Declan held out a hand, and I wrapped my fingers around his huge, warm palm. The petals led out toward the garage and then took a sharp turn toward the stairway up to the roof.
I grinned over at Declan. “Are we heading to Chad’s famous herb garden? I’ve never gone up.”
Declan’s brow furrowed, but it smoothed out quickly. “Ah, because before you were injured in bed, there was the Oliver threat. That makes sense. Well, then this is even better.”
The stairwell ended at an open door, and we walked out into the cool air of the evening. Raised beds with leafy plants filled most of the roof, and the aroma of rosemary and sage was thick in the air. The sky was a pale shade of purple, as the sun ducked behind the towering pines. A warm glow illuminated the rooftop garden from flickering candles set on the concrete floor. Chad and Ace sat to one side, Ace holding a hand at Chad’s back as the injured werewolf tuned a guitar. They both shot me a quick smile as we passed.
I grinned and nodded to them, but my attention was immediately drawn away to where another werewolf stood, waiting for me.
Lucas wore the sexiest tux I’d ever seen. His lapels were shiny black, and he had a tie that matched it. His dark pants pressed into a perfect crease. For a strange moment, I felt a sense of deja vu, like I was walking down the aisle in a wedding dress once again.
Lucas and Michael Card were nothing alike. Lucas was everything I’d wanted the imposter I married to be and everything that man wasn’t. Declan and I stopped just before Lucas, and the sweet veterinarian offered me an arm. He smelled like soap and warm fabric, and I had a sudden urge to lean in and smell him, but I pushed the instinct down.
As I transferred over to Lucas’ arm, I couldn’t help but chuckle. “This feels like we’re getting married, and Declan is giving me away, and…” I trailed off as my face flushed. “Wow, that probably goes on record as the worst thing anyone has ever said on a first date.”
Lucas’ cheeks creased up in a smile, and his dimple indented his cheek. “Is this our first date? I’ve been counting all of your many surgeries as dates, so in my mind, we’re pretty far into this.”
I pushed my face into Lucas’ shoulder, hiding what I was sure was very red cheeks. Peeking up at him, I said, “Lucas, we need to work on hiding our flirtatious banter in front of people, or they’re going to think we’re into some freaky shit.”
“Oh, we already know about you two…” Declan winked down at me. “And, I think I’m supposed to leave anyway, so you can continue your kinky talk without me listening in. But, for the record, I have no plans to give you away, Teagan. At least not for longer than tonight.” The big guy leaned down and kissed me on the top of my head. “I will, however, get out of your hair for your date.”
“Thanks, Declan,” I shot back at the massive werewolf as he turned around and headed for the other side of the roof.
Lucas smiled after Declan and then turned to me, his gray eyes warm. “Want to sit?”
I glanced down at the couch that the men must have carried up from the living room. They’d also carried up our thick wood coffee table, and several candles sat on it, flickering with flames.
“The kitchen table wouldn’t fit into the stairwell…” Lucas began to say, but I squeezed his arm.
“It’s all so perfect, Lucas. Thank you for doing this for me.”
We sat side by side, and I immediately wiggled out of my boots and curled up into Lucas’ side. An unimpeded view of Grayhaven lay out before us. As the sun set over the pine forest, the city glowed with twinkling lights.
Behind us, Chad strummed his guitar, starting up a low, soft melody that didn’t come from his grunge rock days.
Someone crunched over the gravel toward us, and I glanced up to find Jasper’s bright blue eyes on mine as he set a tray of food before us.
I reached out and touched his hand. “Hey, Jasper.”
He squeezed my fingers. “You two have a good night. I’ll be patrolling around the building, so yell if you need anything.”
“We will,” Lucas said.
Ace stopped by our table next to pour the wine, giving us each a smile as he handed it over. The guy had claimed no responsibility for saving my life, even though it was his coded message about the memory eater that had given us all the opportunity to stop Oliver.
No one had seen the creature, but Ace said that the night before the Oliver incident, a demon patron told him that the memory eater was from North America and looked like a union of a puma and a bear.
This sent Ace on a full night research binge on North American legends, only to find a note about the fearsome critters, seemingly invented by lumberjacks in the eighteen-hundreds. There was one creature that fit the description that was said to take a person’s memories if you looked it straight in the eyes.
As Ace handed me my wine glass, his fingers brushed mine, and a small smile lit on his lips. “You two have fun,” he said as he pulled his hand away. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“You’re a mystery, Ace. I have no idea what you wouldn’t do,” I called after him.
“Neither do I,” Lucas said as he took a sip of his wine, “And I’ve known Ace for years.”
The bartender shot a smile back before heading down
