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I video dialed and was waiting for him to pick up when Tansy got a call from Eamon asking what we wanted for dinner.
“I eat anything,” I said. “Surprise me.”
“What’s the surprise, Tiger Lily?” Dad asked.
I turned to see Mom and Dad on the screen. I took a deep breath and launched into my story.
Chapter 10
Lillian
Ipushedmyplateaway to stop myself from eating another bite. I was already beyond stuffed, but everything was so good! When the guys had first come back with all the food, I’d thought we’d never be able to finish it, but would you look at that! Most of it was gone. I guess that was what happened when there were three gargoyles in the house.
They’d ordered a variety of dishes, and we ate family-style. A lucky thing, because there was no way I could have chosen just one dish. I’d been to Three Food Wishes before, since it was just a quick walk from my apartment, but I’d only ever ordered from the takeout window. I always got their special, the Kefta Kebab, because it was affordable, healthy, and delicious, which was a rare trifecta. Usually, healthy and delicious meant it wasn’t affordable, and affordable and healthy meant it wasn’t delicious.
I’d never tried anything else on the menu, or been inside the dining area. The rumor was that the owners were genies, but I never knew what was fact or conjecture here in Darlington. According to the website, the owners had traveled extensively before moving to and settling in Darlington. They offered pan Middle Eastern cuisine as well as some fusion dishes of their own creation.
Gunnar sat next to me, our legs touching the entire meal. It was nice, and I felt very safe next to him.
“Did you want to join us for Friday night movie?” Shelby asked at the end of our feast. “We do movie night most Fridays. We always have popcorn, too. Extra butter.”
I glanced over at the oversized reclining couches and the big screen, then at Gunnar. As much as I wanted to join them, I had a lot I had to get done. Gunnar had left my cart and plants in front of the door to his suite. I needed to get all my plant babies set up. Ooh, maybe I’d check out that walk-in shower or the giant tub I saw in his ritzy bathroom afterward. I also wanted to spend some time alone with Gunnar, getting to know him better.
I’d noticed that none of the gargoyle brothers had dropped their glamour the whole time they ate. I doubted they usually wore illusion spells at home in front of their mates, so they must be doing it because of me. I didn’t want to continue intruding on their Friday night and adding to any discomfort.
Gunnar spoke before I did. “Lillian and I should spend some time together alone. Get to know each other. You know, to make it more believable.” He looked across the open central area to my plants by the entrance to his personal suite. “And we should set up your plants. Don’t the clay balls need to be in water?”
“Oh yes, of course,” Shelby said. “You’ve got practice doingcouple things. No problem. There’s always next weekend.”
Couple things. My brain immediately pictured Gunnar and I coupling up, his rock-hard body on top of mine and his—
“Gram’s going to have a bazillion questions for you when she comes over tomorrow.”
I blinked, realizing I had been so focused on my X-rated vision that I had no idea what she’d said. “Excuse me?” Heat rose to my cheeks, and I prayed that it wasn’t as visible as it felt.
“Your plants. My grandmother is a green witch, but I’ve never seen plants grown like that before.”
“Oh.” Of course, that was what her gram would ask about. Duh. “Yeah, it’s unconventional, but it works for me, and the babies seem happy.” At least, I hoped they were. I wondered if her grandmother could tell me. What if they weren’t, in fact, happy? Would I have to move them back to potting mix and deal with all that mess again?
Gunnar and I excused ourselves, and we started moving my plants into his home. I’d packed most of my grow lights into one of the boxes, but he had so many windows in the main living portion of his home, I doubted I’d need to set them up. Aside from the lofted area where his bedrooms and bathroom sat above his kitchen, the rest of the place had super high ceilings, and therefore, giant windows.
With Gunnar moving my plants into their trays and saucers and me mixing up gallons of the various nutrient solutions, the work went by quickly, and in only ten minutes, we had everyone happily settled in front of a window. What had looked like an overgrown jungle in my tiny apartment looked like only a small collection here.
That meant…room for more plants! Plant problem? What plant problem?
“We’ll need a shelf for the smaller ones in the trays,” Gunnar said. Currently, they sat on the floor.
“Uh-uh. A shelf means more room, and that means more plants. Trust me, you don’t want to encourage me.”
His eyes sparked with mischief. “Maybe I do want to encourage you. I like them.”
I laughed. “Are you trying to tempt me into your bed with talk of more plants?”
“Maybe. Is it working?”
“Totally.” Though I didn’t really need tempting. Our kiss in the elevator flashed in my head, and I blushed.
I cleared my throat. “I was, ah, hoping to check out that custom walk-in shower.”
