“You got time for coffee?”
I shake my head.
“Want a ride?” He swipes his keys off the dresser, jangles them before me.
“Nah, I think I’ll run.”
He lifts a brow.
“May as well squeeze in a workout before the temperature has a chance to shoot into the triple digits again.”
“You know it’s okay to take a break now and then?”
I choose to ignore that. I can’t afford breaks. Can’t afford to let down my guard.
“Fine. Then at least wear this to keep the sun off your face.” He tosses me a baseball cap advertising a surf brand. “And say hey to Axel.” He follows me out the front door and down the rickety steps that lead to the parking lot.
“At least he agreed to live with me.” I glance over my shoulder, wait for Dace to catch up.
“The way I remember it, he had no where else to go.” He squeezes my hand, gives a good-natured grin.
“And you’re not even the least bit jealous?” I angle my face toward his, catching the amused glint in his eyes.
“You serious?” He shakes his head. “Jealous of Axel?”
“Yeah, of Axel,” I say, feeling inexplicably defensive, but then my emotions are all over the place. “A single guy who’s actually pretty good-looking if you like tall, strong, angelic types with lots of muscles and lavender eyes. He was practically moved into my old room before I could even finish making the offer.”
Dace stops beside his truck. “Daire, I’m not jealous of Axel. For one thing—he was my spirit guide since I was a baby, and he still feels the need to look after me even though he’s officially been stripped of the title. For another—I trust you. I trust in our love. After all, I am the optimist, remember?”
“And third?” I place a hand on my hips. “I can see it in your eyes, there’s a third.”
“And third—do I even need to mention Lita?” He laughs, causing his irises to glimmer in a way that’s mesmerizing. “You may be the Seeker, but are you seriously willing to get between Lita Winslow and the professed love of her life?”
I dip my head and sigh, chasing it with a groan for good measure. Since the moment school ended, Lita has devoted her entire summer to being with Axel. Which means she’s been a permanent fixture in my den—when they’re not holed up in his room.
Yet another star-crossed romance that was doomed before it could properly start.
Or at least according to Paloma who warned me it would never amount to anything good.
Paloma was pragmatic. A realist, like me. And while it’s really quite refreshing to be around a true believer like Dace, I can’t quite convince myself to join him in that eternally happy place.
“Lita’s pretty territorial where Axel’s concerned. I’m not sure even someone as powerful as the Seeker could forge a wedge between them,” Dace says, breaking me out of my reverie, and proving, once again, just how tuned in he is to my moods.
“Speaking of powerful . . .” I leave the question to dangle, there’s no need to finish. We both know I’m referring to last New Year’s Eve when all hell broke loose and Dace found himself in the grips of an incredible shift he couldn’t quite shake, didn’t want to shake, as he tells it.
Though despite his optimism, I know he’s concerned it might’ve been the result of the dark bit of soul he stole from his brother that’s still lodged inside. And I can’t say I’ve ruled it out either.
“No sign of the beast.” He opens the door of his truck and tosses his bag onto the seat. “Must be lying dormant.” He turns back to me and tilts his face toward the sun, shielding his eyes with his hand. “Sure you don’t want a ride? Looks like it’s gonna be another scorcher.”
I shake my head, shake out my limbs. Try to loosen them up for the long run ahead.
“Okay, then.” He climbs into his truck. “See you tonight?”
I nod.
“Your place, my place, or the Enchanted Spring?” He closes the door between us and leans out the driver’s side window.
“My place.” I make a face when I say it. Still feels weird to refer to it