living covenant 03 - eternal covenant (11 page)

“That’s a good sign,” Aric said. “We’re having steak, potatoes and vegetables for dinner. That shouldn’t be too hard on your stomach.”

“I’m sure I’ll be fine,” I said. “I think it was the salmon. Don’t ever put salmon in my mouth again.”

“I promise to never put salmon in your mouth again,” Aric said, flopping on the bed next to me and linking his fingers with mine. “Show me another memory.”

He was becoming obsessed. “I can’t control it,” I said. “I’ve only done it while sleeping.”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t control it,” Aric countered. “That means you haven’t learned how to control it while you’re awake. I want you to try to do it for me. Can you?”

I blew out a sigh. “Fine. I’m not promising it’s going to be a good memory, though.”

“Do your best.”

I closed my eyes and sucked in a breath, searching my memory for something that would make both of us feel better.

“It’s different,” Aric said honestly. “You were with Will for years. You cared about him. You loved him. I’ve never cared about anyone.”

I raised my eyebrows dubiously.

“Until you,” Aric added hastily.

A wave of sudden warmth coursed through me. “It’s good that you added that caveat,” I smiled smugly.

“You are the single-most frustrating person I’ve ever met,” Aric continued. I wasn’t feeling so warm now. “You are stubborn. You’re obnoxious. You never think before you speak. You never do what you’re told.”

“I get it,” I snapped.

“You’re also funny and warm and … sexy.”

Okay, I was feeling warm again.

“I like the way you challenge me,” Aric said.

“You like the way I challenge you?”

“This might come as a surprise to you, but most of the women here fall all over me and tell me how great I am. They’re impressed with my body and my father and the family money.”

“I’m getting bored with this conversation.”

Aric grinned. “You have never told me how great I am. Not once. You make me prove how great I am, and I like that.”

“I don’t know what to say to that.”

“Well, that’s a first,” Aric laughed.

“What is?”

“I’ve actually managed to render you speechless.”

“I’m not speechless,” I protested.

“Close enough.”

Aric chuckled as the sophomore year memory closed off with a hot and steamy kiss. “You still challenge me.”

“Does that mean you’re over being angry about the totem?”

“Yes.”

“Does that mean you’re over being angry about me abandoning you to deal with Pemberley on your own?” I asked.

“No.”

“I didn’t think so,” I said. “I love you, Aric.”

He squeezed my hand. “I love you, too. You’ve always been the only one I’ve ever cared about.”

“Does that mean you’ll stand with me when I fight to the death with my mother about a wedding dress?”

“Absolutely,” Aric replied. “With that in mind, though, I should probably tell you they’re searching for a tiara to match a new dress.”

“I’ll kill them!”

“And there’s my baby,” Aric said, laughing as the ceiling fan started turning despite the fact that the flip hadn’t been switched. “You’re always entertaining, Zoe. Never change.”

11

Eleven

^“
Okay, we’re going to go out there and talk to our mothers like adults,” I said thirty minutes later, my hand resting on the door handle. “We’re not going to scream. We’re not going to stomp our feet. We’re going to be calm and rational.”

“Who are you talking to?” Aric asked, his eyes lighted with mirth. “I never do any of those things.”

“You scream all the time.”

“At you because you do things that drive me crazy,” Aric replied. “This is different.”

“Whatever,” I muttered.

“What are you going to do if they don’t agree to walk back these wedding preparations?”

“I’m going to scream and stomp my foot.”

Aric grinned. “Try to not burn the house down, okay?” He pressed a soft kiss to my lips. “If you feel the need to vent, I suggest aiming for that stack of linens they brought into the house while you were out walking with Paris. That will drive them crazy and have them thinking twice about making wedding demands.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

Our houseguests were spread out in the living room and kitchen when we made our entrance, James and Dad watching baseball in the living room while everyone else chatted amiably over dinner preparations in the kitchen.

Dad’s gaze landed on us first, and if I didn’t know better I’d swear he was trying to hide a smile. “Are you feeling better, Zoe?”

“I am,” I said. “The nap did me wonders.”

