“I will book airfare for us today too.” We decided to go to the vineyard in California after the wedding. Lucas received an offer on it from a neighboring vineyard that wants to expand. He wants me to see it before we make any sort of decisions. If I like it, then he’s going to hold onto it. If I don’t care for it, then he’ll sell it.
I already have a feeling that I’m going to love it.
“And,” I go on, “I was thinking of going over to the house today and taking pictures. I don’t have any good ones taken during the day, and it will be fun to have an album of all the progress.”
“Good idea. What are you doing tonight?”
“You,” I say with a cheeky grin.
“That’s a given,” he deadpans and smiles. “The VC is holding an open-table discussion tonight to address concerns. It’s at ten-thirty tonight in Chicago.”
“And you want to go?” I turn around, looking at Lucas dubiously. He hates politics. And the Vampire Council.
“Not particularly, but vampires from all over the city will be there.”
“Oh,” I say with a nod. “And you’re going to try and see if you can get any info on who hired the Order to take out a witch.”
“Exactly. I’m guessing whoever paid the Order is older. They’d be more likely to have the money to pay a hitman as well as harbor the grudge against witches. Though I still don’t think they actually meant to kill you.”
“What the hell do those vampires want with me?” I ask, remembering that the biggest confession we got out of Dina was that a group of vamps want to use me for something.
“We’ll figure it out.” Lucas’s lips pull up into a grin. “Though they think they are messing with a witch. You are so much more.”
“I come bearing gifts!” I step into the bookstore, holding a box of donuts. Kristy and Betty are at the counter, and I can see Danielle, one of the new employees helping someone in the small non-fiction section of the store.
“Ohhh donuts!” Kristy puts a customer’s books in a bag and hands her the receipt. “Perfect timing, too, Cal. We were just saying how hungry we were.”
Betty puts her hand over her stomach. “I’m starving. We’ve been here since seven AM and forgot to bring breakfast.”
“You could have called me,” I say pointedly, though really, I feel bad. We always get a big inventory of books in August, and I’d forgotten about it. I look around and see that a few things have been rearranged too.
Lucas’s suggestion about signing the store over to Kristy or at the very least, taking my name off the schedule completely is sounding more and more like a plausible plan.
“I didn’t want to bother you.” Kristy takes a donut from the box. “I figured you were busy with the home renovations and entertaining your family from out of town.”
“I have been,” I agree. “My uncle showed up for a quick visit last night too.”
Kristy’s blue eyes widen, and she almost drops her donut. “What? Is he, um, a Los Angeles Angels fan too?”
“He’s more of a hockey fan than football. Particularly the New Jersey Devils.”
“The Angels are a baseball team,” Betty says, looking up from the register for a moment. “My dad’s a fan.”
I let out a strangled laugh. “I’m not a sports person. But my uncle sure is.”
Kristy looks at me, quite horrified. “You know how I feel about that team.”
“Don’t worry. I’m rooting against him—them—too.” A customer comes up with a big stack of books and Kristy shakes herself, turning around and forcing a smile.
“Do you want coffee too?” I ask Betty. “I can go get some.”
“We did remember to bring in new K-cups for the Keurig. Thank goodness.” Betty comes over to where I’m standing at the counter and picks up a frosted donut with rainbow sprinkles.
“So I know this is the least formal invite ever, but if you’re not doing anything on September third, I’d love if you could come to our wedding. I was going to have invitations printed, but it’s kind of a short turnaround time.”
“Oh my god, you’re getting married in less than a month?” She shakes her hands excitedly. “I think I work on the third but maybe my boss will give me the day off.”
I laugh. “I’m fine with shutting down the store early if we have to. And I’m going to go to the craft store to see what kind of print-at-home type of invitations I can find. I’d like to have something for the scrapbook. Because I scrapbook so much,” I add with a laugh.
“So, why did you move up the date?” Her eyes go to my stomach for a split second.
“Lucas is a vampire,” I say slowly. She’s seen him before and probably suspected it if she didn’t already know. “So, no baby. The venue we liked had a cancelation, so we took it. We didn’t want a big wedding anyway, so it worked out perfectly.”
“Well, I’m super excited for you.”
“Thanks. And you can bring a date if you want too.”
“I might actually.”
“Ohhhh, you’re seeing someone?” I wiggle my eyebrows.
“Not really. We’re friends, but I think it could turn into more. But I’m taking things slowly. I’m having a bit of a hard time trusting anyone after…you know.”
