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“Winter solstice. The longest night of the year,” he countered.
“I’m still saying spring.”
“Which means you never quite learned how negotiating works.”
Why did everybody tell me that?
I barely resisted the urge to smirk at him. “How badly do you want to marry me, Mr. Calix?”
He grumbled. “Done.”
“I love you,” I told him.
“I love you more than anything I have known or seen in my long, long life. Marry me, stay with me.”
“Done.” I laughed and kissed him. “So, did you have a plan B if I said no? Because it would be hard to bounce back from lying prostrate on the floor in the dark with any dignity.”
“I have several extra-large bags of M&M’s stashed in your china cabinet,” he admitted.
“You think I can be bought with bulk candy?” I asked, lifting a brow. He smiled winsomely. “OK, you were close to the mark.”
I wrapped his arms around my shoulder and tucked my face into this throat. “I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings when you asked if I wanted to be turned. I just wasn’t ready yet. I’m still not. There are some loose ends I need to wrap up, with the business, with the human world, with Gigi. I want to have some time with her yet, to say good-bye to things like cheeseburger night and talk to her about wills and health insurance. I want to take her on a real vacation before she starts college, somewhere sunny. I can’t exactly do that if I’m a vampire.”
Cal nodded, pressing a kiss to my temple. “I understand. Beachcombing is considerably less fun when you’re worried about bursting into flames.”
“How about we wait until Gigi’s sophomore or junior year of college?” I asked. “She’ll have time to adjust to the idea of me being turned. She won’t be around for the scary new-vampire phase. By the time she comes back for a visit, I shouldn’t be a danger to her.”
“Done. But what about your business?”
“Right now, it’s going great. I’ll have time to build it up a bit, hire some daytime people, and move into a more managerial role.”
“What will you tell Gigi?”
“I will tell her that we love her. And we’re her family, whether we’re living or not. And with a three-thousand-year-old future brother-in-law, she will have the coolest family sitting at graduation.”
“Graduation?”
“Graduation, birthdays, Christmases, and any number of events that require you to wear a silly sweater or staple twisted crepe paper to the porch. This is the price of being part of a family,” I told him, toying with his shirt buttons. Cal grimaced. “Too late to back out now.”
“In terms of the sweater, how silly are we talking?”
“Cal.”
“On a scale of one to ten?”
“Cal!”
“Am I allowed to negotiate terms?”
I cupped his chin in my palm. “It will make Gigi happy.”
“Damn it, you know my weakness.”
“I love you.”
He groaned. “That’s my other weakness.”
“And by that, you mean …”