“We heard you two giggling and squealing in there,” James said. “We know you weren’t napping.”

“For the record, I don’t squeal,” Aric said, grabbing my hand. “Also, we weren’t doing that.” He shot a worried look in my father’s direction. Compared to Aric, my father was almost dainty. Aric was still terrified of him because he once threatened to patrol the hallways with a shotgun when Aric stayed at our house. “We really weren’t.”

“I’ve gone temporarily deaf,” Dad said. “I don’t care what you were doing.”

“We weren’t doing anything,” Aric protested.

“Let it go,” I said, turning my attention to the kitchen. “Pemberley is gone, right?”

“Yes, we hurried him out not long after the rose petals incident,” James said. “I’m pretty sure he doesn’t believe Aric did it, but he can’t figure out how it happened so he let it go.”

“We should’ve told him the rabid wolf did it,” I suggested.

“That might have been more believable than Aric hitting the vase from five feet away,” James said.

“What kind of mood are they in?” I asked, inclining my chin in the direction of the kitchen. “Are they feeling evil or nice?”

“Zoe, I know this isn’t how you saw the wedding going, but they’re not trying to ruin things for you,” James said, leaning forward and keeping his voice low. “You’re an only child. You only get one wedding. No one thinks you two are ever going to break up and marry someone else.

“That’s a good thing,” he continued. “Helen and Nancy know this is their only shot, though. They want the perfect wedding, and they’re blinded by the fact that your idea of perfect differs from their idea of perfect.”

“I understand that,” I said. “I really do. I don’t think we should have to suffer because they can’t see what’s right in front of them, though.”

“I agree,” James said, taking me by surprise. “You need to have a frank discussion with them. That means no flying flowers.”

“They’re reasonable people,” Dad added. “I know it doesn’t seem that way given how they’ve been acting, but they really do want the best for you.”

“I know,” I said. “We’re trying to keep calm. What happened earlier was … a mistake.”

“It was compounded by the fact that she was sick,” Aric interjected. He always stood up for me, even when he knew I was wrong. “It was an accident.”

“It’s not like anyone was hurt,” James scoffed. “I would much rather have Zoe blowing up flowers than heads. It’s fine. The only problem was that she did it in front of Pemberley. Otherwise it would be a complete non-issue.”

“We really should’ve eloped,” I said. “That would’ve solved everything. We could’ve gotten married and then thrown a party to announce it to everyone.”

“Don’t even joke about that,” Dad snapped, his eyes flashing. “That would crush your mother.”

“But … .”

“No.” Dad wagged a finger for emphasis. “You want things your way, and I get that. We spoiled you rotten as a kid, and we’ve paid a certain price for that. I don’t regret it because you’re strong and don’t take guff from anyone.

“You also have a tendency to march over other people’s feelings to get what you want,” he continued. “You will not march over your mother’s feelings this time. You’re going to go into that kitchen and come up with a compromise. That’s all there is to it.”

“That goes double for you, Aric,” James said. “You always take up for Zoe – and that’s noble because she’s going to be your wife. Your mother raised you, though. She’s loved and protected you for almost thirty years now. You need to show her respect.”

“And what if they don’t compromise?” I asked.

“They will,” Dad said. “They don’t want you to be unhappy. Just … remain calm. I know you can do it if you really put your mind to it. I’ve come to the conclusion that you can do almost anything. There’s no reason to blow this.”

I was resigned when I walked into the kitchen, Aric close on my heels. His presence usually calmed me, but he was as nervous as I was, so it only further amped me.

Helen lifted an eyebrow as she wrapped potatoes in foil in preparation for the grill. “How was your nap?”

“Refreshing.”

“Yes, we heard the giggling,” Mom said, her hands busy unwrapping steaks.

I glanced at Paris and Kelsey. They looked amused but clearly separate from the conversation. They wouldn’t be any help. Not that I expected – or needed, for that matter – them to be, mind you.

“We need to talk,” Aric said, clearing his throat as he shifted from one foot to the other. “These wedding preparations have gotten out of hand, and we need to discuss a way that all of us can be happy.”

