“Yes,” I start, ready to launch into my typical over-sharing about how wonderful our life is on our little farm, but the words die in my throat. We’re supposed to be living in Chicago, not anywhere that can house a couple of horses and donkeys. “For several months now.”
Harold chuckles, arching his eyebrows as he looks back at Ethan. “In order to keep you entertained for that long, she must really be good at—”
“Hey,” Ethan interrupts. “Don’t disrespect my girlfriend.”
Harold shifts awkwardly , and I can sense the others looking at us. I get embarrassed easily, and my cheeks will match the color of my hair soon. “I didn’t realize things were that serious.” He holds out his hand for me to shake. “Welcome, Anora. I do hope you choose to join. Who knows? Maybe a few years from now, there will be a little one we can raise right from the start.” He gives Ethan a wink and my stomach churns .
This isn’t right.
“Only if I’m lucky enough for her to still want me in a few years,” Ethan says back, holding up the pretense of being a happy, brain-washed Order member. His fingers press into my flesh and I know he hates this too.
“Some things are better sooner rather than later,” Harold goes on, taking a drink of his beer. “I knew I wanted to marry my Maria on our second date. When you know, you know.”
“I can’t disagree.”
No, no, no! This isn’t how we should be talking about our future of getting married and having kids. Because Ethan and I really are in love and I do want to marry him and have his children—someday. I want to be engaged, plan a wedding, and gush over dresses and flower arrangements. I need time to solve how to tell my mom I don’t want to invite most of my extended family because I just want a small, intimate ceremony instead. And I want Harrison to plan an over-the-top bachelor party for Ethan and order a ridiculous custom-made bowtie collar for Hunter, who’s going to be our ring bearer, of course.
“You know, Mr. Wilkins is ordained,” Harold presses, and I clench my jaw, trying so fucking hard to keep my face neutral. These people really are fucking off their rocker. I met him all of two minutes ago and he’s already arranging our marriage.
A surge of energy goes through me and the lights flicker, humming with electricity before dimming and flashing a few times. Everyone freezes, looking up. Shit. Did I do that? It wouldn’t be the first time recently that I subconsciously gathered energy due to being in an emotional state. L ast time, it was a happy emotional state and I came against Ethan’s face harder than I ever have before.
Flickering lights can be a sign of the paranormal, and this is a room full of hunters trained to look for something just like this.
“The game is on,” David interrupts, eyeing me. Harold waves his hand in the air.
“I stopped following college basketball years ago.” He takes another drink of beer and goes back to the pool table.
“You okay?” Ethan whispers, kissing the side of my forehead. “He’s a lot, I know.”
“Yeah. I just, uh…” I trail off, turning my head and covering my mouth with my arm to cough. “Can I get some water?”
Ethan goes over to the mini-fridge and grabs two water bottles. I take a big drink, cold water soothing my sore throat. We join David on the couch.
“You can’t let him get to you that easily,” he says in a low voice, eyes on the TV. “Not when he wasn’t even trying to upset you.”
“I know,” I reply, and Ethan puts his arm around me again. Letting out a sigh, I rest my head against Ethan’s shoulder, wanting nothing more than to close my eyes for a few minutes.
“I’m terrible at pool.” Julia comes over, sitting on the couch next to me. “I’ve lost the last two games.”
“You guys got here fast,” I comment, sniffling.
“We received our summons before you, I believe,” David tells me. “And a flight was pre-arranged.”
“Oh, wow.”
“They flew me here from Tuscan on a first-class flight,” one of the guys playing pool says. “The Order treats us well. If you’re considering joining, know they look out for their hunters.”
All I can do is nod, remembering that time Laney got suckered into a multi-level-marketing scam selling leggings. She really believed the company watched out for the little guys too but ended up nearly ten grand in debt at the end.
A half-hour passes with us just sitting around, and I’m close to falling asleep when our late lunch is wheeled into the room by caterers. I fill up on salad and spaghetti and then sit on the couch with Ethan again as he flips through channels. Sam and Stephanie join us, and I can tell it’s killing them both not to point at me and scream, “witch!”