Conor burst out laughing. “No, love. You aren’t marrying Satan, just a normal, run-of-the-mill vampire.”
~ * ~
Conor went to see his parents late that night. His mother was thrilled with the news.
Saintcrow slapped him on the back. “Congratulations, boy. She’ll be good for you. See that you’re good to her.”
~ * ~
Bryn called her parents with the good news first thing in the morning. She wasn’t surprised when they voiced their concern. Her mother reminded her that she’d only known Conor a short time. Perhaps she should wait a little longer before making sucha commitment. Her father advised her to wait six months, at least. If what she felt was real, he said, it would survive that long.
But Bryn didn’t want to wait. She’d said yes and now she was eager to be Conor’s wife.
~ * ~
They compared notes the following evening.
“I can’t say I’m surprised by your parents’ lack of enthusiasm,” Conor said. “After all, we’ve only been dating a short time.”
“Like you said, time has nothing to do with love. And I know that I love you.”
“And I love you. I’ll make you happy, I promise.”
“You already make me happy,” she said, grinning. “Or I wouldn’t have said yes. Conor?”
“What?” He frowned at the tentative note in her voice.
“How would you feel about eloping?”
“Eloping? Why?”
“It’ll just be easier. Your friends and family don’t eat. I know you can do that vampire thing and make my side of the family think you’re eating, but I just don’t like the idea of pretending you’re something you’re not.”
“You know you can’t tell them the truth,” Conor said.
“I know. But eloping will solve a lot of things. We can tell them about it when we get back.”
“Won’t your mom and dad be upset if they aren’t there?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. We could go to Vegas for the weekend and tell them we decided to get married on the spur of the moment.” She grinned inwardly. No doubt they’d think she was pregnant.
“It’s all right with me if that’s what you want.”
Relieved, she threw her arms around his neck. She didn’t need a big, fancy ceremony, just Conor and a wedding ring.
~ * ~
They set the date for the week before Christmas. Conor made reservations for the best suite at the Bellagio Hotel in Vegas. Bryn arranged with Mr. Cummings to take a few days off. He was reluctant at first, but when she told him she was getting married, he gave her a week off. She spent her lunch hour looking for dresses and found a simple white silk sheath, as well as shoes and a veil. She bought some sexy new underwear, and a nightgown that was so revealing it made her blush at the thought of wearing it in front of Conor.
She talked it over with Conor and decided to keep her job, at least for a while. She wasn’t quite ready to move to Morgan Creek or work for Conor’s father, who still scared her a little. Until the wedding, Conor would stay at one of the hotels in town.
Conor decided they should start building a home of their own in Morgan Creek right away. “That way, it’ll be ready if and when we decide to move there. And it’ll give us a place to stay when we visit,” he said one night. “The house I have now isn’t much bigger than a hotel suite.”
“All right,” she conceded, suddenly excited by the thought of a new house and having a horse of her own, a childhood dream.
“Good. A guy’s bringing some plans over tonight for us to look at.”
Bryn shook her head. “You knew I’d agree, didn’t you?”
