but that didn’t mean she was our enemy.
“Aric … .” I kept my voice low, but the warning was clear.
“What’s going on?” Paris asked, glancing around nervously. “Am I missing something? I thought you would be happy to see me.”
“I am happy to see you,” I said. “Aric is just … tired.”
“No, Aric is not just tired,” Aric said. I can always tell when he’s serious because he talks about himself in the third person. This wouldn’t be good. “I want to know how you found us.”
“I called Zoe’s parents,” Paris replied, her face flushed. “I told them I was looking to catch up with her, and they told me how to find you guys. I … sheesh.”
Aric’s stance relaxed, but only marginally. “I’m sorry,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “I … we don’t get a lot of visitors up here. We’ve worked hard to make it really difficult for people to find us.”
“I know,” Paris said. “After you guys left Bay City I couldn’t even call you because you dropped all of your phone numbers.”
The dig was pointed. When Aric initially suggested changing our numbers I balked. He was insistent, though. Finally, I gave in. It’s not as though I’m a big phone chatterer anyway. In fact, I wasn’t even sure where my cell phone was. “I’m sorry,” I said. “It’s just … .”
“You’re in hiding,” Paris supplied, her face serious. “I get it. I didn’t realize I was on your enemy list, though.”
Her words felt unnecessarily harsh, but I wasn’t sure she hadn’t earned her anger. “You’re not,” I argued. “It’s just … Aric wants to be careful after everything that happened.”
Everything that happened … that was a nice way of putting it. After sphinxes, crazy werewolves, power-hungry witches and deranged politicians tried to kill me during my stay at Covenant College – on top of all of the sorority and fraternity nonsense – Aric and I both wanted peace and quiet. Until seeing Paris, I didn’t realize that I’d caused her any harm – or any harm to myself – in the process.
“Don’t be mad at Zoe,” Aric said, slinging an arm over my shoulders in a show of solidarity. “I pushed her into it.”
“Why?” Paris asked. “She’s not still in danger. No one even knows about the mage now that the academy is kaput. No one cares.”
“I don’t believe that for a second,” Aric countered. “Zoe is coveted by every magical being in this world. Do you know who she’s coveted by more, though? Me. I’ll do what it takes to keep her safe.
“I’m sorry you got caught in the crossfire,” he continued. “I am. I’ve always been fond of you. You’re one of the few people that can put up with Zoe’s mouth.”
“Hey!”
Aric leaned over and kissed the side of my head. “I’m sorry I didn’t give you a warmer welcome, Paris,” he said. “That’s not fair to you. You’re welcome here. You’ve been loyal to Zoe from day one. I just don’t like surprises.”
Paris smirked, her issue with Aric already forgotten if her expression was to be believed.
“Are you honestly telling me that life with Zoe Lake is boring and without surprises?”
Aric affectionately tugged on a strand of my hair. “I wouldn’t say that,” he said. “Let’s just say I don’t like surprises that don’t come from her mouth.”
“Those are the best surprises,” I said.
“They are,” Aric agreed. “Why don’t you show Paris around the property, Trouble? I’ll get dinner ready.”
“I thought you were going to force me to make the strawberry shortcake?” I reminded him.
“I’ll handle the strawberry shortcake,” he said. “You two have fun looking around.”
Aric moved toward the house, although I couldn’t help noticing he took a circular path that allowed him to scan the inside of Paris’ car before heading toward the stairs that led to our front door.
“Do you want to look around?” I asked Paris, trying to keep the smile on my face even though I knew Aric was mired in turmoil. “It won’t take long.”
“That sounds great,” Paris said, returning the smile.
We were already walking down the hill when Aric stilled me from his spot at the top of the stairs. “Zoe, don’t you even think of trying to convince Paris to help you kill those bees,” he warned. “I’m checking on those bees before I go to bed, and if they’re dead … so are you.”
“I would never do that,” I protested.
Aric lifted his eyebrows and crossed his arms over his chest and waited.
“Fine,” I conceded. “I won’t touch your precious bees.”
“I’ll see you guys in a half hour,” Aric said, pushing open the front door. “Don’t make me come looking for you.”
He said the words in a teasing manner, but Aric’s eyes were serious as they landed on Paris.
“We’ll see you in thirty minutes,” Paris said, her gaze steady as it latched onto his.
“You’d better,” Aric said and then disappeared inside the house.
“THIS is a great place,” Paris said, taking in the yard as we walked around the property. “It’s really secluded.”
Despite my belief in Paris and her intentions, Aric’s suspicious voice whispered in the back of my head. Who comments on the seclusion of a piece of land? Ugh. I’m going to kill him. “We like our privacy,” I said, gesturing toward the patio furniture surrounding our fire pit.
Paris took a seat in one of the chairs and watched as I settled in another. There was a time in my life when she knew everything about me. It seemed odd that so many things had changed in five short years. “So, what are you doing these days?”
“I work as a graphic designer,” Paris replied, rubbing her hands across her knees. She looked as nervous as I felt. “I own my own business, so I can work from home if I want – although I have an office in Grand Rapids. It’s great.”
