Page 16 of Never Been Gargoyled (Harmony Glen #4)

Dazy

A scrambling noise from the roof made my heart come to a shuddering halt. I caught a glimpse of wings and gray skin before gravity took over and Feydin came tumbling toward the ground.

Arms outstretched, I rushed forward. “Feydin!”

His wings snapped out at the last second, catching the air and slowing his fall. He landed hard but upright in front of me, his suit jacket askew and his hair disheveled.

“Are you okay?” I fluttered around him, pawing at him, checking for injuries.

“I’m alright.” He straightened his tie, though it did nothing to improve his rumpled appearance. “I lost my balance.”

His gorgeous charcoal suit was covered in dirt, and there were leaves stuck in his hair and his lapel.

“You know,” I said, fighting back a smile, “ most people change out of their formal wear before doing yard work.”

He looked down at himself, then back at me. “I was inspired.”

“Inspired to garden in a three-piece suit?”

“The inspiration struck suddenly.”

I couldn't hold back my laughter. “You're ridiculous. Do you have any idea how much that suit probably cost?”

“It can be cleaned.” He brushed at a particularly large dirt stain on his sleeve. “Or replaced.”

“Feydin.” I gestured to the beautiful garden bed I suspected he'd created. “Did you do all this?”

His expression grew uncertain, almost vulnerable. “Do you like it?”

The tentative hope in his voice made my pulse surge up into my throat.

How could he even doubt it? The space had been transformed from a tangle of weeds into something magical.

Even though the plants were small now, I could already imagine how they’d look when they filled out.

Night-blooming flowers that would perfume the evening air, creating a sanctuary right outside my front door.

“Like it?” My voice came out watery. “Feydin, it's beautiful. It's the most thoughtful thing anyone's ever done for me.”

Relief washed over his features. “You're sure?”

“Are you kidding me? Look at this.” I gestured to the carefully arranged plants. “You picked moonflowers and jasmine. A bunch of other night bloomers. They'll open just as the sun sets, won't they?”

He nodded. “I thought you might enjoy being out here in the evenings. We can set up a park bench and you can sit, close your eyes, and breathe in the perfume.”

Tears stung my eyes. Nobody had ever paid attention to my habits well enough to create something so perfectly suited to me. The fact that he'd noticed I liked to sit outside after dinner, that he'd thought about what would make those moments more beautiful…

“Thank you,” I whispered.

His wings shifted against his back. “You're crying. I wanted to bring you joy but instead, I’ve made you sad.”

“These are happy tears.” I wiped my cheeks with the back of my hand. “I can't believe you did this for me.”

“I wanted to give you something as lovely as you.”

My throat went dry, and I worried I was going to sob. “You did.” I stepped closer to him, my heart doing those fluttery things it seemed to do whenever he was near.

I crooked my finger, beckoning him down to my level. He was so tall that even when he leaned down, I had to stand on my tiptoes to reach.

I intended to give him a simple thank-you kiss on the cheek, but as I moved toward him, he turned his head. Our lips met instead.

The contact sent electricity shooting through my body. For a moment, we both froze. Then his hands came up to frame my face, and he kissed me properly.

This wasn't like the quick kiss we'd shared before. This was deep and thorough, and it made my knees wobble. I clutched his jacket, trying to hold myself together as the world spun around me.

When he finally pulled back, we were both breathing hard.

“That was…” I didn’t exactly know what to call it.

“Better than I imagined,” he finished.

Before I could ask what he meant by that, he swept me up into his arms. My stomach dropped as we left the ground, his wings beating powerfully as he carried me up to the roof.

“What are you doing?” I yelped, though I wasn't complaining. Being held by him was definitely not a hardship.

“Showing you the view,” he said, landing gently on the peak of the roof. “Call it a second present.”

He settled us both down, keeping me cradled in his lap as we sat overlooking the entire town of Harmony Glen spread out below. From this height, everything looked peaceful.

“It's gorgeous up here,” I breathed.

“See there?” He pointed toward the glittering water in the distance. “That's the lake. And you can see the bridge that crosses Harmony River just before the water reaches the lake.”

I followed his gaze, picking out the landmarks he mentioned. “The bridge is so pretty from up here. And Main Street looks like something from a postcard.”

“Those are the expensive houses.” He gestured toward a cluster of large homes dotting the right side of the lake. “But this estate is much nicer. ”

I snorted. “Are you serious? Have you seen the state of this place? Half the shutters are hanging crooked, there's ivy trying to eat one of the exterior walls, and I'm pretty sure something lives in the attic that's not supposed to be there.”

