23. ZARA
ZARA
“Come on in, Ali. Just follow the road until you get to the house. You can’t miss it.”
I pressed the button that would open the main gate, excited to see my bestie again after so long.
I’d invited her to visit a few times, but she’d been so busy with work and Ben that this was the first time she’d been able to.
Phone calls and texts were better than nothing of course, but nothing could take the place of a face to face chat and a hug.
She’d sounded a bit strange though when she’d called yesterday and had asked if it was okay for her to drop by as she had something to tell me, so I was impatient to find out what was going on with her.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to make myself scarce?
” Tilly asked as Ali’s car pulled up outside.
“I don’t mind. I want to read some more of that book you lent me anyway.
The one about the nightclub boss who’s a dragon with a bounty on his head and the fae assassin who’s trying to capture him by working in his bar, and then she ends up banging him instead.
You like the boss-employee vibe huh?” If that was another insinuation about me and Nero I was going to strangle her and also…
“I don’t think you got that book from me, Tilly.” I was almost a hundred percent certain that wasn’t anything I had on my bookshelf or my Kindle. Unless she’d taken to downloading things without asking of course.
“Nah, I totally made that up,” she said with a giggle. “Maybe I should have a go at writing it. I’ll start now before I forget what it’s about. Tell your friend I’ll come and say hello in a bit.”
“Well, this is not what I was expecting,” Ali said when I opened the door and dragged her inside, wrapping her in a hug before she’d even had a chance to get her coat off. “When you called it a manor I thought you were exaggerating. Is Seth secretly a Lord of the Realm or something?”
“I suppose he is in a way,” I said, “just not this realm. But never mind that. What is it you want to tell me?”
“Nuh-uh. I need a wee first. I was stuck on that bloody A12 for nearly an hour. Where’s your loo?” I pointed her in the right direction and poured us both a coffee while I waited for her to come back.
“So come on,” I said impatiently once she’d joined me at the kitchen table. “Spill the beans.” She wrapped her hands around her mug of coffee and took a deep breath, as if she was psyching herself up to be the bearer of bad news. “Ali? You’re worrying me now.”
“Ben’s going back to the States,” she blurted. “His company is sending him to their Seattle office.”
“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry. That sucks.” I reached across the table and covered her hands with my own.
“But couples juggle long distance relationships all the time. If it’s meant to be, you’ll find a way to make it work.
” Maybe I could persuade Jed to help out with transport now and then seeing as she already knew all about our world.
“Neither of us is interested in doing long distance. He’s asked me to marry him and I’ve said yes. I’m going with him when he goes back.”
It took a minute for the full weight of what she’d just told me to sink in.
My best friend was moving thousands of miles away just when we’d finally been able to start being honest with each other about what was going on in our lives.
It took a few seconds more for the rest to hit me. My bestie was getting married.
“Oh my god, Ali, congratulations.” I pulled her up from her seat so I could hug her. “I’m so happy for you.” I grabbed her left hand. “Why no ring?”
“We’re going shopping for one at the weekend,” she said. “You know me, control freak. He was scared to choose something in case I didn’t like it. Actually,” she added, “I think he was also worried I’d say no.”
Honestly, I was a bit surprised that she hadn’t. She’d always insisted marriage wasn’t for her and that she preferred her freedom, but I guess that all changed when you met the right man. Or in her case, wolf.
“So are you getting married here or in the States?”
“Here. Just a small civil ceremony with close family and friends. It would have been easier to have it in the States as his family is much bigger than mine, but my nan just isn’t well enough to handle a ten hour flight, and she’d never forgive me if she had to miss her only granddaughter’s wedding.
His parents, his two brothers and his best friend are going to come over for it, and we’ll have a blessing ceremony and a big party for all the rest of his family when we’ve moved.
But just because I’m not having the whole big white wedding here, that doesn’t mean I can’t have my best friend as my maid of honour. ”
She held up a hand to stop me before I could tell her I should bloody well hope so, looking uncharacteristically nervous again.
