“I see where you got your moves from.” Marina’s voice is a low whisper as she pulls me close, and I laugh, giving a small shrug. The frog doesn’t hop far from the pond in this case.
“I, for one, would not mind a little backstory,” Magnus says. Despite his crossed arms, he’s just as invested as we are. “It seems unfair that after a night of splendor, I am somehow a fifth wheel.”
But it is unfortunately his luck.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Marina’s comment comes next.
“She was embarrassed that I saved her from drowning,” Grampy says, with a dramatic shrug.
“I wasnotdrowning.”
“So, you swallowed all that water for fun?” Grampy counters, unable to keep the amusement out of his voice.
Grams lets out a sigh and turns to the two of us to plead her case.
“I was working as a counselor at Camp Mangrove. There was some b-movie about lake monsters playing at the drive-in. Someone dared me to jump in at night, and my foot got tangled in seaweed—Bert here may have saved me. It was one night—one kiss—but I never forgot—and never saw him again.”
“But now—now it could be more, couldn’t it?” Grampy asks, and by the four sisters, if this is how strong I came off with Marina, it really is a good thing I didn’t scare her off.
“We’ll have to wait and see,” Grams responds, a little coy. Despite the glimmer of nostalgia in her eyes, it’s hard to read the emotions on her face.
“So,” she says, looking around the lagoon. Clasping her hands in front of her body, she steals a glance at Marina, who nods, her bright eyes looking at me before her Grams speaks again.
“Where does one go to find a real estate agent around here?”
Chapter 38
Marina
In lieu of house shopping, we all end up at Gil’s place where there’s plenty of room to plan our next move—though Grams seems less interested in planning and more interested in Bert—Gil’s Grampy who she’s been holding the hand of since we arrived.
“They’ve been out there for hours,” I say, glancing out the large screen door to catch a glimpse of Grams and Gil’s Grampy on the dock—sitting close, her head on his shoulder. “That was a surprise, huh? Grams always talked about having happy memories from camp—and humored my stories. I never would have guessed she had some of her own.”
“And Grampy has had a soft spot for the mortal realm—and humans.”
“It might not turn into anything serious—” I begin, but
it’s Magnus who rises to check the window.
“They are kissing again.” He says, leaning on the doorframe.
“Do you think this is how we come off to people?” Gil asks.
“We didn’t move that fast—” I begin, and am once again cut off by the vampire king.
“I think you, in fact, did,” Magnus says, crossing his arms. “Be honest with yourselves at the very least.”
“You’re jealous.” I tease, which is ironic considering a few months ago, I was jealous of him.
“Yes,” Magnus says, despite still being covered in lipstick. “And I have the good sense to admit it.”
He’s right—we are mirror images of the two of them, but I wouldn’t change a thing.
The sliding glass door opens, and the two of them are giggling—it’s like getting a peek into what we might have been like if it took us longer to find each other.
But love is love, no matter the season, and they’re grinning ear to ear.
“Ya’ll alright if we step out for a while?” Grampy asks. His arm is around Grams, and she might as well have hearts in her eyes.
