“Oh, right. You should come!” I tell Zed, shrugging out of Tristan’s hold. “It’s a pet-friendly event, so Radar is going, too. I got him a tiny bowtie for his collar.”
Zed grins down at Radar, who is sitting on his left shoe, patiently waiting for more head-scritches. “Cool. I’ll get a matching one.”
Tristan smiles tightly. “As adorable as that would be, the event is sold out, I’m afraid.”
“You have an extra ticket,” I remind him, bouncing a little because I’m so thrilled the universe brought Zed and me together again. How random to run into each other in the park like this! Even if nothing comes of it, it’ll be wonderful to reconnect. “Unless you had a date you wanted to invite instead? Zed and I can get together for drinks afterward if you need the ticket.”
“No,” Tristan says. “Let’s all go together. As friends.”
“Great!” I chirp.
Zed nods. “Great!”
“Great,” Tristan echoes, sounding less enthusiastic. “We’ll see you Friday, Fred.”
“Zed,” I correct, eyes still locked with my dragon. Tristan’s moving to leave, but I’m not ready to say goodbye. How in the world did Zed end up in my neighborhood park? It still seems so unreal. “Where are you staying? The Grand?” I ask, naming the closest hotel I can think of.
Zed grimaces and rubs his right horn. “It’s complicated. My…uh…flight just got in.”
“It’s getting late, Cari. We should get going,” Tristan cuts in, shifting in his polished loafers. Why is he acting so strange and antsy? Oh, right. Impy’s infusion schedule. He needs to take care of her at home, and here I am holding him up.
“You were sweet to escort me this far, but it’s okay if you need to leave,” I tell him. “Don’t worry about waiting for me. Zed can walk us the rest of the way.”
The dragon in question nods agreeably. “Happy to.”
Tristan looks between the two of us, like he’s gauging whether it’s safe to leave me with Zed. What a sweetheart. He doesn’t need to be nervous, though. The half-bath incident aside, I can’t think of a safer person for me to be around than Zed.
“It’s fine,” I urge him. “Impy needs her infusion, right? Don’t let me hold you up. I know how important she is to you, and I would never forgive myself if she suffered because of me.”
“All right,” he grits out. “I’ll see you soon, Cari.” He nods to Zed and backtracks the way we came, leaving Zed and me alone together. Well, not exactly alone. Radar circles our ankles, binding us together with his leash.
Zed grins crookedly at Tristan’s retreating back. “I don’t think he likes me.”
“He’s just worried for my safety. He was giving me a lecture about it right before you showed up, actually.”
Zed hums skeptically. “I think he’s worried you might like me better than him.”
So he noticed the awkward tension, too. “Tristan’s just a friend,” I say as I bend to untangle the leash so we can walk the rest of the way home.
“Well, he’s got a leg up on me, then.”
I look up at him from my crouched position, surprised. The streetlamp silhouettes his broad physique, his horns glinting as he looms over me. But rather than being scary, the shape of him is oddly comforting. “What are you talking about? We’re friends!”
“I never heard from you again. I don’t blame you,” he rushes to add. “After everything that happened, I’d stay far away from dragons, too.”
I swallow hard, rising to my feet. “I didn’t, though.”
Puzzlement spreads over his face. “Didn’t what?”
“Stay away from dragons. I think I’veonlydated dragons,” I explain. It’s embarrassing to admit how I chased after them,actually. A glimpse of scales in a shade even close to Zed’s, and my head would turn. I would do anything to get their attention, thinking that if they just got to know me, I could re-create what he and I had. “It never worked out, though. They always…”
Ghosted me.Dumped me.Whatever you want to call it.
“Found their mates,” Zed finishes.
I nodded, eyes welling as I remember the pain of being rejected over and over. “Your kind’s mate bonds are strong. A girl can’t compete. So I kind of stopped dating at all.”
The look he gives me is so pitying, I cringe. Can’t meet his eyes. Can’t explain that I never brought myself to contact him because I didn’t want to learn that he’d found his mate, too. “Come on, Radar, time to go home.”
