Piper snickered. “I like Khloë. I mean, I don’t know her well, but I’ve spoken with her a few times. I got the impression she’s a riot.”
“Yeah, ‘riot’ works.” He slanted his head. “When do you want to speak to your family about us?”
She pulled a face. “I’d rather tell them all at once. My mom called an hour ago and invited me to her house tomorrow to have dinner with her, Joe, and Celeste. I could maybe tell them then, but Celeste’s reaction will spoil the evening. It doesn’t seem fair to do that to my mom and Joe.”
“Could you eat a meal with them guilt-free knowing you were holding back news that they’d want to know?”
She grimaced. “No.”
“Then it would be best to tell them when you first arrive. When we first arrive. Don’t feel bad that it might taint their evening, because the fact is that it shouldn’t. This is good news for you. They should see it that way. If they don’t, that won’t be on you.”
“I know. My mom and Joe will be pleased that I’ve found my psi-mate.”
“They’ll just wish it wasn’t me.”
“I suspect it will be more that they’ll wish you hadn’t once been involved with Celeste.”
Well, he harbored that same wish, so he wouldn’t blame them for that. “And what about you? Do you regret that I’m your anchor?” He hadn’t meant to ask that, but there was no taking the words back.
“No.”
“Just no?”
“Just no.”
Oddly enough, the simple answer appeased him and his demon more than a paragraph of placatory words would have done. “Before you ask, no, I don’t regret that you’re mine.”
“I wasn’t going to ask that.”
“You weren’t?”
“No. You’d have no reason to regret it. As anchors go, I’m a winner.”
He chuckled. “And so humble.”
The conversation turned lighter after that. Spending time with her was … easy. That was Piper, though. She might not be bubbly or cheery, but she was an easy person to be around.
Part of it was that there was a calmness to her—possibly something that came from the quiet strength she emanated. The other part of it was that she didn’t simply listen to what you said, she paid attention with her entire being. Her eyes never wandered, her focus never shifted, her body language remained open.
She left a person feeling well-rested. As if they’d woken from a long, deep, dreamless sleep. Which was ironic, really, considering she was a nightmare.
By the time Levi rose from the stool to leave her house, there was a peaceful stillness inside him. A steady calm. That lasted right up until he walked outside and saw that someone had slashed her tires.
A growl built in his chest. “What the fuck?”
“Little bastards,” she muttered, her face tight.
“You know who did this?”
“Apparently there’s a group of human kids going around pulling all kinds of crap. They left a bag of dogshit on my doorstep last night.”
“Dogshit?”
She shrugged. “At least it was in a bag.”
Levi didn’t care if it was in a fucking decontamination device, it shouldn’t have been on her goddamn doorstep. Also … “You should have told me.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean, why?”
“It’s not like they placed a bomb on the step. And they’re only kids. Now if they’d thrown clumps of shit at my front door or something, yeah, you’d have received a call. What good is an anchor to a girl if they won’t come wash canine waste off her house? Or get rid of wasps?”
Shaking his head, Levi looked at her wheels once more. “I’ll have someone come and replace your tires.”
“That’s okay, I can—”
“I’ll have someone come and replace your tires,” he repeated. “I told you, there’ll be no more of you dealing with things alone. Never again, Piper. Let me fix this for you.” Trust me to be someone who won’t let you down.
She sighed and then gave him a ‘have at it’ shrug. “All right.”
His insides relaxing, Levi nodded. He felt bad for her. Really. Because he’d be highly overprotective where she was concerned, and he had the distinct feeling she’d feel smothered in no time at all. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning at ten. Be ready.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Riding shotgun the next morning, Piper slid Levi a sideways look. This couldn’t possibly last. It couldn’t.
She’d seen plenty of anchored pairs in their ‘honeymoon stage.’ They were both on their best behavior, showed each other their best sides, and generally got caught up in the novelty of finding and bonding with their anchor.
As time went on and anchored pairs became relaxed around each other, their behavior kind of ‘slipped.’ Oh, they were still fully invested in their anchors—that never changed. But they spent less time together and ceased trying to impress each other.
Levi … he’d so far been a model anchor. Showing up with pizza might have been a small thing, but it was still thoughtful. He could have come empty-handed. The same applied to this morning. She’d expected him to merely beep the horn or text her when he arrived, but he’d showed up with coffee and pastries. How he knew what her favorites were, she wasn’t sure. He’d simply said, “I have my sources.”