The Curse Defiers (12 page)

“Not typically, but tonight I’m feeling a bit protective. I confess, it’s caught me a little off guard.”

“You act like you’ve never had a girlfriend before,” I teased.

He turned serious, his hand cupping my neck, his thumb brushing along my jawline. “You know you’re the only one I’ve ever loved.”

For some reason, his words were my undoing. He’d said those three magic words to me weeks ago, and I had wanted to say them back. At the time, something had stopped me, even though all the signs were there.

“Ellie?” He was watching me, a strange look in his eyes.

I didn’t want to keep holding back. I had no idea how long I had left in this world, and I didn’t want to waste another minute without letting David know how much he meant to me. I kissed him softly. “I love you, David Preston.”

His eyes widened in surprise.

I smiled as the truth of my words washed over me. “I love you.”

His arms wound around me, pressing his naked body against my clothes. He started to unbutton my shirt and then dropped his hands and groaned. “
No
. Later.”

I gave him a sexy grin. “Are you sure?”

“No.” He laughed. “But I’ve resolved for us to be on time and now I’m determined to see it through.”

I reached my hand behind him and cupped his ass. “And you do know that makes me even more determined to break your will.”

His mouth lowered to my ear and he pulled my earlobe into his mouth, biting gently, then sucking. “You are an evil woman, Ellie Lancaster.” His warm breath fanned against my neck, sending shivers down my spine.

“And you like me that way.” I laughed, but I dropped my hold on him. “You better get dressed if you want to be
on time
.”

I picked up the hair dryer and went into the bathroom, drying my thick hair until it was only slightly damp. After pulling it into a loose French braid, I studied my reflection, worried I wouldn’t be good enough for David’s friends. I was probably younger than all of them and far less educated, but David loved me. That had to mean something, right?

I shook my head at the mirror, a slight smile on my face. A slew of evil spirits and demons roamed the earth, and I was worried about impressing David’s ex-girlfriend and his professor friends. I obviously needed to get my priorities straight.

David appeared in the bathroom doorway wearing a dark green shirt and a pair of jeans. I took one look at him and my breath caught in my chest. More unneeded confirmation of what a gorgeous man David was.

“You look beautiful, Ellie. Don’t look so worried. My friends will love you.”

I followed him through the house and out the front door. “You’re not just saying they’ll like me because you think it will set me at ease, are you? I’d rather prepare myself for the worst.”

“What’s not to love about you? You’re beautiful, kind, thoughtful, and funny.” He gave me a gentle kiss. “Besides, they aren’t pretentious stuffed shirts. You get along well with Steven and the researchers who stay in the house. My friends will love you.”

“Okay.”

The drive to Allison’s house was short, only five minutes. Several cars were already parked in front of the cute two-story home. I smoothed my skirt, trying to get control of the fluttering in my stomach.

David grabbed my hand and interlaced our fingers. “It’s hard to believe you’re so nervous. Last night you faced a wind god and back-talked him like he was some punk on a street corner.”

“That was different.”

“Yeah, it is. Which is why it’s so shocking you’re this anxious over meeting a few academics.”

We stood in front of the door and I took a deep breath, pulling my hand free of David’s grip. I didn’t want to look like I couldn’t walk into the room without his support, even if I wanted it. “Okay. I’m ready.”

Chuckling, David rang the doorbell. Seconds later a cute blonde I recognized from the pictures in David’s office opened the door. She had on a light pink ruffled shirt and white capris. Her face broke out into a huge smile. “David!” She threw her arms around him and squeezed him tight.

He returned her hug, but with a much looser hold. “Good to see you, Allison.”

She stepped back and eyed me up and down, still smiling. “And you must be Ellie.”

I returned her smile. “Thank you for inviting us.”

Her face tightened a bit. “David knows he’s always welcome.”

I resisted a sigh. So it was going to be one of
those
nights.

But David wasn’t one of those oblivious men, thank God, and he put his arm around the small of my back. “I’m eager to see everyone. Thanks for inviting them.”

“Of course. You take a two-week trip to Roanoke Island and the next thing we know, you’re taking a semester’s leave. We never got a chance to say a proper good-bye.”