“Okay,” Mom said, her tone clipped. “Let’s do that. What don’t you like about our preparations?”

“I’m not wearing a tiara.” I didn’t mean to blurt it out like that, but my mouth has a mind of its own sometimes. No, seriously, that’s a real thing.

“What Zoe means to say is that we fear a lot of your plans are just … too much,” Aric said. “We don’t want a big, fancy wedding with all of the bells and whistles. We want a quiet day with friends and family. I don’t think that’s what you have in mind.”

“I understand about wanting to keep it simple,” Mom said, reaching for the meat tenderizer – an ugly looking hammer. “You have to understand that there’s a difference between simple and unacceptable, though.”

“I do understand that,” Aric said. “I … .” He didn’t get a chance to finish because Mom started beating the steak as if it was a burglar going after her prized pearls. He shot me a “what do I do now” look.

I didn’t have an answer, so I merely shrugged.

Aric turned his attention to his mother. “Don’t you think you’re going a little bit overboard?”

“I think I’m trying to plan the day to end all days for my son and future daughter-in-law, and he seems to think it’s a burden instead of a gift,” Helen replied. “I think that you’ve gone out of your way to hurt my feelings instead of embracing the knowledge Nancy and I have to offer on this subject.”

“Okay, that is ridiculously dramatic,” Aric said. “This is our wedding. I think we should have a say in how it goes.”

“You did have a say,” Mom said, placing the tenderizer on the counter. “You decided card tables and cream dresses would be fine. You decided Middle Eastern food sounded good. You essentially decided to throw a backyard barbecue and call it a wedding.”

“That’s not what we did,” I argued.

“That’s not a wedding,” Mom said, reaching for the tenderizer again as she moved on to another steak. “And, by the way, you will look lovely in a tiara. You’re wearing one.”

“Over my dead body.”

Mom expectantly looked to Aric.

“Oh, I’m not wearing it,” Aric said. “I’ll be using her dead body as a shield if you try something funky like that.”

“You’re not wearing a tiara,” Helen confirmed. “You’re wearing a top hat.”

“What?” Aric’s roar was drowned out by the sound of my mother beating the steaks into submission.

I pinched the bridge of my nose to ward off an oncoming headache, frustration overwhelming me as I fought the urge to shred the pile of linens that were just visible over Helen’s right shoulder.

Instead, I focused on a happy memory from senior year and grabbed Aric’s hand so I could send it his way.

“There’s plenty of space in here. You can get away from the estrogen mafia if you need to.”

“The estrogen mafia? You’re such a man.”

Aric reached around and pinched my rear. “You know what this room really needs, don’t you?”

I glanced around. “What? Did I forget something?”

Aric wrapped his arms around my waist and rolled over on top of me. “That’s not what I was talking about.”

“Ah,” I said. “You want to christen the room, don’t you?”

“Am I that transparent?”

Since his desire was pressing into my thigh through his jeans, transparency wasn’t the issue. “You’re just predictable.”

Aric’s face clouded with mock hurt. “Predictable? You wound me. Are you already bored?”

“You could never bore me,” I said. “I find comfort in your predictable nature.”

“Oh, you are trying to wound me,” Aric said, climbing to his knees and pulling his shirt over his head.

I reached a hand up, rubbing it over his chiseled chest, and sighed. He was a masterpiece. “The door is open,” I reminded him. “Are you going to give my new roommates a show?”

“Would that be too predictable of me?” Aric asked, his grin wolfish.

I made a face. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

“Maybe if you beg,” Aric said, lowering his mouth to mine. “And I plan to make you beg.”

I risked a glance in Aric’s direction and found him smiling. “You were shirtless in that one,” I whispered.

“You’re getting better at that,” he said. “I have no idea where this new power came from, or why it’s manifesting now, but I’m really enjoying it.”

“That’s because you’re a pervert.”

“I can’t deny that,” Aric said, dropping a kiss on my upturned mouth.

“Where did you two just go?” Helen asked, her words laced with anger. “We were in the middle of a very important discussion.”