Page 85 of Awakened Light

“We still cooking brats on the grill tonight?” he asked Aiden.

“I’ve got some fresh links in the fridge. Maybe a couple burgers, too.”

“With cheese,” Emilia said. “Cheddar.”

“You got it, baby.”

“You know what I still need to try?” Thorne said before he leaned forward and took a sip of my piña colada. After he finished with an “ahh,” he sat back and said, “Lobster. I still haven’t tried that.”

“Oh! So good!” My eyes widened as I remembered the sweet, buttery taste.

Emilia and Aiden nodded their agreement.

“I’ll order some tomorrow,” Emilia said. “We can have a New England lobster boil!”

“I have no idea what that is, but if it involves lobster, I’m in.” I laughed.

“You’ll love it.”

I didn’t doubt I would. I loved everything out here in this world. The last three weeks since I’d returned had been filled with more fun and excitement than I’d ever imagined. Thorne had been eager to try all the food with me, and it was wonderful experiencing all the new flavors with him... for both of us. He’d made it a point for us to try something new every night, and we’d made our way around restaurants all over Europe.

We spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool until the setting sun cooled the air. Aiden, Emilia, and Thorne didn’t need to worry about the cold, but I didn’t have their immortality powers, so I had to hurry inside when I started to catch a chill. Thorne followed me upstairs, and joined me in the shower, causing me to glow blue before I could even get the conditioner out of my hair.

We dressed and headed downstairs for the barbeque. Aiden met Thorne out by the grill and handed him a beer while I went to the firepit crackling beside them and sat with Emilia. The moment the sun dipped beneath the horizon, the rest of his family appeared at our side.

“Have fun in the sun, my Funky Bunch?” Mark slid into a chair beside me.

“Yes. We had a blast, Marky Mark,” I answered.

“I miss you for afternoon margaritas,” Emilia said with a pout. “We used to have so much fun.”

He puckered his lips. “I know. No more margaritas for me though...” He looked at me and waggled his eyebrow. “Unless we can convince your sister to do to all of us what she did to Thorne?”

I sucked the air through my teeth. “I’ll work on it. I promise. She will be able to lift your sun curse for sure, but I’m not sure if she’ll be able to do what my mother did to Thorne. But I promise I’ll try my best.”

“You rock,” Annella said as she slid onto the other side of me. “But no pressure. I’m okay drinking blood for eternity if that’s what we need to do.”

Mark rolled his eyes. “That’s just because you’ve got that new bartender dude with the ‘golden blood’ or whatever the hell it is. The rest of us would still like a cocktail if we could.”

“How’s that going?” Emilia asked her.

Annella flushed pink like she did every time someone brought up Owen. “Good.”

“Did you,” Mark made a circle with his fingers and stuck his pointer finger in and out of it, “yet?”

“God, Mark!” Emilia slapped him on the shoulder as we all laughed.

“God, Mark is right.” Annella swatted him on the head. “And no.”

“Seriously?” Emilia and Mark echoed.

“What’s up with that, you smitten kitten?” Mark asked. “I thought you wanted to climb him like a tree. You’ve been out with him three times and still haven’t done the dirty?”

Annella shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s not that I’m opposed to doing it by any means, I mean hello, look at him. Even his muscles have muscles. But he wants to take things slow. You know, kissing and holding hands and stuff. All the making out and buildup is actually pretty hot.”

“I think that’s so sweet,” Emilia smiled.

“So, you’re just dating him? Like dinner and stuff? No hanky panky?” Mark furrowed his brow.