The Time Keeper (The Guardians of Time Book 1) (23 page)

To David’s great delight, Seb flushed in embarrassment and looked down at his plate with a mumbled thanks.  He looked beseechingly at Emilia and taking pity on him, she returned the attention to Eddie who was evidently a lot more comfortable with it.

‘Is your family from Seattle, Eddie?’

Eddie shook his head, a shadow passing briefly across his face.  ‘No.  I’m originally from San Francisco, where my parents still are.  My younger brother is trying to make a go of it as a stage actor in New York.’

‘Oh that’s great; you’ll be so much closer to him now!’ she exclaimed warmly.

Eddie looked at her, his brown eyes dancing with merriment.  ‘He’s actually in a play in a few weeks.  Maybe I could take you to see it?’

‘Oh, um… maybe…’ Emilia felt her face heating with embarrassment.  ‘We only just met and um…’

Seb, whose eyebrows had just about shot up into his hairline, returned the favour and stepped in to save her.  ‘What Emilia is trying to say, is she’ll get back to you on that once she’s got to know you better.’  He paused.  ‘Just in case you’re a serial killer, sadomasochist or simple jerk.’

‘Seb!’ David admonished with a half laugh.

‘What?’  Seb looked at David, his eyes innocently wide.  ‘I’m just looking out for your daughter.  I’m sure Eddie is a completely upstanding citizen; I’m just being cautious.’

Eddie leaned back in his chair and laughed, an easy laugh full of genuine delight.  ‘I had no idea this dinner was going to be so… fascinating.’

‘Sorry,’ Emilia muttered.

‘Don’t be.  I completely understand.’  He smiled roguishly.  ‘I’ll ask you again in a couple of weeks… once you’ve got to know me better.’

Emilia squirmed in her seat, conscious of her still red face.  The way he kept looking at her flustered her.  Excusing herself from the table, she escaped to the bench to dish out dessert, absently scooping out rhubarb crumble and vanilla ice cream. 

Suddenly it dawned on her why she felt so uncomfortable – she wasn’t used to being flirted with!  Justin hadn’t flirted because he hadn’t needed to, he’d basically crooked his finger and she’d been there.  Dex had liked her apparently, but he was too awkward and self-conscious to actually flirt.  And the only other guy she was around regularly was Seb and since he wasn’t interested in her that way, there had definitely been no flirting.

She carried the bowls back to the table and looked at Eddie thoughtfully.  He kept staring at her, even while talking to David or Seb.  She glanced away and then couldn’t help but look back.  He winked at her, his grin mischievous and she felt her skin turning hot and red just when it had finally cooled down, so she turned her concentration to her dessert and avoided making eye contact with him again.

Dessert finished, David pushed his chair back from the table and stood up.  ‘Eddie, would you follow me through to my study for a minute?  I’d like to discuss the project you’re going to be working on.’

Eddie rose.  ‘Thank you for an extraordinary meal, Emilia.  Can I quickly help you with the dishes?’

‘No, that’s quite all right.  Seb and I will take care of them.  You go with Dad.’

He nodded and followed David out the door. 

When he was out of earshot, Seb whistled.  ‘Wow.  He’s got it bad for you.’

Emilia propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her hands.  ‘Don’t be ridiculous.  He’s just a flirt.’

‘I don’t know, Angel.  He barely took his eyes off you all night… I was watching.’  He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his stomach, deciding regretfully he couldn’t fit another serve of crumble in.  ‘You should go out with him, but
only
if I’m still allowed to eat here.’

Emilia looked at him strangely.  ‘What are you going on about?  We only just met and I hardly know the guy.’

‘You’ve ended things with Justin and Eddie’s exactly the kind of guy you should be with, Em,’ he said gravely.  ‘He’s confident, charming and, although as a guy it pains me to admit it, he’s good looking.  He’s intelligent, funny and from a solid family.  He’s got pedigree, Angel, and you deserve that.’

