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“Small and intimate, then,” Savanah said. “You know I’ll be happy to help in any way I can, and I’m sure we can count on Cara and Kathy, too. Now, let’s see, you’ll need a dress, and a maid of honor and a best man . . . Rane and I would be happy to stand up with you, if you like.”
“Slow down, Savanah,” Rane said, grinning. “I think these are decisions that Mara and Kyle need to make on their own.”
“I’ve no objections to having you as my best man,” Kyle said.
“Savanah, you know I’d be pleased to have you as my maid of honor.”
“That’s settled, then,” Savanah said, giving her husband a smug look. “When you’re ready, we can go into town and look at dresses. Listen to me, running on like this. Rane’s right. This is your wedding. Maybe you don’t need a dress. I mean, if you don’t want to get married in a church . . .” Savanah’s voice trailed off.
“I’d like a church wedding,” Kyle said, “if Mara has no objections.”
“I guess it would be all right.”
“Maybe we could have the baby baptized at the same time,” Kyle said.
“I didn’t know you were so religious,” Mara remarked. She had been quite a believer, once upon a time, but that had been centuries ago.
“Well, I haven’t been to Mass in years,” Kyle admitted, “but marriage is a serious thing and should be done right. And baptism, well, it’s important.”
“You’re Catholic, then?” Mara asked, thinking she still had a lot to learn about her future husband.
“More or less,” Kyle said. “Is that a problem?”
“That means you’ll need a priest,” Rane said, glancing from Mara to Kyle.
Kyle nodded. “Definitely.”
“Father Lanzoni,” Rane and Savanah said in unison.
“Of course,” Mara said, smiling.
“Lanzoni.” Kyle looked at Rane. “He’s the priest that married the two of you, isn’t he?”
“And everyone else in the family,” Rane said with a grin. “I’ll get in touch with him, if you like.”
That evening, while Kyle was rocking the baby to sleep and Rane was out hunting, Savanah took Mara aside. “I hope you two will think about moving up here with the rest of us,” she said. “There’s a lovely old house not far from here. It’s for sale or lease.”
“I’ll mention it to Kyle,” Mara said, although she wasn’t sure she wanted to buy another house. Leasing would probably be best, at least for now.
“I hope he’ll agree,” Savanah remarked. “It would be nice to have some non-vampire friends close by.”
“Does Rane’s being a vampire ever bother you?” Mara asked. “I mean, it’s none of my business, but . . . never mind.”
“You’re wondering how I could have fallen in love with a vampire when one killed my father.”
“It’s crossed my mind from time to time.”
“Well, I didn’t plan to fall in love with him,” Savanah admitted with a faint smile. “I don’t think we choose the one we fall in love with. It just happens. I didn’t want to love him, but I do. I know he’s done a lot of bad things in the past, but”—she shrugged—“who hasn’t?”
Mara nodded. She was in no position to judge anyone. “It must get lonely sometimes,” Mara said, “being the only mortal in the family.”
“Not lonely, exactly,” Savanah said. “Cara and Kathy are wonderful women, and I love Rafe and his dad. And, of course, Roshan and Brenna are terrific, although they don’t spend much time here, but . . .” She blew out a sigh. “It’ll be nice to have someone to go to lunch with, you know?”
Later that night, while nursing the baby, Mara thought about her conversation with Savanah. Mara had to admire her courage. In spite of what Rane’s wife had said, it couldn’t be easy for her, being the only human in a nest of vampires.
In the days that followed, Mara discovered what it was like to live in a house where people loved each other. She hadn’t grown up in a home like Rane’s. She had never known her father, hadn’t spent much time with her mother. She had spent her early childhood in Pharaoh’s palace. Later, she had been a slave in Shakir’s household, and then, abruptly, Dendar had transformed her into a vampire and left her to fend for herself. Unlike most sires, he hadn’t stayed around to tell her what to expect, or to help her adjust to her new lifestyle, and then in a rage, she had destroyed him. Turned and alone, she’d had no one to look after her, no one she dared trust.
One afternoon, at Kyle’s insistence, they left the baby with Savanah and went to look at the house Savanah had told Mara about. It was, indeed, a lovely old place. The exterior paint, green with white trim, looked new. There was a wooden swing in a corner of the porch.
“The perfect place to rock the baby in the evening,” Kyle remarked while the Realtor unlocked the front door.
The interior of the house had also been recently painted, and while Mara wasn’t crazy about white walls, it was something she could live with, at least temporarily. The three bedrooms were all good sized; each had its own bathroom. The living room was large, with a stone fireplace in one corner. Though she hadn’t spent much time in any kitchen, Mara fell in love with this one, which was large and sunny, with glass-fronted cabinets, lots of counter space, and a view of the backyard. She could already imagine a gazebo in the corner, and a swing for Derek.
“I think we should buy it,” Kyle said, looking at Mara. “The Realtor said the seller is willing to knock ten grand off the price. That’s a good deal. What do you think?”
“It is a nice house,” she replied. Why was she so hesitant? “It’s up to you.”
“No, it’s up to you,” he said. “I can paint anywhere.”
“All right.” They couldn’t stay with Rane and Savanah indefinitely, and it was a nice house.
After giving Mara a quick kiss, Kyle told the Realtor they would take it, with the stipulation that they could have a thirty-day escrow. “So we can spend our honeymoon in our new home,” Kyle said.
After some not-so-subtle coaxing by Kyle, Mara set the date for the wedding. November 30.
On a Friday evening in mid-November, after giving Kyle detailed verbal and written instructions on caring for the baby, Mara accompanied Savanah, Kathy, and Cara on a trip into town to look at wedding gowns.
