It was time to go home.

The humans had been loaded on the bus, both locations had been put in order, and the car had been returned to the rental company.

Anandur paid the taxi driver, slung the strap of his duffle bag over one shoulder, and the one stuffed with Wonder's things on the other, and together with Magnus headed for the terminal of the private airport the clan used.

“How is Wonder doing?” Magnus asked.

Anandur didn’t want to talk about it, but he’d known that the guy was going to ask at some point.

“She’s acclimatizing to the village. I got her a job at the café.”

“Good move. Sooner or later she’s going to meet everyone over there.”

“That was the idea.”

They climbed the stairs and got into the jet. The four other Guardians who were sharing the plane ride with them were already there, which meant they wouldn’t have to wait long for it to take off.

“Is she seeing anyone?” Magnus asked.

“Why? Are you interested?”

Magnus shook his head. “I wish she was my type. An immortal female I’m not related to is quite a catch, but unfortunately she isn’t.”

Anandur’s first response to Magnus’s question had been anger, then he’d calmed down when the guy had said he wasn’t interested, and then he’d gotten angry once again. Wonder was beautiful, kind, smart, and resourceful. What was there not to love?

“Why the hell not?”

“Everyone has a type. You have yours, and I have mine, and Gregor over there has his.”

“Some women are everyone’s type. Show me one guy who doesn’t think Victoria’s Secret models are hot.”

“You’re wrong.” Magnus turned to Gregor. “What’s your type, Gregor?”

“I don’t have one. I’m a lover of all women.”

Anandur waved a hand. “You see? I’m right.”

Magnus huffed. “Liar. Who’s your favorite actress?”

“Liv Tyler,” Gregor answered immediately.

Magnus crossed his arms over his chest. “There you go. That’s your type.” He looked down his nose at Anandur.

“Okay, let’s pretend that I agree with you. Who’s your type?”

“Natalie Portman, particularly as Queen Amidala.”

“Seriously?” Anandur chuckled. “That tiny, flat-chested thing? That’s not a woman, that’s a twig with a pretty face.”

Magnus glared at him. “I didn’t insult your type, don’t insult mine. Not everyone is into giant amazon women. I prefer mine delicate and sophisticated. I could also go for Rachel Weisz.”

“Now, that’s a woman.” She was petite, but she had some curves on her. The hair was awesome too. Anandur wasn’t particular about the color, but he liked thick, wavy hair.

“I’m glad we agree on something. Now if you don’t mind, I would like to catch a nap.” Magnus closed his eyes.

Touchy fellow. It was one thing to get offended on behalf of one’s love interest, and an entirely different thing to get offended on behalf of an actress he’d never met and wasn’t going to.

Love interest. Is that what Wonder was to him?

Was he falling in love with the girl?

Anandur scratched his beard, then his head, and then rubbed his hand over the back of his neck.

It was about time he stopped pretending and manned up to his feelings. The truth was that he’d fallen for her at first sight. He’d never believed in that crap. Even as a romantic at heart, he’d thought that it was nonsense.

A pretty face and a hot body induced desire, not love. To love someone you had to get to know her first. Love was supposed to be about the meeting of the souls, not the bodies.

Well, preferably both.

Maybe what he’d felt at first was only desire, and then when he’d gotten to know her better, that desire had turned into admiration and then into love.

Yeah, that was more reasonable. He’d fallen for her over time.

What the hell was he going to do about it though? If he hadn’t been so stubborn and so set in his ways, he would’ve seduced her by now, and the memory of that other guy would have been just a distant echo.

Not really.

If the kiss had been the catalyst for the memory’s return, then it didn’t matter when it had happened. In fact, maybe it was better that he hadn’t kissed her earlier. The more time they’d spent together, the more feelings Wonder had developed for him.

Yeah, he was glad about waiting. If it had happened earlier, she would have been even more affected by the memory. Instead of ambivalence, she would’ve focused on her feelings for that Esag dude.

One thing had become clear to him, though. He wasn’t going to give up on her without one hell of a fight.

And if that meant ghost exorcising, so be it.

It was crucial that he found Esag and proved to Wonder that she couldn’t possibly love the other guy because she was in love with him.

He had to step up his game and court her properly, take her out on dates and turn on the charm.

But to do that, he needed to have more spare time. Anandur had accumulated plenty of vacation days he hadn’t claimed, and there were enough Guardians now so he could take some time off.

Kian would have to manage without him for a few days.

The first thing Anandur was going to do when he returned to the village was to march into Kian’s office and ask for time off. The second thing he was going to do was to find Wonder and offer to take her out on a proper date. Not in the café, and not an evening stroll through the village, but a real one in a nice restaurant in town. Maybe he’d even take her to a movie, or to see a musical, or a rock concert.

There were so many possibilities.

He’d never dated anyone before, not in the way of courting. There had been that one time he’d taken Lana to a nightclub. Did it count if it had been part of his mission to get her talking?

Probably not.

Had Wonder dated anyone?

It was highly unlikely. Wonder had been too busy surviving.

He chuckled. As far as dating went, they were on par. A nearly one-thousand-year-old immortal was just as inexperienced as a twenty-year-old.