Emilia gathered the dessert bowls up and dumped them in the sink, with a little more force than necessary, ready for rinsing before she stacked the dishwasher.  She braced her hands on the bench and stared out the window.  Less than two hours ago she’d been standing in this exact spot daydreaming about kissing Seb and wondering if maybe they had a future together.  Well, she guessed she had her answer.  A guy who had feelings for a girl didn’t push her in the direction of another guy.  She told herself it didn’t matter; it wasn’t like she was in love with Seb.  But she couldn’t ignore the tiny twinge of hurt that he was so keen to see her with someone else.

‘You make him sound like a dog,’ she muttered.

He swallowed a laugh.  ‘I just want you to have the best, that’s all.’

‘I’ve only been single for a few weeks.  Why can’t I enjoy that for a while?’  She spun to face him, leaning her hands on the bench behind her.  ‘Besides, you saw what happened with Stacey and then Justin.  It’s impossible to maintain a relationship doing what we do, unless you tell that person the truth.  Do you want me to tell Eddie what we do?’

‘No,’ he said on a sigh.  ‘But I want you to be happy.’

She flung her arm in the air dramatically.  ‘And where’s your happiness, Seb?  I don’t see you making the effort to have a relationship and be happy with someone.’

‘I’m not a relationship kind of guy; I’ve already told you that.’  His face closed off.  ‘I don’t believe in happily ever after.’

‘Maybe not for yourself, but you’re trying to force it on me,’ she pointed out.

He threw his arms up defensively.  ‘Okay, okay… point taken.  I’ll back off.’

‘Good.’  She turned back to the sink.  ‘Are you going to help me with these dishes or what?  You don’t get to eat for free, you know.’

‘I’m coming.’  She heard his chair scrape back and he wandered over with glasses filling both his big hands.  She opened the dishwasher door for him so he could put them straight in the top shelf.  Then she turned on the water in the sink and started rinsing the dessert bowls.

‘You thought he was pretty hot though, didn’t you?’ Seb teased, his eyes dancing.

She threw a bowl full of water at him, smiling in satisfaction when he started spluttering.

Chapter 30

Clothes were literally flying everywhere. 

Emilia sat cross-legged on Stacey’s bed, watching as her best friend tried to pack her entire bedroom into two average sized suitcases.  Jess had already left for the Air Force Academy in Colorado, but everyone else was heading off tomorrow.

‘It’s never going to fit!’ Stacey wailed, throwing her arms up in the air in frustration.

‘Kevin’s probably not going to take as much stuff as you, so why don’t you get him to fill the gaps in his suitcases with your extras?’ 

Kevin had received a football scholarship to Duke University in North Carolina, where he’d also begin the long journey towards becoming a doctor.  Fortunately, Duke also offered engineering degrees, Stacey’s choice of career, so they didn’t have to face the struggle of making a long distance relationship work.

‘Already thought of that.  I took over a box full of winter clothes yesterday.’  She pulled a cute pink and white summer dress out of her closet and held it up for inspection.  ‘I suppose I don’t really need to pack a lot of summer clothes now that we’re moving into fall.’

Stacey hung the dress back in the wardrobe with a resigned sigh.  ‘At least you don’t have to try and pack your room up,’ she said wistfully.

‘True.  But you’re going off on a grand adventure and I’m going to be the only one left behind in Ithaca.’  Emilia rolled a stack of tops, trying to make them as small as possible and tucked them down the sides of one of the cases.  She tried not to think too much about how lonely she was going to be without Stace.

Stacey threw a disbelieving look over her shoulder and continued to root around in her closest, tossing the odd thing over onto the bed.  ‘When it comes to grand adventures, you’re far from missing out, Em!  Which reminds me, have you got a new one lined up yet?’

‘Nope.  There hasn’t been a peep from The Society, but I’m sure that won’t last long.’

‘Are you still training with Seb every day?’

Emilia nodded.  ‘We run every morning and I’m getting pretty good with a gun.  In fact, Seb decided this morning I’m ready to graduate up to rifle training.’