“But before you agree, there’s something else I need to tell you.
” That sounded ominous. “Do you remember when you first met Seth and moved here, and I was really worried about you?”
“You were convinced I’d either been brainwashed or kidnapped,” I said ruefully. “Or possibly both. Why are you bringing that up?”
“Because not long after you moved in with Seth, I had a visit from the police about you. They said ‘a concerned party’ had reported you missing and they wanted to know if I had been in contact with you, or if I had any idea where you were. At first I thought Richard was up to his tricks again, but he had a genuine police badge, and he was very persuasive. He knew that you hadn’t been back to your flat for a while, or to work.
I should have told him you were on holiday and there was nothing to worry about, but I wasn’t entirely convinced that was true.
I couldn’t tell him where this place was because I didn’t know, so I gave him…
” she stopped and gave me a pleading look.
“You gave him what, Ali?”
“I gave him the registration number of the car you said Seth had bought for you. You sent me a picture of it, remember? I thought if he bought it in his name not yours, they’d be able to track you through it.
I know I shouldn’t have done it, and I regretted it as soon as he’d gone, but I was already worried about you, and it was the police, so…
I’m sorry. It’s been eating away at me knowing I might have caused trouble for you and Seth.
I had to come clean with you. Are you mad at me? ”
The answer to a question that had been bugging me for a while now clicked neatly into place.
I’d never been entirely convinced that Jed had somehow managed to get my car registration from Seth’s insurance company records, but in the end I’d decided it wasn’t worth making a fuss about it when I knew he’d never intended me any harm.
Now, in light of his ‘spy network’ that he’d had to own up to recently, it all made perfect sense.
And I’d be willing to bet that the police officer he’d had visit Ali had been a vampire, and he’d compelled her to cooperate with him.
That didn’t mean I was letting her off the hook too easily though.
“So let me get this straight.” I did my best to look incensed.
“You are the reason the police busted in here and tried to arrest Seth for abducting me and keeping me against my will?” Her hands flew up to her face, catching her luckily now empty coffee mug on their way and sending it careering across the table.
“Oh my god, Zara, I’m so sorry. I never meant—”
“It didn’t help that he had me handcuffed to the bed wearing nothing but a thong and a pair of nipple clamps.
I’ve never been so embarrassed in my entire life as when they burst into the room.
” I didn’t know how I was keeping a straight face, but somehow I managed to.
I was about to start expanding on how they’d reacted on finding me in that state when she rumbled me.
“Hang on a minute, there’s no way the police managed to get through those security gates and all the way up to the house and you were still tied to the bed when they got here.”
“They were in a helicopter,” I managed to splutter before we both collapsed in a fit of giggles.
“So are you mad at me or not?” She asked hesitantly when we’d recovered. “Are you going to be at my wedding?”
“I feel like I should be mad at you,” I admitted.
“But I know you were only worried about me. If I’m honest, I’d probably have done the same thing in your shoes.
” I wasn’t going to tell her that she’d also probably been compelled by a vampire because I knew she would not handle that well.
“Nothing came of it anyway. So no, I’m not mad at you and yes, I would love to be your maid of honour. When are we going dress shopping?”
Once we’d talked about what kind of dress she wanted, and she’d shown me some pictures of what she had in mind, the question I’d been expecting since the moment she arrived came.
“So, where’s Seth? He’s not still away on his business trip is he?
” I hadn’t told her the truth about where Seth was yet, even though he’d said I could, because I’d been waiting until I got the chance to tell her in person.
But the moment she’d told me she was marrying Ben and going back to the States with him, I’d known I just couldn’t do that to her.
If I did, I knew her excitement over the wedding would be overshadowed by worrying about me.
“Yeah. It’s taking longer than we hoped for him to deal with everything. Hopefully he’ll be back soon.”
“That sucks. Don’t you usually go with him when he has his business trips though? What’s different about this one?”
