House of Leights (Secret Keepers #3)(24)

“That’s the funny thing about fate,” she said, moving toward him like she couldn’t help herself. “Sometimes it knows better than we do about what is absolutely perfect for us. What will fulfill us. I don’t care how Daniel and I found each other. All I care is that we did.”

She pushed into his arms then, and as his lips gently brushed across her forehead, her eyes closed and the contentment on her face…

Turning away, I stared out into the forest again, giving them a few moments’ privacy. They were doing nothing but hugging and it still felt like such an intimate moment.

I could have that?

My inner voice, a part of me hidden deep down, the part which was never satisfied with any of the guys I’d ever dated, or with my life in general, made me wonder if I had been waiting for Chase.

“Oh. Em. Gee!” The shriek had me spinning around to find a pretty redhead heading in my direction. She was wearing a white shirt, black jeans with torn knees, and black Converse. What was this, the secret keepers’ uniform?

She stopped right before me. “I’m so glad you’re finally here,” she said with excitement. “And you’re totally beautiful, and tiny. Plus, I love your hair. I always wanted to get purple through mine, but it just wouldn’t go as well with my red tone.”

This had to be Emma, the one enthusiastic about us being one big happy family.

I smiled, and it didn’t even feel forced. “It’s nice to meet you,” I told her with sincerity. Knowing that both of these girls had been through the same thing as me, sent relief through me. I felt less stressed all of a sudden.

“This is perfect…” Emma ran her hands through her long wavy hair, her blue eyes sparkling in happiness. “Now we just have to find the last secret keeper before that asshole Laous. Then the four of us will be a team.”

I smiled again. How did these two make me like them so quickly? I’d never had that happen before.

Emma dropped back to lean against the rail next to me. She was taller than me by quite a few inches but wasn’t as tall as Callie. I was feeling like a real shorty around all of these people. I mean, the men alone were at least a foot taller than me. Most of them even more.

“Were you a cheerleader, too?” I asked her randomly, wondering where all of her pep came from.

A deep masculine chuckle sent goosebumps over my skin, and I turned to find the second hottest guy I’d ever seen – tied with Daniel – stepping out through the open doorway. Chase was the hottest, but that was not something I was ready to deal with, so I’d go back to the newcomer.

Tall, dark-haired, with a face carved from the gods, and a huge, well-muscled body, he could have been the perfect man, but there was way too much scary there to ever interest me. His intensity, the way he moved in an almost animalistic way, I knew this had to be Lexen. Weredragon.

His chuckle faded off, and he stared at his girl in a way that almost made me blush. “Let’s just say that Emma is not exactly athletically-inclined.”

Holy hell. The chemistry between the two couples was explosive. Made sense now … that feeling I got whenever I was near Chase. It was a lot, and I didn’t know how to process it. Even worse, I had no real idea if it was the same for him or not. I didn’t know him well enough to tell yet; he seemed to be good at hiding his emotions.

Emma distracted me when she sighed. “First Callie is a ninja who can climb ropes, kick ass, and enjoys jogging. And now I find out you’re a cheerleader. Let me guess, you can do a dozen backflips and the splits.”

I gave a half shrug as a small burst of laughter escaped from me. “You got me. I’m really into the gymnastics side of cheer.”

She pouted so dramatically that everyone laughed. And I joined them, feeling like I was part of this world for the first time.

“I’ve been teaching Emma some self-defense,” Callie added. She was no longer in Daniel’s arms, but they were still very close to each other. “And she’s helping me with my reading.”

Emma beamed. “I’m a total bookworm, I love fantasy stories.”

“I love to read,” I told her. “Sci-fi for me. I’ve kind of fallen out of the habit in the last few years. Life got busy in high school, but I’d like to find time to start up again.”

Her eyes and face lit up, and now she was the one with the credit card and private plane. “I have the best series for you to start with,” she burst out. “Oh my God, I have at least six favorite fantasy worlds that are so good you’ll never stop reading again. I can’t wait to have a book friend to talk to.”

Callie groaned. “Don’t get her started. She will literally chat your ears off for hours about all the books.”

“All the books,” Emma chimed in, her smile lifting her cheeks high as she took no offense to Callie’s scrunched-up face.

“You’re not a reader?” I asked Callie.

She shrugged. “I can’t really read. Words get all muddled when I stare at them. Letters move around. I’m probably just too stupid. But … Emma is determined that I live in these cool worlds, so we’ve been trying to figure out a way to help me.”

Emma left my side so she could throw an arm around Callie. It was clear they were great friends. I wondered how long they’d known each other.

“You’re not stupid,” Emma groused at her. “You need to stop saying that. You have dyslexia. It’s an actual condition which makes reading hard for you.” She turned to face me. “Callie is ultra-smart, seriously. She basically taught herself everything, and I’m pretty sure she did a better job than the hundreds of teachers I’ve had over the years.”