living covenant 03 - eternal covenant Read Online Free PDF

go.”
    “I’ll see you soon,” Pemberley said, gaily waving as Aric dragged me out of the store. “We’re going to be best friends by the time this wedding occurs.”
    “I can’t wait,” Aric muttered.

4
    Four
    “ We need to run,” I said ten minutes later, following Aric as he stalked toward the ice cream shop. “We can’t stay here. They’re plotting our downfall, Aric. They’re just hiding it behind a big blue bow.”
    “Stop being dramatic.”
    “You know what this is? I’ll bet it’s like Invasion of the Body Snatchers . Our parents aren’t really alive anymore. They’ve been infiltrated by pod people, and those pods are plotting to destroy us from the inside.”
    “Uh-huh.” Aric didn’t exactly look as if he was prostrate with worry as he studied the Dairy Queen menu. “I need one medium twist dipped in chocolate and another medium twist dipped in sprinkles,” he told the woman at the counter.
    “I might need something heavier than that,” I said.
    “This is only the first round, baby,” Aric said, digging in his pocket for his wallet. “Continue with your alien rant. I’m listening.”
    “Oh, yeah, that,” I said, returning to the crisis at hand. “Do you think anyone has ever died from unwanted motherly attention?”
    Aric snorted as he accepted the cone dipped in sprinkles and handed it to me before gathering his own cone. I slipped my hand in his and wandered to a table in the shade so we could eat our ice cream in peace.
    It was a quiet mid-Michigan day. Summer was here and the weather forecast called for warm and muggy temperatures for most of the week before breaking in time for the wedding. I like sunshine and summer. I hate humidity and oppressive heat.
    “Can I ask you something, Zoe?”
    I turned to Aric, frowning when I saw the worried expression on his face. “What’s wrong?”
    “It’s just … I’ve heard stories all my life about women going all bridezilla when it comes to planning a wedding,” Aric said. “You’ve been kind of … whatever … about it since the planning started. You want to marry me, right?”
    “Have you been snatched by an alien, too?”
    “I’m serious,” Aric said, adjusting his napkin so the ice cream didn’t drip on his hand. “You don’t seem thrilled about the wedding plans. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want you going crazy about stuff, but you seem disinterested.”
    “Do you want to know the truth?”
    “Not if you’re going to crush me,” Aric replied, causing me to roll my eyes.
    “I don’t care about the wedding, Aric,” I said. “I never have. When I was a little girl I never dressed up Barbie dolls and dreamed about what it must’ve been like for them when they married Ken. In hindsight that seems smart because Ken isn’t anatomically correct.”
    Aric snickered.
    “I was never a normal girl,” I continued. “I honestly don’t care about the wedding. I do care about the marriage, though.”
    Aric snagged my hand and brought it to his lips for a quick kiss. “I should’ve let you talk me into eloping,” he said. “I thought you were only saying that to make things better for me. I was convinced you were putting on a show. I should’ve searched my heart, because I instinctively knew you didn’t want any of those things, yet I told myself that wasn’t the case.”
    “It doesn’t matter now,” I said. “We’re stuck. Our mothers will kill us if we do anything to ruin their master plan. I never saw myself as the type of woman who would need a wedding coordinator.”
    “He’s weird.”
    “You’re just saying that because he has a crush on you,” I teased, licking my ice cream. “He wants you to marry him. That’s legal now. You’re not thinking of running off on me, are you?”
    “You’re not even remotely funny.”
    “Oh, you heard Pemberley,” I said. “Who names their kid Pemberley, by the way? That’s a weird name. Anyway, Pemberley says I must’ve snagged you with my humor. He