“So, since you’re going to be here for a while, I was thinking that you might bring some things over to my cave for when you stay over. Toothbrush, extra socks, your whole body,” he said.

Dani snickered. “Subtle.”

“I will not rush you. But I want to love you and be with you for the rest of my life.”

“Oh, good, thanks, no pressure.”

He added, “Also, my maman says you can’t leave until you make her, oh, a dozen or so apple crumbles.”

Dani grinned, and pulled Zed toward her by his belt loops. “If you’re very nice to me, I’ll give her the recipe.”

“Wait, if I’m nice to you, she gets the recipe? What’s in it for me?”

“I’ll be nice to you.” Dani kissed his mouth soundly and then gave him a little peck on the end of his nose.

“Zed, I’m really glad you found your mate and all.” Bael scrubbed his hand over his face. “It’s still gross to see you do that. Like watching your siblings make out.”

Zed winkled his nose. “Ew.”

“You’re telling me,” Bael retorted.

Dani peered around Zed’s massive form to see Bael and Jillian standing on the steps of the gazebo. Jillian was holding a small gift box wrapped in silver and blue paper.

“Sorry your satellite phone got smashed,” Jillian said, handing her the gift box. Smiling, Dani ripped open the box to find a smart phone model she’d never seen before. She turned it on and saw that a picture of Zed grinning at the camera, shirtless, was her wallpaper.

“It’s a satellite-powered smart phone,” Jillian explained. “You’ll have all the range of your old phone, but with all the same functions as a smart phone, email, FaceTime, internet and all that. It’s the newest perk for League higher-ups. I only just got one this month. So I pulled some strings and got one for you too, as a ‘sorry you almost got drained of all your life-force because I made a bad hiring decision.’”

“Forgiven.” Dani scrolled her thumb across the screen and saw that her email, social media and contacts were already logged in and ready to go on the new phone. “I don’t want to know how the IT department knew all of my usernames and passwords, do I?”

“No, you do not,” Jillian said. “But you should be able to use all of the functions no matter where you are, which is maybe enough to make up for the creep factor, there.”

Pursing her lips, Dani opened her Facetime account and dialed Trudy’s number. Zed opened his mouth as if to object, but Trudy picked up on the first ring. Tru’s rounded face appeared on the screen with her youngest son, Jackson, dancing around like a monkey behind her shoulder.

“Oh, hey hon! This is a surprise!” Trudy exclaimed.