I check my watch. “It’s 8pm.”
“8pm?!” she shrieks. “I’ve been gone all day! I need to text my friends, they’ll be worried.” She darts back into my room, closely followed by the sound of objects and fabric hitting the floor. “Have you seen my phone?”
“Not that I can recall,” I reply. “But I think your purse is on the couch.”
As soon as I say it, she’s racing past me. She pounces on her purse, rummaging through her bag like a wild cat descending on a huge ball of wool.
“I can’t find it!” Her face crumples. “They’ll be so worried.”
“Why don’t you give me your number?” I’m, hopefully, the voice of reason. “I’ll call it.”
She bites her lip. Why doesn’t she want me to call her? My heart sinks as I feel Ezra’s triumphant smirk burning into my back. While he may be right about her not looking for a pack,that doesn’t mean she won’t change her mind when she realizes what we could be to each other. He may not be willing to fight for her because he doesn’t know what’s good for him, but I’m willing to fight for all of us. Both Ezra and Riven need to be shown what true love is and why it’s so important.
“Fine.” She huffs in reluctant acceptance before reeling off her number. I hit dial, then we wait. “Can you hear anything?”
“There’s no noise.” Riven pokes his head around the kitchen door, where he’s busy measuring milk into a jug. He’s very serious about his cocoa making, weighing all the ingredients with expert precision.
“I’ll check the truck for your phone.” Ezra decides to be helpful. “Maybe it fell out in the bed?”
“I’m sure we’ll find it.” I want to curl a reassuring arm around her shoulder, but her tense body language warns me to keep a safe distance. “There are worse things than being without your phone for a few hours. You can use mine to call someone, if you need to?”
“Let’s see if Ezra finds mine first,” she mutters under her breath as she plops herself down on the sofa.
“Would you like anything to eat?” I ask. “You should eat. You need the calories after what we burned off.”
Drawing her knees up to her chest and hugging my T-shirt, her earlier warmth has completely frozen over. “Cocoa is fine.”
“Here.” I hold out a thick blanket. “You should stay warm.”
Scowling, she begrudgingly accepts it.
“We can put on a movie?” Am I trying too hard? “It may take your mind off things?”
“Sure,” she replies, but her mind’s elsewhere, her lips pursed in worry.
What is she thinking?
I put on a movie, but neither of us watch it. It’s hard to hear over the sound of Riven’s milk frother.
“Here you go.” Riven brings over a steaming mug, piled high with a snowy mountain of cream and chocolate flakes that sway with every step. “Call it a peace offering for the pumpkin incident?”
“Consider us even.” A trace of a smile graces her lips as she drags her little finger across the cream and licks it off, making me harden instantly. “This is amazing.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
I don’t ask for more details about the pumpkin incident, but I do notice how Riven looks at her. He sits opposite her, waiting for her approval as she takes the first sip, giving herself a white mustache.
“Whoa,” she moans. “It’s really good. Even better than my friend Delilah’s.”
“I can share my recipe with her.” He’s practically glowing. “It’s all about the ratio of milk to chocolate.”
Riven’s excited explanation on how to make the perfect cup is drowned out by voices and thudding footsteps coming up the stairs. I recognize Calder’s heavy steps instantly, indicative that he’s in a bad mood. He’s been extra grumpy lately, but maybe meeting Victoria will give him the mood boost he needs?
The key turns in the lock, Ezra’s entering first.
Victoria’s chin jerks up hopefully. “Did you find it?”
“No sign of it.” He buries his hands in his pocket. “Maybe it fell out when you got out of the back?”
