“Good.”
“So, where are we going to be married?” Cara asked. “I guess a church is out of the question.”
“A church is fine with me,” Vince said.
“Really? I didn’t think vampires and churches went together.”
“I know the perfect place!” Brenna exclaimed. She looked at Roshan. “Do you think you could get Father Lanzoni to perform the ceremony?”
“I’m sure I could,” Roshan said, “but it’s not for us to decide.”
“What church?” Cara asked. “And who’s Father Lanzoni?”
“Father Lanzoni is a vampire,” Roshan answered. “He was a priest before he was turned.”
“Is he still a priest?” Vince asked.
“I’ve never asked him,” Roshan said. “The church is located in a secluded place. It’s where Brenna and I were married.” He smiled fondly at his wife. “Of course, we’re not sure it was legal.”
Cara looked at Vince. “What do you think?”
“It’s all right with me. As far as I’m concerned, you became my wife the first time we made love.”
Cara’s cheeks bloomed with color. “Vince!”
“He’s not telling us anything we didn’t already know,” Brenna said with a laugh. “You can’t hide something like that.”
“So, we’re agreed then?” Vince asked.
“I think it sounds wonderful.” Cara glanced at her parents and then at Vince. “It seems so romantic, to get married in the same place as my parents. Oh! What about your parents? Your family? Are you going to invite them?”
“I thought I would. We need to set a date.”
“How about two weeks from Saturday?” Cara suggested. “That’ll give you time to rent a tux and give your parents time to make arrangements for a place to stay while they’re in town.” She kissed him on the cheek. “And we’ll be married for Christmas.”
“Works for me,” Vince said.
Roshan and Brenna nodded.
Cara looked up at Vince, a dreamy smile on her face. “Two weeks,” she murmured. “I can’t wait.”
Vince called his parents the following night to tell them the good news. As he’d expected, his mother was eager to meet Cara and thrilled that he was finally settling down. His father, ever the practical one, asked if he’d gotten Cara in trouble and that’s why they were getting married in such a rush. With complete confidence, Vince assured his dad that wasn’t the case. When he called his brothers and his sister, they all congratulated him and promised they would be there. One and all, they were a little surprised to learn that the wedding was at night. Vince used the same excuse that Roshan had used with Cara and explained that her parents were allergic to the sun.
After telling his sister good-bye, Vince rubbed the bridge of his nose, wondering if inviting his family had been such a good idea. They would expect a get-together after the wedding, dinner and cake and champagne.
Vince glanced at his watch. He’d worry about his folks later. Right now, it was time to meet Cara at the library.
Cara glanced at her watch, willing the hands to move more quickly. It was eight-thirty and there were only a handful of people in the library. She glanced at the table across the room, her stomach clenching at the sight of the two gray-robed women who sat there, each quietly reading a book. They never looked at her and seemed totally oblivious of her presence, and yet she couldn’t shake the feeling that they were watching her every move. Even when she couldn’t see anyone, she often had the feeling she was being watched, followed. No wonder she often felt nauseated in the morning. Paranoia and her upcoming wedding had her stomach tied in knots. It was playing havoc with her menstrual cycle, too. She hadn’t had a period in over a month.
She told herself to stop worrying. Serafina was gone. The creature she had raised no longer existed. Anton had disappeared. Her parents and Vince had searched the city, but Anton was nowhere to be found. There was nothing to fear. Vince would protect her.
The ladies in gray left the library at eight fifty-five. Vince arrived at the stroke of nine. “Hey, beautiful, you ready to go?”
They drove to what had become “their spot,” that quiet, fairy-like place beside the lake. Vince spread a blanket on the ground and they lay side by side, looking up at the stars.
“Three more days,” Cara said. “Three more days and we’ll be together forever.”
“Forever,” Vince murmured. Rising on his elbow, he gazed down at her. She was the best thing that had ever happened to him, beautiful, forgiving, understanding, and kindhearted. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing her after fifty or sixty years when he might exist for hundreds or a thousand. What would he do without her?
She smiled up at him, one hand caressing his cheek. “What are you thinking about?”
“How much I love you.”
“No more than I love you.”
“Wanna bet?”
She laughed softly, the sound the sweetest music he had ever heard.
“Cara…”
“What?” She frowned at his serious expression. “Is something wrong?”
“I don’t want to lose you, ever.”
“I know.” She drew his head down and kissed him. “I don’t want to lose you, either.”
“There’s a way to keep that from happening.”
“You mean by me becoming a vampire, don’t you?”
He nodded. “Have you ever thought about it? Wondered what it would be like?”
“Thought about becoming one?” She shuddered. “No. Of course I’ve wondered what it’s like, I mean, how could I not, since I seem to be surrounded by them.”
“It’s not so bad.” He stroked her cheek. “Think what it would mean. Centuries together instead of a few short years. You’d never age. We could see the world together.”
“I know what it would mean, and I don’t want it.” Her gaze searched his. “You won’t ever force it on me, will you, the way my father did my mother?”
“No.”
“You promise?”
He hesitated a moment, then sighed. “I promise.”
“It doesn’t change anything between us, does it?”
“No, darlin’. Nothing could change that.”
Drawing her into his arms, he kissed her, all the while thinking, hoping, that the day would come when she would change her mind, when they could truly be as one.