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“What the fuck?” Gideon says.
“It’s perfect. You can sound him out, see where his feelings are. We need reconnaissance. Once you have the intel, we can meet again and make a proper plan.”
“I’m not talking to Micah about his feelings.” Gideon sounds appalled. “We don’t do that. It’s bad enough I had to talk to Asher about his last month.”
“You talked to Asher about his feelings?” Andrew demands. “Why is this the first I’m hearing of it? Gideon the relationship counselor.” His laughter is barely contained.
Gideon’s growl vibrates through the phone. “Don’t make me hurt you.”
“Hurt each other on your own time,” Alistair says sternly. “Are we clear on the plan? Gideon’s going to talk to Micah, and then we’ll reassess. Be subtle, Gideon, or I’ll have to have a conversation with Sam.”
“I hate you.”
“One more thing,” Caolan interjects. “I don’t want to be rude, but…”
I wait with bated breath.
“…does Gideon’s grandmother like you? Because I have a good life here, and I don’t want to get on her bad side.”
There’s an impatient huff. “My grandmother would never hurt someone Micah loved.”
“But she’d come after the rest of us,” Andrew adds. “Me first, probably.”
“It’s fine,” I break in, not wanting to lose my support squad. “She likes me. She tried to set me up with Zac, but then I told her Micah and I were fucking, and she switched to him instead. She’s on our side.”
There’s a moment of silence, and then Gideon says, “Won’t someone please kill me?”
CHAPTERNINETEEN
Micah
Something is goingon with Cam. He’s been odd since we got up this morning. No… maybe since yesterday. He was quiet at dinner, even though I could tell he enjoyed himself. But it’s more noticeable this morning. He’s antsy, jumps anytime either of our phones makes noise, and has looked at the clock about thirty times.
“Is something wrong?” I ask finally.
His eyes go wide, and he shakes his head frantically, sending his curls flying. “No. Nothing’s wrong. Why would anything be wrong?”
Uh-huh.
“You seem a little… out of sorts.”
“Nope. Why would you think that? I’m excited! Yep, excited. The dragons are coming today!”
That’s true. He’s been looking forward to this all week. Maybe he’s nervous. Most people don’t get the chance to meet an actual dragon, much less four of them. And they’ll be examining his work… sort of. If any of them dares say something to upset him, I’ll make sure they regret it, but I can understand why the anticipation might be getting to him.
He needs a distraction. “Why don’t I call Asher and see if he and Garrett want to go to the pub for lunch?” I suggest. It’s early still, but we can also walk out to the snow village and see the progress Zoe’s made. Last weekend, she had miniature snow people skating on a little snow pond. We had a few substantial snowfalls this week, so she’s had a lot of material to work with.
“No!”
I freeze mid-reach for my phone. What’s going on with him?
He must see my surprise, because he hastens to add, “I mean, yes, that sounds like fun, but I’ll call Garrett. You leave your phone free.” He dashes off before I can ask what that’s supposed to mean. Leave my phone free? For what?
I can hear his voice in the other room, so he’s clearly making the call. Whatever it is that’s worrying him, I hope it stops soon. Or he tells me so I can help him.
Could it be the snow? The lack of diversity in the village? The lack of shops and nightlife? He didn’t seem interested in any of that before, and it’s only been two weeks… but maybe being in a city yesterday reminded him that he prefers that kind of environment. Maybe he was so desperate to be the one to call Garrett because he wants to talk to him privately, ask for advice on how to cope.
I know he’s not asking if he can leave. There’s no way he’d ever leave the puzzle wall unfinished. I’m counting on that—it gives me a few more weeks with him, at least, to build our relationship. By then he’ll hopefully be open to something long-distance between us, with me visiting every weekend. And then maybe just staying with him for most of the week. And then moving in with him. I’ll miss living here, but I can still visit often and see my family. It’s more important that Cam is comfortable and happy.