“He’s going to be really busy doing Guardian Stuff this time,” I rolled my eyes dramatically and threw in some air quotes.
“I didn’t fancy being stuck on my own somewhere all the time while he’s off doing his thing.
I might as well be here. And besides, I’ve got a friend staying with me to keep me company.
She’s a sprite and you’re going to love her.
” If she managed to drag herself away from her new career as a novelist before Ali left.
I’d had time to give her a tour of the manor, minus the ‘downstairs guest rooms’, before Tilly finally joined us, announcing that the dragon was turning out to be ‘a right tosser’ and she hoped the assassin finished him off and got it on with the other bartender instead.
We ate toasted sandwiches and polished off the remains of last night’s cheesecake on the terrace while Tilly regaled Ali with the finer details of her novel before moving on to her father’s plan to marry her off and what she’d been getting up to in an effort to avoid that fate.
When she finally got the chance to get a word in edgeways, Ali made her escape, saying she wanted to be off ‘that cursed road’ well before any rush hour traffic started building up.
I walked her to her car while Tilly took our empty plates and cups back inside.
“Make sure you send me a picture of that ring the second it’s on your finger,” I told her as I hugged her goodbye. “And let me know where and when I’m meeting you for dress shopping.”
“I will.” She held on to me a little bit longer than usual. “Thanks for not being mad at me about the police thing. Oh, and by the way,” she said as she released me, “you’re right. I do love your little sprite.”
“Nipple clamps and a thong, eh? I reckon we could work that into your next dance routine,” Tilly said the moment Ali had left.
“Well firstly, eavesdropping is very rude and secondly, I was only making it up. It never happened.”
“If you say so,” she said with an exaggerated wink, “but the idea had to come from somewhere. Just saying,” she added innocently when I glared at her.
“So how much of that did you hear anyway?” If she’d been listening in on our entire conversation, it was just as well I’d decided not to tell Ali where Seth really was.
“Oh, all of it,” she admitted without a hint of remorse. “Sprites have excellent hearing. But don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone your kinky secrets.”
“I do not have kinky… oh, never mind.” It was pointless engaging with her. “What do you want to do for the rest of the day?”
“Let’s go out,” she said immediately. “It’s too late to go sightseeing now, but we could go to Theo’s Bar later. Maybe it’ll be a bit livelier this time.”
“Theo’s isn’t that kind of bar, Tilly,” I told her, nearly laughing at the ridiculously sad face she immediately pulled. “But it just so happens I know of one that is.” I picked up my phone ready to type out a text for Rachel and Jules. “How do you feel about a girls’ night?”
“Maybe another night,” she surprised me by saying before I could send it. “I’d really like to go to Theo’s tonight, if it’s okay with you. I want to ask about a job.”
“A job? Why?”
“Just a temporary one. While I’m here. It was really nice of Jed to give me that credit card to use, but I’d like the chance to earn my own money.” I could certainly identify with that, but I had a feeling Theo wouldn’t be too keen on employing her after the way she’d behaved at his party.
“I don’t know, Tilly. I’m not sure if Theo has any vacancies at the moment and even if he does, how would you get there? I won’t be able to drive you when I’m working, and a cab would probably cost more than you’d earn. Have you even got any experience?”
“Well, not actual experience in a real bar, but I watched a movie about this guy learning to make cocktails, and it really didn’t look that hard. And I’ve definitely danced on a bar before, so I’m pretty sure I can rock it.”
“Again, not that kind of place, Tilly.” The look she gave me couldn’t have said ‘not yet’ any more clearly if she’d printed the words in three foot high letters and waved them in my face.
“Never hurts to ask though, does it?”
“You know what, you’re right.” If Tilly wanted to ask Theo for a job, then that was about to become his problem.
I had enough of my own already without making this one mine too.
“Theo’s it is.” Besides, once she saw how far away from the Manor the bar actually was, she’d realise it wouldn’t be practical to work there anyway.