Page 7 of Lakesides and Longing

She glanced at his duffle bag and then glared at Lukas. “This isn’t necessary.”

Lukas leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Yes, it is. Remember the deal. Blake stays here or I tell Mom and Dad.”

She pouted. “That’s not fair.”

“But you’ll be safe and have food in the house.”

Tess gave her a big hug and whispered something in her ear. She flushed, and Blake found he desperately wanted to know what she’d said. He was more than a little intrigued by this somewhat eccentric but beautiful woman.

Lukas opened the door and called for the dogs. Tria raced in and set herself at Blake’s side.

They all said a few more awkward goodbyes, and then they were gone.

Paige stared at him for a moment, and he stared back.

“What’s your sign?” she asked.

“Excuse me?”

“Your zodiac sign.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. She was one of those. He shouldn’t be surprised. “Virgo, I think.”

“You think?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I don’t really care much about my zodiac sign.” He was never one to care even when people were asking just for fun. But he was a man of science, not fake signs and all that.

She sniffed. “Well, then you are definitely a Virgo. I wonder what my psychic will have to say about this.”

“Why would you have a psychic?”

“You mean you don’t? I never make a decision without consulting mine.”

Beautiful or not, no way in hades would he fall for this woman. She was about as opposite of him as things got and not in the good “opposites attract” way. He liked his women grounded and with an appreciation for facts—like science, not zodiacs or psychics.

“We still don’t know for sure. When’s your birthday?”

“September fifth.”

“Yep. Virgo. I’m an Aquarius, we will not get along. But maybe if we sit down and talk about the differences between our signs we can work something out.”

“Can you show me where I’ll be staying?” he asked in hopes that maybe she’d stop talking about fortune-telling.

She turned and started up the staircase that still impressed the hell out of him. It seemed to float even though it was made of half logs. The spindles were all made of twigs and branches of various sizes. He felt like he was in a forest. Halfway up the stairs he stopped. “Are all those plants real?” There were dozens beneath him and hanging from the ceiling.

She nodded. “I don’t like fake houseplants.”

Maybe they did have something in common after all. “Anything that can hurt a dog?” He glanced down at Tria.

The plants he’d seen weren’t bad, but he was certain there were things hidden amongst them.

“No. Everything is safe. Lukas brings Dio here, and I would never want to hurt her.”

“You know I was a botany major in my undergrad work and then got my Ph.D. in medical plant science.” They started down another winding hall which continued with the motif from downstairs. Someone had woven trees together then smoothed the floor out. He’d never seen anything like it before.

“That’s impressive. But then you went and sold yourself out.”

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “We can agree to disagree on that. What about you? What do you do?”

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