“Character,” he said solemnly. “Those houses are all the same. Pristine mansions with no soul. This place has history. Personality.”

“Personality is certainly one way to put it.” I leaned back against his chest, marveling at how solid and warm he felt. “Though I prefer to call it a charming fixer-upper with potential myself.”

“Exactly. The bones are good. Everything else can be restored.”

I tilted my head to look at him. “You really think so?”

“I know so. I've seen this place in its glory days. It was magnificent.”

“When was that?”

“When Helga was younger. Before she went into the nursing home. She loved this house, spent years bringing it back to life after she inherited it.” His expression grew sad. “Then she got sick, and it was too much for her to manage alone. And I was…” He paused. “Overseas too often. Our parents…”

I waited to hear what he’d say, but he didn’t finish, and I wasn’t sure I dared press.

“When I returned, she was gone, and I had to sleep.”

“Sleep?”

“Gargoyles are guardians. When no one lives in the building they protect, they enter a dormant state. Like hibernation, but it can last a lot longer. I spent years in stone form on the roof, waiting.”

“Years?” I twisted in his arms to face him fully. “You were awake when I arrived.”

“You woke me up.”

Something in his voice made my pulse quicken. “ I woke you up? How?”

“I don't know.” He glanced away from me, and I had the feeling he was hiding something from me, but what could it be? “When you claimed this place as yours, I couldn't stay dormant anymore.”

As simple as that? It must be.

“Are you saying it's my fault you fell off the roof?” I teased, trying to lighten the suddenly heavy mood.

His mouth twitched. “Entirely your fault.”

“I'll try to be less surprising in the future.”

“Please don't.” His arms tightened around me. “I enjoy being surprised by you.”

We sat together for a while, watching the sun climb higher over the town. From up here, with Feydin's arms around me and the whole world spread out below us, it was easy to forget about Rebecca Hartwell and her legal threats.

“This is nice,” I said softly. “Thank you for bringing me up here.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I've never sat on a roof before.”

“Most people haven't.”

“I guess sitting up here is a gargoyle thing.”

“We call it perching,” he said sternly, though humor came through in his voice. “And yes. We're made for high places.”

“Well, I can see the appeal.” I gestured toward the view. “Though I think I prefer it with company.”

“Me too.”

The simple admission made my heart surge. There was something about the way he said it, like he'd spent a long time alone and was only now remembering what it felt like to share something beautiful with someone else.

“Feydin?”

“Mmm?”

“Thank you for all of this. For helping me with Rebecca, for fixing things around the house, for making me feel like I'm not facing everything alone.”

He was quiet for so long that I started to worry I'd said something wrong. Then he pressed his face into my hair.

“Thank you ,” he said quietly, “for letting me help.”

“You don't have to thank me for that.”

“Yes, I do. You could have told me to leave. Could have insisted on handling everything yourself. But you let me stay. You let me be useful.”

The vulnerability in his voice made my throat close off. “You're more than useful, Feydin. You're…”

I wasn’t sure how to finish that sentence. What was he to me? Friend seemed inadequate. Something more than friend felt too presumptuous.

“I'm what?” he asked softly.

“Important,” I said finally. “You're important to me.”

His arms tightened around me again, and I felt some of the tension leave his body.

“You're important to me too,” he said. “More important than you know.”

We stayed on the roof until the sun was high overhead, and my stomach started rumbling loudly enough that Feydin chuckled.

“I should feed you,” he said, helping me to my feet.

“That sounds perfect.” I looked down at his ruined suit. “But first, you need to change those clothes. I'm not letting you inside my kitchen wearing a dirt-covered tuxedo.”

“It's not a tuxedo.”

“Whatever it is, it's too nice to be making pancakes in.”

He smiled, and the sight of it made my heart skip a few beats. “Pancakes sound good.”

“Then that’s what I’ll make.” I grinned back at him. “Race you to the kitchen?”

“Have you suddenly sprouted wings?”

“I’m working on it.” I could only imagine how wonderful that would be.

“Until then, allow me to be your transportation.” He scooped me up and soared gracefully down to the ground, landing lightly. It seemed he held me a long time before he placed me on my feet, but maybe it felt that way because I wanted to stay in his arms.

When he finally put me down, I stepped back and shook my finger at him, trying to sound stern. “Now go change before I decide to hose you down myself.”

“As you wish, lovely Dazy.”