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Could Neli be right? Could this entire curse business have been a bit of a ruse? Yes, Olga put me to sleep for five centuries, but the rest was just nonsense. My destiny is Stella, and that means I must stop playing games with token gestures to win her heart and acceptance. I must go all in. Hold nothing back.
I look at Neli. “Thank you, Cornelia. You are truly the best major-dorko a vampire could ask for.”
She smiles and dips her head. “My pleasure. Just as long as you keep your end of the bargain.”
When major-dorkos fly, Neli. “Of course. I would never go back on my word,” I lie. I never said I was a completely changed man. I am, after all, still a vampire.
“Good. Let’s have some wine,” Neli says.
“Yes. Let us.” We walk toward one of the tuxedoed waiters. I know what I must do tonight—how I will show Stella I am not a monster and would do anything for her happiness and safe…safe… I glance over at Neli. “You did call the mercenaries to inform them that one of the residents would be coming home early, yes? I wouldn’t want Stella to come home and find a stranger in her house. She’s had enough excitement already.” We took care of the lead hunter last night, but there were still several back home, staking out our castle from Stella’s attic. I assume they’re all taken care of by now, but those little buggers can be slippery.
I turn my head and Neli is gone. “Neli?”
Where has that girl gone now?
I shrug. I suppose she went to check in with the mercenaries. Yes. That is what she is doing. I can always count on Neli.
Stella
I can’t believe how long that trip was. I drop my suitcase in the foyer, go into the living room, and plop down on the plush blue sofa. Home sweet home. Sadie lifts her head and wags her tail, but like the true ball of laziness she is, she goes right back to sleep. I bet Max overfed you with lots of treats as usual. He kept her dog bowl full and checked in on the winery while we were away—not that there was much to do. We’ve hardly had any customers lately, and sadly, things aren’t looking like they’ll change. France was a bust.
I groan with a headache and press my palms to my eyelids. What should have been a sixteen-hour flight with a layover in New York turned out to be a thirty-hour nightmare.
I seriously can’t believe I was detained. It had been the strangest thing too, because the officers had been waiting for me when I disembarked at JFK to go through immigration and customs. Then they put me in a room and made me watch while a dog sniffed his way through my suitcase. But hands down, the worst part was the strip search. I had no clue they even did that kind of stuff.
Ugh…I feel like I just went to prison. Of course, they didn’t find anything, so they had to let me go, but I missed my connecting flight. The next available seat wasn’t until the following morning. Just my luck. I even had to pay the change-ticket fee! Jerks! For the life of me, though, I don’t understand why I was picked. Like someone tipped them off.
The bittersweet lining out of the entire thing was that when I finally landed in San Francisco and turned my phone back on, I got five messages from Eliza. The messages had somehow been delayed, maybe because of the whole overseas roaming thing? Anyway, our wine got a ribbon, basically a respectable nod, which is great considering it was our first international competition, but we didn’t make it to the final round. Castle Sangria’s solo entry, however, placed gold again in the full-bodied red category, where all the heavy-hitting merlot and cab blends compete.
I can’t imagine the look of disappointment on my parents’ faces. I should have been there for my family. I shouldn’t have run. But I didn’t know what else to do. There was no way I could have sat through another dinner or stood anywhere near Boz during the awards and kept myself together.
Boz is a vampire. Boz is a freaking vampire! Vampires are real! All I can think about is that image of him sucking the life from that guy. On the other hand, I can’t stop wanting to be near him. The pull feels like it’s coming from a part of me I didn’t even know existed. It’s needy and hungry. But only for him.
That’s why I left. That’s why I had to put as much distance as possible between me and Boz. The conflict is tearing me in two.
How can I want someone who utterly terrifies me? I just can’t see it working. I can’t see our two worlds coming together in a way that could ever make me happy. I love my family. I love sunshine and fresh air. I love coming home to the smell of Eliza and Mabel’s latest baking creation or to an enormous puddle of Sadie’s drool on the floor and the sound of my parents stealing kisses in the living room when they think we can’t hear. My life might not be perfect, but it’s warm and filled with light. I’d hoped to add to it one day with children when I found the love of my life.