“I didn’t know you moved to the western part of the state.”
“You didn’t bother to keep in touch,” Paris reminded me.
I sighed. We needed to hash this out. “I really am sorry about doing things the way I did,” I said. “Aric wanted a clean break. He knew that if people were looking for me they might go through you to find me.
“We thought it might be safer for you and us if you didn’t know where we were,” I continued. “I didn’t want it that way, but it’s not as though we talked that often anyway.”
“When you’re truly friends with someone you don’t have to talk every day … or even once a week,” Paris countered. “It’s still nice to have someone’s phone number in case you want to talk. Did it ever occur to you that I would be hurt when I tried calling your number and found out it had been disconnected?”
That had been the source of a rather raucous blowout between Aric and me, in fact. “Yes.”
“And you did it anyway?”
“Aric and I were building a life together,” I explained, although it sounded lame as the dwindling sun landed on my face and washed me out – ineffectual words and all. “I argued with his decisions, but I can’t argue with his heart. I know he wants to keep us safe.”
“Do you really think someone would come after you now?”
“I think people will always want to come after me,” I replied. “I worry about that every day. Aric worries about it every minute, although he doesn’t talk about it because he doesn’t want to upset me. He wants me to feel safe, and he’s worked hard to provide that.”
“Listen, I’ve known that Aric Winters was in love with you since the moment I saw him,” Paris said. “I was always his biggest cheerleader. That doesn’t
mean this isolation thing he’s doing with you is right.”
“What’s your solution?” I challenged. “Should we tell everyone where we are and wait for the locusts to descend?”
Paris held her hands up in mock surrender. “You know that’s not what I meant.”
I sighed, reining in my temper to the best of my ability. I knew she wasn’t attacking Aric, but we’d had each other’s backs for so long I couldn’t stand anyone saying anything bad about him. Well, it’s okay when I say something negative. Sometimes he’s irritating. All men are. He’s allowed to say bad things about me, too. He’ll rip someone’s head off if they try to do the same, though.
“We’re doing the best we can,” I said. “This is the life we want to lead. Do I wish I could see you more often? Absolutely. Do I wish I could see Kelsey more often? Yeah. You guys are probably safer if you stay away from me, though.
Kelsey was another former roommate I’d lost touch with. Well, not quite. We still emailed once a week. It wasn’t the same, though. I missed her face. She always looked as if she was up to no good.
“Zoe, I’m tired of staying away from you,” Paris said. “You can’t hide forever. I get that you don’t want to advertise where you guys are hiding out. You don’t have to live like monks, though.”
I smirked. “Oh, trust me, we’re not living like monks.”
“Ugh. I see you two are still all lovey-dovey.” Paris wrinkled her nose. “It was cute at first but … come on. You’re going to make me feel inferior.”
“No man in your life?”
“Nope.”
“You can come and worship mine with me,” I said, getting to my feet. “Come see the house. Aric made all the furniture with his own two hands. He’s very proud of it.”
Paris fell into step beside me. “What do you think of the furniture?”
“I love it.”
“What do you really think?”
“I would’ve paid the money at Restoration Hardware and saved the aggravation, but he likes to do things with his hands,” I replied. “The furniture is beautiful, though. I have no complaints.”
“Wow! Zoe Lake has no complaints? Are you maturing?”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” I said. “Hey, wait, do you want to help me kill some bees before we go inside?”
“Yeah, I’m trying really hard not to tick Aric off,” Paris said. “You’re on your own with the bees.”
“I knew you’d say that,” I grumbled.
3
Three
“Oh, wow, this place is beautiful,” Paris said, twirling around for a better look at the living room’s cathedral ceilings. “Seriously, I’ve never seen a house this gorgeous.”
I glanced into the kitchen where Aric worked behind the counter and saw his chest puff out. Paris still knew exactly how to play him. It was kind of cute.
“Aric designed all of this,” I offered, playing along. “He’s an architectural genius.”
“I know what you’re doing,” Aric said, waving the knife in his hand. “I’m not going to fall for it.”
“I’m not doing anything.”
“That fake innocent thing you adopt only works when we’re doing something else,” Aric warned.
“Paris doesn’t want me to talk about that,” I said, winking at him. “I was going on and on about how great you are in bed while we were outside, and she said she wanted to puke at the thought.”
Aric made a face. “I see that you’re back to being your usual charming self now that you’ve got Paris to back you up,” he said. “Just remember, you live with me. Paris isn’t going to be able to provide a buffer forever. I will make you pay when she’s gone.”
“See, you say that like it’s a threat,” I teased. “I see it as a fun bedroom challenge … with prizes.”
Aric grinned, shaking his head as he turned his attention back to whatever he was chopping on the cutting board. “You’re lucky I love you.”
