My Sunrise Sunset Paramour (My Midnight Moonlight Valentine 2)

because you think it is silly,” Old Man Easton replied seriously for the first time that I could remember. He held on to his walking stick, the frown on his face adding to the never-ending lines of wrinkles on his skin. “Because, even though you are turning twenty-six tomorrow, you still act and think like a child. Stomping your feet, losing your tempter, demanding you be given what you want when you want it, yet never wondering if you can handle the burdens of the answers you seek. When all you see is yourself, Druella, how can you expect us to give you knowledge that affects a whole coven? You are the strongest of us, and your conviction is the weakest.”

It was unanimous.

They all thought this of me.

“We are finished for today, Druella. You may go,” my uncle said, turning his back to me.

They all turned their backs to me, so all I could do was leave. All the anger I had in me was gone as Old Man Easton’s words echoed in my mind. When I stepped out of the mirror into the guest room, my mood worsened as I saw the sunshine still shining annoyingly through the windows. It was still too early for me to see Theseus. Over the last few weeks, I’d gone to his cabin, which felt like our cabin, any spare moment I could find. I’d leave by sunrise and arrive by sunset. It worked best for him, too, because he needed to sleep during the day. The problem was that I slept at night, so my time with him felt even shorter when I drifted off to sleep. But those few hours together were starting to become my reason for pushing through to another day.

“You sound obsessed, Druella,” I muttered as I entered my room, falling face-first onto my bed. I sounded obsessed because I think I was obsessed. I wanted to know everything about him. I wanted to talk my mouth dry about him. I wanted to lay in his arms. I wanted to watch him paint and sit by the fire reading a cheesy romance novel.

How could I not be obsessed when life felt so sweet and simple next to him? Every night felt like a dream where he built me up, while every day felt like I was being torn back down. Sighing, I pushed myself up off the bed and got my laptop from the desk. Research would make my day go faster.

I’d already gotten Dr. Lovell the information he needed, but there were still a few more things I could add.

Honk!

“Druella!”

“What in the hell?” I nearly jumped out of my skin at the noise outside my window. When I went to look, there was my circle in pickup trucks and motorcycles, waving and screaming like madmen!

Honk!

Honk!

“What in the hell are you guys doing?” I opened my window to yell at them.

“Get in, loser!” Simone yelled back, hanging out the passenger side of the truck. “We are going to have fun!”

Honk!

Honk!

“Stop! You are going to piss off our neighbors—”

“Then get in, Dru!” Fiona hollered.

Grabbing my bag and phone, I ran down the stairs two by two until I opened the front door.

“Hurry!” Tate said, already revving his motorcycle

“What is happening? Where are we going?” I asked them as I got up to the truck Simone was in. Beside her was Daniel, with short curly hair and brown eyes, the guy she was currently dating.

“Hey, Druella,” he said to me with a cool head nod.

“Hey.” I nodded back before looking to Simone. “Well?”

“Get. In. Loser,” she repeated with a broad smile on her face as she unlocked the seat behind her.

“Regina George wouldn’t need to repeat it twice,” I mocked her before hopping into the back seat.

“Take us away, Daniel!”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a southern drawl even though he wasn’t from the south. What was weird was hearing Simone giggle. Simone was not a giggler. But I didn’t say anything, just watched as they glanced at each other and sang along to the music as he drove. I felt slightly jealous because I didn’t think I could ever have these moments with Theseus.

However, when Tate sped past us on the freeway, I immediately felt lucky for any moments I could have. If I was jealous about something small like this, I couldn’t even imagine how Tate felt. He’d been in love with Simone since we were teenagers, and I was so sure she had feelings for him, too. But as I sat in the back seat, watching her talk and laugh with Daniel, I couldn’t help but wonder who was really in her heart. Did she no longer like Tate? Did she like both of them? Who was her real soulmate? Did soulmates exist?

Theseus told me his mother could see soulmates, that they were engraved on a person’s heart forever. So that meant they had to exist. But everyone couldn’t be with their soulmates, yet those people were happy, right? It might not be earthshaking, explosive, or unwavering, passionate love, but it was still love. Was that better than nothing, or was that settling?