David’s arm tensed.

She turned her head to the side and coughed before looking back at us. “Excuse me. My summer allergies have kicked into high gear.” She stepped to the side, opening the door wider. “Everyone is in the back. We’re grilling. I’ve been marinating steaks all day and I hoped you’d take over your official duties as grill master.”

David had stepped inside the house, but he stopped short in the entryway. “Allison.”

She turned around to see why he wasn’t moving, and they had a stare-off for several seconds until I looked up at David. “You grill? I can’t wait to see you in action.”

Allison’s eyes widened in surprise. “David hasn’t grilled for you?”

“The bed and breakfast doesn’t have a grill, Allison.” David’s voice was tense. “And I’ve been working late at the colony site most nights.”

I wasn’t sure if David was defending his behavior to Allison or me or perhaps both. He had nothing to apologize for as far as I was concerned. “Well, thanks to Allison’s thoughtfulness, you can grill tonight,” I said, forcing myself to sound pleasant.

David beamed down at me and took my hand. “Let’s go see everyone.” He walked past Allison, leading me through the entryway and a renovated kitchen. I gasped when we reached the open French doors leading into the backyard—although calling it a backyard was like calling the Atlantic Ocean a body of water. The steps led to a cobblestone patio that held about ten people, some standing, some sitting in chairs by a koi pond with a waterfall. Multiple flower beds surrounded the perimeter of the yard. It looked like something straight out of a decorating magazine.

“It’s gorgeous,” I said before I could stop myself.

“David did a wonderful job, didn’t he?” Allison asked from behind me. Then she sniffed and reached for a tissue. “He’s very gifted.”

I glanced up at him in awe. “
You
did this?”

His face reddened. “It was nothing.”

“This isn’t nothing, David.”

“I’m sure he misses puttering around since he moved into his rental house,” Allison said. “He tried to make up for it with all those pots, but it’s not the same.”

I turned toward her, unable to stop myself.

“We had just started dating when I mentioned I wanted to landscape my yard,” she went on. “He was eager to help. I teased him that he should have been a landscaper.” She cocked her head with a pensive look. “He got so much more accomplished after he moved in with me.”

My stomach dropped. He hadn’t told me that he and Allison had lived together.

David’s hand tightened around mine. “That was a long time ago.”

“It was only last summer,” Allison said in a smug tone.

“David!” called out one of the men on the patio. “Get over here and tell us how it’s going out in Manteo.”

David pulled me away from Allison and leaned down into my ear. “I had no idea she’d act this way. We can leave if you like.”

“No.” I shook my head. “I want to meet your other friends.”

The group of people turned to face us as we approached, and their genuine smiles helped soften the tension that was building in my shoulders.

A man in his thirties reached out his hand to David and pulled him into a hearty handshake. “Congrats on the Roanoke assignment.”

“Thanks,” David beamed.

“And who have you brought back with you?” the woman next to him asked.

David smiled down at me, then glanced back at her. “Cheryl, this is Ellie Lancaster. Ellie, Cheryl Dalton. Her husband, Noah, works in the English Department.” He gestured toward the man who had just greeted him.

“Hi, nice to meet you,” I said.

Cheryl grinned. “Noah might be asking about the colony, but what we really want to know is how you met Ellie. We hear it’s quite serious.”

The group of six people around us turned their attention to David.

“And who tells you that?” David asked, brushing off her question.

“Please.” She waved a hand. “Noah knows Charles Ditmore at Duke, who knows Steven Godfrey. When Steven came back from Roanoke Island, he told Charles that you found the lost colony
and
the love of your life.”

I shifted uncomfortably, but David wrapped an arm around my back and held me close. “I found a lot of surprises in Manteo.” He grinned down at me, setting me at ease. “But I’m sure everyone would love to hear more about the colony. Especially what’s been found in the Dare house.”

Someone brought two chairs and we sat while David and his friends spent the next ten minutes talking about the colony and the things that David had seen, before Allison walked over with a bottle of beer and a plastic cup. “Where are my manners? You two don’t have drinks yet.” She handed the bottle to David and the cup to me. I took it hesitantly, wondering if she’d done something to it.

