A tic worked his jaw, but he merely said, “Don’t tire yourself with the packing. Hedori will be here to take you to the flower place when you’re done. I’ll meet you there.”
“All right. Oh, don’t forget your tuxedo fitting this morning.”
He gave her a dark look before loping down the few stairs to the pavement.
It wasn’t that Blaéz disliked shopping, it was being amidst people he didn’t like. He usually bought all his clothes online or sent Hedori out for what he needed. This time, however, Darci refused to let him buy virtually. She wanted him involved in the whole wedding excitement.
“Hi, Blaéz,” Echo greeted him. Shae’s much softer, “Hello,” followed.
He nodded at them and headed for the Veyron parked farther down the street.
Echo ran up the stairs, the winter sun gleaming off her short, choppily cut, inky hair. The emo style suited her attractive, honey-toned features and highlighted her unusual eyes. Shae followed, a wide smile on her lovely, alabaster-pale face. She’d pulled her long, wavy, coppery-red hair into a high ponytail. Both the girls had dressed for hard labor in old jeans and t-shirts.
It was hard to believe that she was the only human here.
As a descendant of the Watchers, Echo had inherited their leader, Zarias’s, unbelievable power of healing the mystical rifts that protected the realm from supernatural evil.
And Shae? The tall, slender woman appeared fragile but she could kick ass like any Guardian with her talent to teleport and drain an immortal of their powers, weakening them. And heck, she possessed wings, something she’d inherited from her late father who’d been a deadly throne. Yep, a total badass.
But Darci didn’t envy them their abilities. She was happy with her library and loving Blaéz.
“Wow,” Echo whispered, stopping at her side and brushing away the over-long bangs from her bi-colored amber and gray eyes. “Blaéz sure seems in a dark mood?”
“It’s my fault…” Heat flooded Darci’s face. “Things are a little…er, tense right now between us because of a stupid bet.”
“Bet?” Shae frowned.
She nodded, watching Blaéz’s car disappear round the corner. “A few days ago, I read an article about traditions in a bridal magazines—about abstinence until the wedding day—and because Blaéz wants everything done traditionally, I teased him about it, and he took it as a done deal. I never really thought he’d go for it. And somehow it ended up being a bet.”
“You do know he’s not one to accept defeat, right?” Echo said. “From what I’ve seen and heard, every game of foosball or pool played, he’s never lost…wait, he did. Once. When he first met you, and Týr won his Harley back.”
“I know,” she moaned, pulling her gaze away from the empty street. “Me and my big mouth. What do I do?”
“I’m no good at stuff like this,” Shae said wryly. “I couldn’t even get Dagan to kiss me until we had a fight.”
Darci’s eyes widened. “Really?” she and Echo asked in unison.
A faint blush tinting her face, Shae nodded.
“What hap—ugh, ignore me.” Darci shook her head, exasperated at herself. Shae had only recently met them and here she was interrogating the girl. “Kira must be rubbing off on me.” She laughed and led them into the brownstone and shut the door.
“Hey, I have an idea,” Echo said, a mischievous glint appearing in her mismatched eyes. “Seduce him. I did with Aethan when he thought I couldn’t handle his type of lovemaking soon after I came out of my coma.”
Darci eyed her skeptically. “It worked?”
“Well...” Echo’s brow wrinkled. “I don’t think it would have had we been home. He’s just too controlled. But we had our first date night a couple of months ago…” She sighed, her cheeks flushing as if remembering what had occurred. “Oh, yeah, it worked. Just make it seem like it was his idea—I mean you still want to win this bet, right?”
Darci contemplated Echo’s words. Yes, it would be wonderful to win and get her man, too. She slowly nodded, hope stirring.
Shae picked up a fallen book, her gray-gold eyes bright with excitement. “I still can’t believe you two are getting married.”
“Me either. At one time, I thought I would never meet anyone I could love, then Blaéz arrived one midnight at my door…” She sighed, a little smile tugging her mouth.
He’d rescued her nephew and brought him to her, and she’d been so wary of him. When he’d trapped her against her door and trailed his nose down her neck, it had annoyed the hell out of her but had her holding her breath in anticipation, too, if she were honest. Heck, he’d been tempting in a dark and deadly sort of way.
She had no idea then exactly what he would come to mean to her.
“Okay, then. Where do we start?” Echo surveyed the mess in the living room.
