Chapter 7 #3
I gave him a tight hug and a kiss before he backed away so I could hop down from the counter. It only took us a minute to clean up my mess, so we were out the door before either of his grandparents could catch us joking around in the kitchen.
After hugs from Ailin and Sebastian—they really were a huggy family—I decided to walk over with them and Zay to speak to the construction supervisor, Parez.
The man shook hands with everyone, including me, and I couldn’t help but wonder what he was. Was he a shifter or something else? If he was a shifter, what exactly did he shift into?
Parez said, “Everything we talked about on Friday should still be on track this week. Also, Zaos, I managed to find some of that tile you wanted this weekend. I don’t have my hands on it yet, but I told the store’s owner that we’ll make a deal.
I have to drive out there later this week to make sure he has enough on his lot, but yeah, I finally found it. ”
“Oh wow, really? That’s great news,” Zay said happily, practically bouncing on his toes. “Thank you so, so, so much for finding it. I know that was a pain.”
The man smiled back at Zay, looking just as happy and bouncy as my viramore. It was honestly kind of cute, if a big, burly, bearded man could be cute. “No problem, man. It was fun.”
I didn’t have many opinions on anything for the addition other than making sure there were plenty of extra bedrooms and bathrooms in case a ton of his family stayed with us all at once.
But Zay had asked me to help pick things out, like the paint colors for all the rooms, what kind of carpet, and tile for the bathrooms. I was really bad at helping.
About a month ago, we’d been flipping through one of the many books with samples and things, and I pointed out this one specific tile that I liked. Of course, it happened to be one that was no longer in production or something, so we couldn’t even order it.
But Zaos had been determined to get it… probably because it was one of the only things I’d truly had an opinion on and liked a lot.
I’d told him a million times that I could pick out something else, but he and the supervisor had decided to find some. Honestly, Parez had seemed just as enthusiastic about it as Zay—the man really liked his job and seemed to enjoy the challenge.
Apparently, he’d found some, which was way above and beyond.
“Thank you for doing that, Parez.” I sent him a smile. “That was really kind of you to go out of your way like that. We definitely owe you one. Or like, a million.”
He waved me away with a small laugh. “It was no problem at all. I was happy to do it.” He took a deep breath. “Oh wow. It smells delicious out here. You have to tell me what you made yourselves for breakfast this morning.”
I glanced at Zay since that was so random—maybe the guy was some kind of shifter that had a strong sense of smell?—and he shrugged at me, then said to Parez, “We ate cereal this morning, so I’m not sure what you’re smelling.”
The man furrowed his brow and gestured toward his crew.
“Hm. No one else seemed to notice it either.” He glanced around the yard and addition area with a frown.
“I’m not sure what it is either.” He offered us a smile.
“Ah, well, I should get back to it before Korod drops that wood on his foot again.”
“Hey!” Korod yelled. “That was Murdoch’s fault!”
Parez laughed, and behind his back, I saw, who I assumed was Murdoch, flip Korod off. I couldn’t help but chuckle myself.
“Knuckleheads,” Parez muttered, but was clearly enjoying the banter between his crew. “Anyway, let me know if you guys need anything.”
Zaos laughed and waved him off. “Thanks, Parez.”
The man waved at us, then hurried over to that Korod guy who was carrying enough wood I couldn’t even see his face.
I turned to Zay, asking, “Do you smell anything?”
“Nothing but the wood from them framing and the cement from the foundation.”
Sebastian turned to him. “You can really still smell the cement?”
“Yep.”
“Huh. Your nose is a lot better than mine.” Sebastian leaned over and nudged Zay with his shoulder, earning a small smile from my incubus.
Ailin sighed and waved us out of the crew’s way. “Come on. Let’s get out of their hair for a bit.”
Zaos looked at his grandfather with wide eyes. “Wow, you’re actually willing to let them do their job for once?”
“Hardy, har, har, kiddo.” Ailin threw his arm over Zay’s shoulders even though my viramore was a lot taller than him. It looked kinda funny and made me hide a grin as I watched Ailin lovingly pull Zay toward the back door of the main house.
Sebastian chuckled and shot me a wink, clearly as amused by the sight as I was.
“Shut it, Sebastian,” Ailin called without even looking over his shoulder.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t have to.”
I laughed and followed them into the house.
Through our link, I asked Zaos, “What kind of shifter is Parez?”
“A gargoyle.”
My eyebrows shot up. “I thought shifters were all some kind of animal?”
“Most are. But there’s a few born shifters—like they don’t have to go through a catalyst event to shift. Just like dragons—they’re always dragons, no matter what.”
“Huh. Good to know.”
Zay sent me a wink, kissed my cheek, and pulled me through to the living room.