Not that long ago, a guy Betty was casually dating drugged her with the intentions of raping her. She passed out before he got her into his car, lucky for her, and he took off, leaving her in the alley behind the bar.
“I don’t blame you.”
“And being at my parents’ kind of puts the damper on dating. I’m going to have to find a new place soon. There just aren’t many options. It’s the worst part of living in a small town.”
“Actually,” I say, reaching into the box and stealing a donut. “How would you feel living in a small, yet really nicely restored brick farmhouse?”
“That would be great if you happened to know of one,” she laughs.
“I’ll be moving out of my house soon, and was thinking about renting it out.”
“Oh my goodness, really? I love your house. But…how much would you charge for rent?” She makes a face, though I’m well aware of what she makes. She works for me, after all.
“Whatever you were paying at your last place.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. I mean, I’ll have to work out the details because I don’t know how to factor in utilities or anything, but Lucas has owned and managed properties for several hundred years now, so he’ll be able to help me. It was his idea to rent out the house since I was too sad to officially part with it.”
“Who is Lucas?” Danielle asks, coming up behind us. “He sounds interesting.” We’ve only talked once before, but I can already tell she’s a good fit at the store.
“My fiancé,” I tell her.
“You did say several hundred years, right?”
“I did,” I say, trying to read her reaction.
“So he’s a vampire?” Her lips curve into a smile.
“He is.”
“That’s so cool. I’ve only met one before. Those two that live here in town keep to themselves. What’s it like being with him?”
“Just like being with anyone else, minus being able to go out during the day.”
“That’s what I thought, and what I’ve been arguing with my friends. I’m pro-vampire, in case you were wondering. I voted against the exclusion acts. The way I see it, people can be dicks too.”
“Exactly. And you’ll find a lot of vampires were turned against their will, so it’s not always fair to judge them as a whole.”
“Well, congrats. Your ring is incredible, by the way.”
I hold up my hand. “Thank you. I’m really excited!” I make a little squealing noise, and for a moment, I feel like everything is normal.
But then someone comes in, wearing a graphic t-shirt with a crudely painted image of a cartoon devil on the chest. I blink and see my uncle standing in the kitchen.
“If you can’t control demons, then what can you do?”
“Whatever I
want.”
“As can you, dearest niece.”
“I brought donuts,” I say, sweeping my hand out at the box. “Have some!”
“Thanks, that was really nice of you.”
“Yes, that was nice of me. Because I’m nice and not evil. Not at all.”
Betty laughs and Danielle just looks at me weirdly for a second before grabbing a donut. I take a bite of my own donut and step to the side, waiting for Kristy to get done ringing up the customer. I know she’ll want to talk.
She motions for me to join her in the office, stepping away from the register before someone else comes up to purchase books.
“You saw the devil?” she asks as soon as the door closes.
“He prefers to be called Lucifer,” I say and make a face. “And I think I kind of did. He’s been visiting me in my dreams. Or at least I think he has been. The dreams don’t really seem like dreams.”
“Holy shit.”
“Yeah.” I take another big bite of the donut, eating my feelings. “Don’t worry, though, I’m not going to fall for anything. So far he’s just talked to me and keeps bringing up that we’re family. It’s…strange.”
“That is strange. Do you think there’s any way you can talk to Michael about it?”
“I don’t know. He’s not exactly easy to get ahold of.”
“What about the other one?”
“He hasn’t shown up either. I don’t think he can without being noticed. And that seems to be the number one thing, I mean, even Lucifer mentioned the importance of keeping the attention off of me. With everything that’s happened recently, there’s a new interest in looking for the divine child.” I make a face. “It’s really weird to hear myself referred to as that.”
“I can imagine. Are you okay? I mean…you’re getting married in just a few weeks. That’s a huge undertaking on its own.”
“Eliza has completely taken over the planning. I confirmed which flower arrangements I want this morning, and now the only thing left is to pick out a first dance song. My dress is scheduled to be here right on time, and I’ve already set up an appointment with a seamstress.”
“So you’re good?”
“I am, well, in that department. If you want to make as many luck charms for me that night, I’d appreciate it,” I laugh, though I’m one-hundred percent serious. “One night. That’s all I want. One night where we all come together and celebrate. No demons. No drama. No one trying to kill each other. Which makes me regret inviting Easton and Miranda.”