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“Th-thank you,” I say, my breath rushing out as she pets my hair. “But this is Blaire’s seat.”
Kitty snatches her small whiteboard and pen from the island by the stove and starts scribbling as Sophie emerges from the living room to settle into the chair next to mine. “Are you okay?” she asks with a laugh. “Seems Kitty’s really taken a liking to you. Putting you at the head of the table and all.”
“I guess so,” I say, as Casey claims the chair across from Sophie’s. “Or maybe she’s just figured out Blaire won’t be joining us for dinner because she and Darcy are too…busy downstairs?”
“They actually flew out the basement window a few minutes ago,” Sophie says, spreading her napkin on her lap. “Darcy did his bat thing and took Blaire with him. If I had to guess, I’d bet they’re off to bang in the woods and renew the shield with that sex spell Blaire found.” She lifts her glass of Chardonnay into the air. “If all goes well, by morning, Nightfall should be shielded from the human world for another generation. Huzzah!”
“Huzzah!” Casey says, lifting her wine as well. “Here’s to good news.”
I’m about to lift my water glass—I told Kitty earlier that I didn’t want wine—when the house kraken returns with the whiteboard, pressing it into my hands with one tentacle as she brings another to pet my arm. I scan the message before choking on my own saliva and blurting out, “We’ll talk about that later, Kitty.”
“What?” Sophie asks. “What did she—”
“Nothing,” I say, quickly smearing the words with my hand before finishing the job with my napkin. “It’s um…a surprise. A secret, just between Kitty and me. Okay, Kitty? Can you keep this a secret for now? Even from Blaire?”
Kitty lifts the tentacle on my arm and wags it in the air, like she’s nodding “yes,” before pointing emphatically at my plate.
“Yes, of course.” I nod, though I’m not sure she can see me. Kitty lives in our pipes, her tentacles emerging from the drains via some magical means I don’t quite understand. I’ve never looked her in her eye—eyes?—but she seems to “see” with her tentacles just fine. “I’ll eat every bite, I promise.”
Apparently satisfied, Kitty’s numerous arms retreat to the other side of the kitchen to clean up the dinner mess and I lift my fork. Forcing a smile for my clearly curious sisters, I explain, “She thinks I’m too thin and should fatten myself up a little.”
Sophie nods. “Oh, well, she’s right. You could do with a little more meat on your bones. Just in case you get sick. Fern is tiny like you, and after her bout with pneumonia last year, she looked like a skeleton. I was scared for her for a little while.”
“Fern’s the assistant librarian,” I explain to Casey. “Sophie is her boss and guardian of the coolest library I’ve ever seen. I can’t wait to give you a tour.”
“And Annie’s going to be organizing the subterranean stacks for us,” Sophie says, digging into her garlic mashed potatoes. “She’s a Goddess send. We’ve needed a brilliant mind down there to bring order to the chaos for a long time.”
“It’s so crazy that you both became librarians,” Casey says. “Even though you were raised separately, and neither of you knew the other one existed.”
“Twin magic,” Sophie says with a wink. “We have a mystical connection. Which is bad for secret keeping, Miss A. You’re going to have to keep your cards very close to your chest if you want to keep me in the dark.”
I force a laugh. “Oh, it’s not a big deal. Just a little surprise I want to save for later.”
Aurora technically is a little surprise right now—probably no bigger than a lentil—but she’s going to turn my world upside down. Hopefully, in a good way, but now that Kitty knows I’m expecting, I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be able to keep the truth from my sisters and the town of Nightfall at large.
Which means, I have to act swiftly.
Too bad I have no idea how to win a normal man’s heart, let alone a broody, two-hundred-year-old vampire determined to deny himself love, hope, and all creature comforts aside from good books and a sturdy roof over his head.
Hmm…books…
They’ve come to my rescue hundreds of times before.
Why should this time be any different?
Mentally plotting when I can get to the library to look for bookish assistance—perhaps something titled “How to win a Reluctant Vampire’s Undying Affection in 10 Days or Less”—I guide the conversation back to getting Casey settled in her new hometown. By the time Blaire and Darcy drag into the living room two hours later, we’ve arranged to visit the daycare center in the morning to see about securing Amy a spot and Sophie has pulled a few strings to get Casey an interview at the Pug and Crone for the open bartender position.
We relay the developments to Blaire, who looks flushed after her Solstice adventure.
“Amazing,” she says, leaning back into Darcy’s chest with a happy sigh. “See? Everything’s going to work out just fine.”
“It will,” he assures her as he wraps his arms around her waist, the love in his voice sending a pang of longing through my chest. “And I’ll pass the daylight hours in Blaire’s room in the basement tomorrow, so you won’t need to go far to feed Amy before her meeting at the school.”
The pang quickly transforms to a churning froth in my already-funny stomach.
Ancient, grown-up vampires drinking blood is one thing; my baby niece needing vampire or shifter blood to survive the emergence of her demon side is another thing altogether. Babies and blood shouldn’t mix—ever.
But at least Darcy’s willing to keep feeding Amy directly until we can sort out how to convince her to drink shifter blood from a sippy cup.
