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bassinet?”
    “Yes, and anything else you think I might want for the baby.” Her face glowed discussing the unborn child. “Plus you may actually have to fix the bassinet. Prove me wrong.”
    “Not a problem.”
    “When are you going to leave?”
    “How soon can you get me in?”
    “You know as well as I do that phones don’t work here, so someone will have to talk to Liam’s mom in person.”
    “You in the mood for a day trip?”
    “No, I’ll send you with a note.”
    “A note? I feel important.”
    “I’ll even use the official seal.”
    “You just want an excuse to use it.” Charlotte enjoyed random parts of being the Essence, like the royal seal. She acted as though using it was the greatest honor ever. I could let her have her fun.
    “That may be part of it.” She grinned. “Come by for dinner tonight. I’ll have it ready by then.”
    “Anything I should do before then?”
    “You mean besides packing?”
    “Yes. Anything before I leave?”
    “You aren’t supposed to be gone long. Only a few days.”
    “Still, I will be neglecting my duties for a few days.”
    “What do you even do when you’re here?” She turned her head to the side.
    “I am going to leave before you say something you will regret.”
    “Be nice. I am the one writing the letter for you.”
    “Yes, you and your power trip.”
    “Aren’t you supposed to be leaving?” She grinned.
    “Yeah, yeah.” I turned and started toward the door.
    “James?” she called.
    “Yes?”
    “Be nice to the girl, will you?”
    “Would you expect anything less of me?” It was a serious question.
    “No. As I said before you have a lot of good traits. One of those is treating people with respect.”
    “Can I quote you on that? Get that etched into my tombstone?”
    “Since neither of us will be dying for some time, I wouldn’t worry about it. Maybe you’ll have an even better line by then.”
    “You mean like ‘best Guardian of all time’?’”
    “Can’t be better than my Gerard.” Charlotte was ridiculously in love with Liam. That was the way it was supposed to be. Their bond was of the supernatural, never broken kind. She once had that with her first Gerard too, but he sacrificed himself to save our existence.
    “Keep the cheesiness to yourself and write that letter.”
    “Don’t be bossy.”
    I laughed. “See you for dinner.”

7
    Ainsley
    “ W hat are you doing here ?” I gave my best angry glare at Grace. For some reason she’d read my refusal to return her calls as a reason to stop by. I wasn’t in the mood to talk to her, whether on the phone or in person.
    “I’m sorry.” She stared down at her shoes. She was sitting on a bench out on the porch.
    “For making a fool of me?”
    “I didn’t do that!” She stood up. “I thought you’d like him, and he really liked you.”
    “I walked out on him.”
    “Some guys like the chase.”
    “And they are the worst kind, because once they win they get tired of you and move on to a new chase.”
    “Or they realize it was worth the effort and don’t leave.”
    “I never realized being single at twenty-two necessitated such drastic measures.” Why was it as soon as a girl got into a relationship she wanted all of her friends to do the same thing?
    “You need to have a little fun. What happened to you sucked, but you can’t spend your whole life alone because of it.”
    “Fun would have been if my friend hadn’t ditched me for drinks.”
    “I thought you’d enjoy Brad’s company more. He’s easier on the eyes.”
    “Not my type.” I leaned back against the door.
    “He’s over six foot and in impeccable shape, how can that not be your type?”
    “There is something called personality. Ever heard of it?”
    “You obviously haven’t. You left before you could even get to know him.”
    “He showed me enough of his personality in the short time I saw him.” Between grabbing my arm and talking about enjoying the chase, I had seen enough.
    “Ainsley.