“I was terrified.”
“I would’ve wanted you to stay,” I said quietly.
Her eyes lifted. “Even after learning I was a vampire?”
I shrugged. “You already knew how much I liked you.”
A laugh escaped her. “I did. But that didn’t automatically mean you would want to stay with me when you learned I didn’t have a heartbeat.”
I smiled. “You should’ve seen yourself.”
“What do you mean?”
“The second time you caught me staring at you.”
She buried her face in her hands. “Oh no.”
“Oh yes.”
“I thought I was being subtle.”
“Winnie.”
She groaned louder. I laughed.
The food arrived. Winnie immediately cut into the blood sausage and took a bite. She closed her eyes and moaned. “Oh, that’s wonderful.”
I nearly choked laughing. “You look like you’re having a religious experience.”
She pointed her fork at me. “You have no idea how difficult it is finding quality blood sausage here.”
I waved my hand in the general direction of her blood sausage. “That sentence is insane.”
“It’s also true.”
The conversation drifted naturally, easier than it ever had before. Now, there were no secrets, no pretending, and no carefully avoiding certain topics.
Eventually, I asked the question that had been haunting me. “So, how oldareyou?”
Winnie swallowed, then a slow smile curled on her lips. “Nope.”
“Nope?”
“I’m not just going to tell you. You have to guess.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Absolutely not. I know better than to guess a woman’s age.”
“You have to.”
“Winnie.”
“Conrad. You have to.”
I sighed dramatically. “Fine.”
She sat back expectantly.
“Forty.”
