Page 15 of Zachary

I’m glad for her distraction, because every single thing I’ve learned about Earth culture in regard to interpersonal relationships is currently streaming through my mind. Did she mean a friendly, welcome-to-town drink, or is this a more personal request?

The kettle is boiling already, probably because it was still warm from earlier, and I carefully spoon the tea leaves into the pot and pour in the water.

“I could live on these croissants, Ronan, seriously. You’re a great baker. So anyway, I barely got to speak to you when you first arrived, and you’ve been spending so much time in the cave, it didn’t seem right to bother you at night, after such long days. But I know how weird it can be trying to settle in here, surrounded by almost only demons, and I thought you might find it handy to have a friend who’s been there, done that.” She half raises one hand while shoving the last of the croissant into her mouth. “That’s me,” she says through the crumbs.

Relief floods me so hard, my knees weaken. Friend. I can do that. In fact, I need to do that. This… this is like one of thosemiracles humans are so fond of. I carry the teapot to the table and go back for mugs, milk, and sugar, then slide into my chair. “I would love that.” I’m sure she notices how emphatic I am, but I can’t help it.

“Great!” She nabs another croissant, this time breaking it open and drizzling honey over it. “In the spirit of our newfound friendship, I’m going to be honest with you and say I know you’ve had a rocky start with some of the villagers.”

I wince, wishing the tea had steeped enough already. Pouring it would be a great distraction. But Brandt’s partner, Percy, was very firm when he taught me the proper way to make tea.“Don’t rush it—the perfect cup needs time.”

“I don’t think it’s a secret,” I confess. Her smile turns sympathetic.

“They feel better about you now, though. There are only a few who are still wary… of the ones who know you, I mean. The population here is small, but a thousand people is still a lot to meet in just a month. How are you finding the weather? Is the cold getting to you?”

I shake my head, checking the pot and finding the tea is finally ready. “Oh, no. Dragons can self-regulate body temperature, so once I got used to the conditions, there was no problem.” It had taken me a day or so to get my magic to recognize the new temperature ranges and adjust automatically, rather than me having to consciously maintain it, but since then, I haven’t even noticed the cold. I only wear winter gear outdoors so I won’t stand out.

I’m so busy pouring our tea that it takes me a moment to realize Zoe is staring at me with her mouth open, hand frozen midair with a piece of croissant in it. Honey is dripping over her fingers.

“Uh, Zoe?” I gesture to her hand. She blinks, looks, then ducks her head and licks the honey away. I slide her mug over to her. “Milk and sugar?”

“Nuh-uh. No way are you going to drop a bombshell like that and then be all, how do you like your tea. Nope. You, mister… you’re like theperfectfriend for me. We can play in the snow all day long and you’d never whine about being cold!”

I’m not sure how to respond to that, so I think we’re both surprised when I say, “I’ve never played in the snow before.”

“That’s gonna change,” she promises, then, to my absolute horror, she taps the notebook lying beside her. “What’s this?”

Too late, I realize I should have moved it—at least over to my side of the table. I can’t even snatch it away from her, not when she’s already got her hand on it.

“I—” Words fail me, and my face gets hot.

“Zachary? Who… oh, you mean Zac. Yeah, heisintelligent.” She reads the rest of the list silently, then picks up my pen and adds something. Before I can ask what, she’s flipping back to the previous pages.

I bury my face in my hands.

“Ronan?” Her voice is gentle,almosttempting me to peek between my fingers. “What is this?”

I suck in a deep breath and lower my hands. She doesn’t look mad or like she thinks I’m weird.

“It’s… I’m not good with people. At making friends.” I wonder briefly if I should use Fabian’s sex analogy but decide it might be best not to. “Fabian—did you meet him?” She nods. “He said he could help me make better connections here. He’s got this plan he hasn’t told me about yet, but in the meantime, that was my homework.” I gesture to the notepad. “He wanted me to think of people who could maybe get along with me and make a list of what I know about them.”

“Oh, honey.” Despite the words, her smile is kind, not pitying. “I can’t pretend to know what it’s like to be shy, because I’m not—not even close—but my sister’s bestie can’t even look people in the eye without blushing.” She reaches out and pats my hand. “Don’t worry—me and Fabian, we can help you meet people. I’m happy to be a safe person for you here.”

The sheer weight of feeling that crashes through me leaves me incapable of speech, but Zoe doesn’t seem to need an answer. She’s looking back down at the notepad. “You’ve made a great start here,” she adds. “Cam likes you—he’s the one who called to tell me you had today off. He knew I’d been wanting to introduce myself properly. And trust me, he’s never met a stranger, so he’s a great ally to have. Garrett, too—he’s yelled at Zac a bunch already for giving you a hard time.” She winces. “Sorry, but you have to know Zac isn’t your greatest fan. I’m kinda surprised you made a list for him.”

“I didn’t at first,” I start, then find myself telling her everything—about how Zachary and I barely speak, the way our few verbal exchanges tend to be snide. I skip over what he said yesterday—no need to bring that up—but I explain the way he apologized today. “I thought that since he seems open to the idea of starting over, it might be good to be prepared.”

She nods slowly, then jumps to her feet. There’s an expression on her face I’m not quite sure how to interpret. “Come on… let’s go out. It’s a nice day; there’s plenty of people in the snow village. This is a great opportunity for you to be social, and I swear, I won’t leave your side.”

Reflexively, I begin to protest, but… she’s right. “Okay.”

“Great!” She grins. “I just need to pee first.”

I direct her to the bathroom, then busy myself tidying away the dishes and food. I lift the notepad to wipe the tabletop, and my eye catches on what she wrote on Zachary’s page.

Single—gay—hot as fuck.

CHAPTER EIGHT

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