Page 97 of Hidden By the Gargoyle

I cocked my head to one side. “Why not?”

“Because he’s arrogant, high-handed, and pushy!”

“Aren’t high-handed and pushy the same thing?”

“Allison Grant, stop picking apart my words and actually listen to what I’m saying. That won’t happen.”

“What won’t happen?”

We both whirled toward the door as Talant and Dax came into the kitchen.

“Nothing,” Minerva answered, brushing off his question by picking up the tray.

Dax hurried forward to take it from her and she smiled brightly at him. “Thank you, Dax.”

Then, she swept past Talant without even glancing at him and headed back to the living room.

I sighed and followed her. This afternoon was going to be interesting.

* * *

An hour later,Dax was flying us back to the resort when he veered off in a different direction.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

He glanced down at me, his eyes dark blue. “I have a surprise for you.”

I smiled up at him. “Okay.”

When I didn’t ask anything else, he chuckled. “You’re not going to pester me with questions?” he asked.

“Nope. I’m hoping it’s a good surprise and I don’t want to ruin it.”

“It is. I promise.”

A few minutes later, he circled a clearing in the woods. We were probably a ten-minute drive from town and the closest house was the mayor’s, but it was still at least a mile, maybe a mile and a half away.

When Dax landed in the middle of the clearing, he set me on my feet, keeping his hands on my waist and holding me close.

It was beautiful, full of wildflowers that were just beginning to bloom and tall, bright green grass.

“What is this place?” I asked, looking around.

It was beautiful and secluded and there was a small pond in one corner of the clearing, a single oak tree soaring over it and providing shade to one part of the shore.

“If you don’t have an objection, this will be where we build our home,” Dax answered.

My head whipped around so I could stare up at him. “Our home?”

“I bought this property a couple of decades ago, but I didn’t do anything with it because it was easier to live in the cabin at the resort.”

“Won’t we continue to live there?”

He used his hold on my hips to turn me toward him. “For a while, maybe, but I don’t think I want to go back to managing the resort.”

That statement shocked me. “What? Why?”

He squeezed my waist. “I’ve been there for a while, and I enjoyed it. Now, I want something different for my life.”

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