Stacey snorted.  ‘It’s unbelievable the things you get excited about these days.  Just don’t go and develop an interest in deer hunting while I’m gone.  I
cannot
have a best friend who is that uncool!’

Emilia giggled at the image of her crawling through the forest trying to blend into the greenery.  She still wasn’t convinced she’d ever need these new skills, but it kept Seb happy and since it made him a little less overbearing, she was willing enough to run with it.  ‘I’m much too fond of Disney animals to even consider it.  Speaking of uncool, how’s everything going with Dex?’

Dangling two sets of high heels from her fingers, Stacey examined them critically before adding the silver pair to the growing pile on the bed.  ‘I think he’s
really
glad his university is several states away from mine.  I may have been a tad smothering.’

Emilia laughed.  When she’d lost Dex, Stacey had developed a real appreciation for the preciousness of life.  Now that she had him back, she was determined to make the most of every minute they had together before university divided them once again.  ‘Dex is such a sweetheart, I’m sure he doesn’t mind.’

‘A suck up is a more accurate description.  I love him, but seriously, does he have to show me up all the time?  Mum thinks he walks on water and she doesn’t even have a memory of losing him.  It’s
so
annoying!’

‘I’m sure it is.’  Emilia knew it was all talk though.

‘Have you talked to Justin?’ Stacey asked.  She stood in front of her bed with her hands on her hips and Emilia knew she was trying to figure out how such a large pile was going to fit in the few remaining spaces in the suitcases. 

‘Yes.  We met for coffee yesterday.’  Emilia looked at the three jackets spread on the bed, two of which were black.  They were both gorgeous, but there was one in particular which Emilia thought Stace looked amazing in.  She got off the bed and hung the other one back in the closest, then rolled the remaining two and wedged them between a couple of pairs of shoes already in the case.  ‘It was a bit weird at first, but I’m glad we did it.  He still talked about himself a lot, which is never going to change.  But then this funny look would cross his face and he’d abruptly ask me something about me.  It was kind of cute.’

Stacey groaned.  ‘Don’t tell me you’re falling for him again!’

‘I’m not!  Relax.’  Emilia flopped back down on the bed.  ‘It’s just nice we can sort of be friends.’

‘Speaking of relationships… any developments on the Seb front?’

‘Only if you count confirmation that he’s definitely not interested in me,’ Emilia said ruefully.

‘
What
kind of confirmation?’

Emilia shrugged.  ‘He’s trying to set me up with Dad’s new Research Assistant.’

‘Interesting.  I could have sworn…’ Her head snapped up, eyes narrowed.  ‘You haven’t told me about this new guy.  I hate it when you hold out on me.’

‘I’m not holding out on you.  Dad only brought him around for dinner the night before last and that was the first time I met him.  I haven’t seen you since then.’

‘So what’s he like?’

‘Really good looking and a mega flirt.’

‘And you’re not interested,’ Stacey observed.

‘Not particularly.’

‘Because you
are
interested in one Sebastian Gates!’ Stacey concluded triumphantly.

Emilia glanced away.  ‘I… maybe,’ she admitted, because this was Stace and keeping things from Stace only ended in disaster.  ‘I haven’t figured out exactly how I feel about him, whether it’s just close friendship or something more.  But the something more is kind of scary, so I’ve been trying not to go there.’

‘Em, I’m going to give you some advice.’  Stacey sat down on the bed and reached for Emilia’s hands.  ‘Don’t overthink it.  Go with the flow and see where it takes you.’

‘Okay, I’ll try.’

‘
And
jealously is an excellent tool to help a guy face his true feelings, so you should seriously consider going out with this new guy.’

So much for good advice!  Emilia pulled a pillow out from behind her and chucked it at Stace.

***

To be continued…

Thank you so much for reading The Time Keeper… I hope you enjoyed it.

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Read on for a sneak peek of
The Magic Maker