Princess Next Door(29)

“His friends think I’m going to dump him and run back to my parents.”

“Prove them wrong. Friends are there to look out for their friend, Wynter. I’m there to look out for you. I had my doubts. I’m not going to lie. You were always bitching about him that first week, and his music. Then it’s like something changed. I’m beginning to think that little thing about your houses is so real.”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s not magical. Not at all.”

Tammy laughed. “You keep telling yourself that.” She slammed closed the final notebook she was working on. “Done. I am done, and now I get to spend the week with my husband and my kids. Sounds … dreamy.”

Wynter laughed as she looked like it would be anything but dreamy. Tammy often teased that being a teacher of other people’s kids spoiled her.

Hugging her friend, she stepped away. “You’re the best friend I could ever have.”

“Yeah, and I’m older than you, think about that.” Tammy winked at her.

Leaving the school, she stopped off at the grocery store to collect some stuff. Zane had given her a list of everything he’d need to show her how to make that lasagna she loved so much. They’d been so busy with other things that it was only now they were getting to it.

She rounded a corner and came to a stop when she saw the deputy Slade and his very pregnant wife, Cassie.

“Hey, Wynter,” Slade said.

“Hey, guys. Not long to go, is there?” she asked, looking at Slade’s hand on Cassie’s stomach.

“Not much longer.” Cassie patted her stomach. “I’m becoming really impatient.” Cassie looked at Slade, and they shared a look before turning toward her.

“How’s the house?” they both said in unison.

“Erm, my house is great.”

“What about mine?” Cassie asked. “I mean Zane’s?”

“It’s going good.”

“And you and Zane?” Slade asked. “How are you two getting on?”

She stared from one to the other. “We’re doing good.”

“And?” Cassie asked. “Has anything happened between the two of you?” She spoke really slowly, and Wynter frowned.

“Are you okay?”

“Are you and Zane a couple?” Slade asked.

She stared at the happy pair and wondered what the hell was going on. They were staring at her intently. “We’re seeing each other.”

Slade groaned, and Cassie fist-pumped.

“You didn’t win,” Slade said. “It hasn’t even been six months.”

“But I was totally the closest, which means I win.”

Wynter continued to stare at the couple, and she was struck by how much in love they were. She thought about Zane, and how she felt when she was around him.

“Does this have to do with that crazy notion that the houses in some magical way bring couples together?” Wynter asked. She was getting tired of hearing about this.

“You know about it?” Slade asked.

“My friend told me about it.” She looked between the two of them. “You don’t think it’s real, do you?”

“How can you think it’s not real?” Cassie asked.

“Houses are not magical. They don’t bring people together.”

“I think you’re denying a little too much. We came together,” Slade said.

“And I hated him to start off. Believe me, I’m married to him, and we’ve got a kid on the way. There’s something about those houses, and we’ve seen the other couples as well.” Cassie rested her head against Slade’s shoulder.

Glancing down into her cart, Wynter really didn’t know what to say, so she made her excuses, grabbing the last few items from her list and making her way out of the store.

By the time she got home, Zane was waiting for her. He opened the door and helped her with the groceries. She followed him into his home, where she stood at the counter watching as he put stuff away.

Pushing some hair off her face, she was struck by how much she loved being with him. The moment she saw him, she couldn’t help but smile, and watching him put food away, there was a warmth with him.

“You got everything,” he said.

“Of course. I also bumped into the people that lived in our houses before us.”

“Cassie and Slade?”

“Yep. They kept asking questions of how we were getting on, and if we were together.”

Zane burst out laughing. “Is this going back to the houses bringing people together?”

“I don’t believe it, do you?”

He shrugged. “I don’t really think about it. There’s an easy explanation. We’re two houses set back from the rest, we’re close, and that close proximity brings about feelings.”

She had feelings, a whole lot of feelings. In fact, in the past few days she’d begun to unravel, and little things were starting to really catch up with her. She recognized tiny things like him opening the door for her, helping with the shopping. He also put the seat down on the toilet. He always asked about her day, and actually seemed interested in knowing what was going on with her life. She loved listening to him play, strumming his fingers across the guitar, filling the room with his music.