Paris and I exchanged amused looks, and then she returned to admiring the house. “I have never seen furniture this … well made,” she said, running her hand appreciatively over the wooden couch. Like everything else in the room, Aric toiled over it for weeks. I picked out the cushions after he vetoed my original color choices. Everything in this room was him, though. I liked it. It made me feel safe, protected and ready to curl up for a nap at a moment’s notice. “Wherever did you buy it?”
Aric cleared his throat as he glared at me. “You put her up to this, didn’t you?”
“I am hurt and appalled that you would think … .”
“Don’t bother lying, Zoe,” Aric said. “I know you too well. You’re a horrible liar. You told her I made the furniture, and she’s praising it because she wants to make sure everything is smoothed over between us. I know how the female mind works.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You always said I think like a guy.”
Aric shrugged. “So?”
“Where did you get all of this insight into the female mind if you live with a woman who thinks like a guy?” I pressed.
Aric was caught. He knew it … and I knew it, too. That’s what he was worried about. “Crap.”
“Are you telling me that you got all your insight into the female mind from women you dated before me?” I asked. I enjoy messing with him. I could win a gold medal if they ever made it an Olympic sport.
“No,” Aric sputtered.
“Well, if you didn’t get it from the women you dated before me – all of them should be killed, mind you – then where did you get it?” I asked. “Have you been getting insight from others since we’ve been together?”
Aric knit his eyebrows together as he tried to figure a way out. “Trouble, you’re the only woman I can handle,” he said finally. “I know you’re trying to make a thing out of this so we can fight and make up later. I know how your mind works.”
“I don’t like to fight and make up,” I protested.
“Yes, you do.”
“I do not.”
Aric snorted. “You like to fight because then I’ll give you massages and foot rubs to make you feel better and soothe you so you’ll calm down,” he said. “I’m on to you. Don’t bother denying it.”
Well … that sucked. There went my massages.
“I happen to like giving you massages and foot rubs because you make these cute little moans and sighs when I do,” Aric added. “The only thing that comes out of your mouth during that time is praise for me.”
“Does that mean you’ll keep doing it?”
“Of course I’m going to keep doing it. That always ends well for me because once I’m done rubbing you … .” He trailed off, shooting me a mischievous grin as he returned to his task.
“You guys haven’t changed at all,” Paris said, grinning as her gaze bounced between us. “The only thing that has changed is that you’re in a much nicer house and Zoe isn’t insecure about your feelings, Aric.”
“Zoe never had to be insecure about my feelings,” Aric countered. “I tried to tell her that from the beginning, but she was a distrusting little thing.”
“People were trying to kill me, and I had just found out that human beings turned into werewolves,” I reminded him. “How was I supposed to take that?”
“I hoped you would trust me because I had an honest face.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever. I think I was more than fair with you.”
“Yes, I really enjoyed that year we spent apart. It didn’t hurt at all,” Aric deadpanned.
I refused to give him the satisfaction of turning around and instead focused on Paris. “You said you don’t have a boyfriend. Don’t you miss fun like this?”
“I don’t think anyone has fun like this except for you two,” Paris countered. “Why are you still boyfriend and girlfriend?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why aren’t you married?”
I froze at the question, my stomach twisting. That was another sore spot in this house. Actually, it
wasn’t a sore spot. It was one of those momentary twinges that pop up now and then. I had no idea why we weren’t married. I spent the first two years we lived together worrying that he was going to ask me, and I wasn’t going to be ready. I’d spent the last three years fretting for the opposite reason: Maybe he just didn’t want to marry me.
I risked a glance at Aric. He was intent on whatever he was chopping, but I could read the uncomfortable slope of his shoulders from ten feet away. That was the worst question Paris could have asked.
I decided to save face. “We don’t need to get married,” I said. “We’re happy. It’s never come up.”
Paris rubbed her hand against her forehead as she considered the statement. “But … you guys are together.”
“We are.”
“I was under the impression you guys intend to stay together forever,” Paris said. “Isn’t the next step marriage?”
I cracked my neck. One would think that would be the next step. I didn’t think Aric wanted to consider it, though, and I was terrified to bring it up in case he admitted he never wanted to marry me. I never thought I wanted to marry until I realized there was a real possibility Aric might never want to marry me. It was frustrating, to say the least.
“It’s not important,” I said, rolling to my feet. “I need to go to the bathroom. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Wait … what did I say?” Paris asked, her eyes cloudy. “I’m sorry I brought it up. I thought for sure you guys would already be married. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“I’m not upset.”
Aric and I linked gazes as I hurried toward the hallway. His expression was unreadable, but curiosity reflected back at me from his eyes before he managed to mask it. “I’m putting the steaks on the grill,” he said. “I … .”
“Okay.” I hurried to the bathroom without letting him finish. I needed to get my burning face away from prying eyes.
This was not how I saw the evening going.
BY THE time I returned to the living room ten minutes later, it was empty. I followed the sound of voices and found Paris and Aric chatting on the patio as he watched over the steaks. I took the opportunity to eavesdrop because … well … I felt like it.
Rising Covenant (Living Covenant Trilogy Book 1) Page 2
