Lustre of Twilight (Love Bitten)

Patti was a hopeless romantic, which shocked the fuck out of me, considering the curmudgeon she was married to. She was actually excited to help me, and it didn’t hurt that Norman was apparently out of town caring for his sick mother.

Fifteen minutes later, she unlocked the door, and her son, who also worked there occasionally, went to the display with the watches and put it on top of the glass counter. “Thank you so much for this. Be sure to tack on an inconvenience fee,” I said with a boyish smile.

The son, Johnny, chuckled, but Patti beamed at me with a little more swooning going on. “Don’t be silly. You are so welcome. I love being a part of a good love story!” She looked a little dazed for a moment, then seemed to snap out of it as she walked over to stand by Johnny.

Daywalkers were not predators by nature. We don’t even like the taste of fresh blood and generally have bagged blood delivered by a service set up for just that purpose. However, we were still vampires, which meant we possessed traits that lured in unsuspecting prey. Patti had no idea she’d been a victim to my natural charms. It could be really annoying sometimes. Girls were seriously vicious when they fancied a guy—another positive to being nocturnal, no teens on the street.

As I moved toward the case, I passed a glass display that twinkled and sparkled with engagement rings and eternity bands. I’d never paid them any mind before, but with my brother’s mating on my mind, I found myself passing it a little slower than usual.

“Are you considering proposing?” Patti asked. I looked up to see her watching me, and I would swear there were actual hearts in her eyes.

I smiled and shook my head, but then a particular ring caught my eye, and I leaned closer, practically pressing my nose against the glass. “May I see that one?”

Pattie reached in and retrieved a delicate gold band that had tiny daffodils carved into the rose gold. “It’s amazing,” I said in awe as I turned the ring a full rotation. “My maternal grandmother set aside four of her rings, one for me and each of my brothers, and this…damn…it could have been made with mine as a set.”

“Kismet,” Patti sighed, making me laugh. If only she knew…

I handed it back, and to my surprise, she didn’t immediately put it away. She left it on the blue velvet cloth they used when showing customers jewelry. Of course, as I picked out a watch and talked with them about the warranty—when you live forever, warranties mean a lot more—my eyes kept drifting back to the ring. It seemed to shine brighter than it should in the glow of a small lamp.

“I’ll bag this up for you,” Johnny said as he fitted the watch in its box. “We still have a few rolls of Christmas paper if you’d like me to wrap it?”

“If you don’t mind, Amaia would be so happy with me. I just might get a kiss on the cheek before my brother breaks my jaw,” I pretended to joke. Yeah, Liam would rip my head clean off if I put a single finger on her.

Johnny laughed and walked into the back while Patti rang up the charge. I had to pass the ring again on my way to the register. I couldn’t stop thinking about Liam finally finding his consort. Did I still have a chance to find mine? If I did…would I regret not having this band to match my grandmother’s ring? It wasn’t as though I couldn’t simply store them away together and forget all about it. Better to have the ring and not need it, right?

Actually, the ideal situation would be to have it and need it.

I was handing Pattie my black credit card when I paused and squeezed my eyes shut for a second. This was stupid. There was a one in a million chance that I’d be as lucky as Liam.

My eyes opened, and I turned my head to stare at the band for another second before meeting Patti’s laughing eyes. “You’ll take it?”

I sighed. “Yes.”

1

Narkissa

“I know they say that scotch gets all the air it needs after it’s poured, but I swear I can taste a subtle difference when I use a decanter.” My dad set down his glass of scotch and asked, “Where did you find the one you gave me, Narkissa?”

I glanced down the long length of the table toward him and smiled. “I got it from Tiffany’s. The style I wanted was on backorder, and I had to go with another one. I was a little worried you wouldn’t like the decanter, so I’m really glad to hear that you did.”

“You had nothing to worry about. You’ve always had a knack for picking out the perfect gift.” His attention shifted to the other end of the table where my mother sat. “Isn’t that right, dear?”