She smiled, but I could see the bitterness in her gaze. “I made sure to have your favorite beer on hand, David. I wasn’t sure if Ellie was legal to drink, so I brought her lemonade.”

David stiffened next to me and started to say something, but I patted his arm. “Allison, how thoughtful of you. Thank you.”

Confusion flickered in her eyes and her mouth parted as if she wasn’t sure how to react. The group around us hushed, their expressions shocked.

After a couple of seconds, Allison’s smile returned. “David, the grill’s ready.” She pulled a tissue out of her pocket and wiped her nose. “I really need you to help out. I shouldn’t come into contact with raw meat with this runny nose.”

David glanced over at me, then back at Allison. “Ellie, why don’t you come over with me and I’ll teach you the fine art of grilling, something I’ve picked up since moving to North Carolina.”

Allison shot me a challenging look that said she firmly believed I couldn’t handle her on my own. I’d dealt with her kind before back in high school. For some reason, I’d expected better manners from a college professor. Well, I wasn’t about to back down. I could take demonic badgers. This bitch was nothing.

I leaned back in my chair and took a sip of my drink. “No, I think I’ll stay here and chat with the girls.”

David’s eyes widened, so I leaned over and placed a kiss on his mouth, lingering for a couple of seconds before brushing my mouth against his ear. “Go. I’ll be fine.”

He pulled back, worry in his eyes.

A smile spread across my face. “Make my steak medium-well.”

The guys in the group cast nervous looks between me and Allison and hopped up, following David to the grill. The four other women who’d been left behind looked as though they wished they could join them. Instead, we all settled in our chairs on the patio. I turned my attention to a woman who had been talking to David. “So, Trina, how long have you known David?”

She and the other women all told me how they’d met him. Trina was a professor of Native American studies, and the other three were married to professors David knew from the university.

After a while, there was a pause in the conversation and Allison leaned forward. “Don’t you want to know how I met David?”

I offered her my sweetest smile. “Of course.”

Sipping from her wine glass, she leaned to the side of her chair. “We met in the library. Penelope, the archivist there, was sure to introduce us.”

“I met Penelope this morning at the Wilson Library,” I said. “She seems very sweet.”

She gave me a conspiratorial grin. “She can be quite the matchmaker. She hooked up Trina and Phil too.”

Trina glanced over at the men and grinned. “She sure did.”

“David had been at Chapel Hill for over a year and Penelope thought he needed a girlfriend. He doesn’t cook very much, so she suggested I invite him over for a home-cooked meal. He protested that he didn’t want to be a bother, but he came over and then the next thing you know, we were dating.”

Trina narrowed her eyes. “I thought it was several months after you cooked for him before you two started dating.”

Allison shot Trina a glare, then turned her attention to me. “
In any case
, he moved in and helped me with this old house. He’s really quite handy.” She took a drink of her wine, watching me over the rim. “Like I said, he landscaped this entire backyard.”

“It’s very beautiful,” I said. “You’re lucky he shared his talent with you.” She wanted me to act like a jealous lover, but I wasn’t going to fall into her trap. For one thing, I wasn’t jealous. David had left her, not the other way around. If he wanted to be with her, he would. If anything, I felt sorry for her. David was a wonderful man, and I knew it had to be hard for her to see him with me. I didn’t appreciate her bitchiness, but I understood it.

I crossed my legs and smiled. “I hear that you’re a history professor. My parents and stepmother were all history majors. My father was the park ranger at the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site for many years until he became ill. My mother died when I was a girl, but she was an archaeologist at the site and specialized in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century artifacts. Their names were John and Amanda Lancaster.” I tilted my head to the side. “Perhaps you’ve heard of them?”

“Your father was John Lancaster?” Trina asked in awe.

I nodded. “He was very passionate about the early colonies.”

“He’s a legend, but he had stopped lecturing by the time I started my undergraduate work. Do you know why?”

I pushed down my sorrow. “My mother’s death was hard on him and he found it difficult to leave me after that. I had no idea how respected he was in academia until I spoke with Steven while visiting the colony site.”