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Sky climbed into the back of the car and I followed suit, noting Dylan’s smirk at our ruffled, pompous attire. “I take it Sigrid had control of your wardrobe this time around?”
“Oh lay off,” I grumbled, already unlacing the uncomfortable heeled boots my mother had thrust upon me.
Not to be distracted, I turned my attention back to Sky who was looking pointedly out of the opposite window. “Seriously. You stood up in front of a crowd of angry vampires and you didn’t even break a sweat.”
Dylan raised a brow in the rear view mirror. “She did?”
“She saved my ass.”
Sky glanced over her shoulder. “It is such a lovely ass, after all.”
Dylan cackled and I turned a luminous shade of pink.
Unable to get anything from Sky but sarcasm and clever quips, I dropped the subject for the time being. Inwardly, however, I wondered at her actions, both impressed and a little confused. I couldn’t quite understand why she would go out of her way to help me, perhaps to simply ensure that I would hold up my end of our deal.
Sky caught me staring at her and flashed me a smile.
That tender chord that tied us together wound a little tighter, and my heart beat in perfect unison with hers.
Chapter 12
SKY
Babysittingthetwinsprovedfar easier than Jordan had described it. While the vampiress insisted that Hazel and Hilda were adorable demon-spawns capable of bringing armies to their knees, the two toddlers were actually quite sweet and perfectly docile with me.
The twins and I had just sat down for a tea party on the grass and both Hazel and Hilda were perfectly polite, pouring imaginary cups of tea for me and the teddy bears.
“You’re welcome to join us,” I called to Jordan who watched enviously from the front door.
“I’ll pass,” she muttered dryly, stomping inside again and grumbling to herself, “Traitors, both of them.”
“It would seem your aunt is in a foul mood,” I crooned, just loud enough for Jordan to hear me. A muffled harumph came from indoors and I snickered. “Anyway, more tea, Hazel?”
Hazel bounced up and down on the quilted cushion with the boundless energy that only a toddler could possess. She raised her plastic cup in one chubby fist and I graciously poured more invisible tea from the painted teapot.
Hilda, on the other hand, sat dutifully on the picnic blanket, her hands folded neatly in her lap. It was clear which of the twins took to mimicking Sigrid’s stiff poise and which of them had been born with their aunt’s enthusiasm.
It was an insurmountable relief that the twins were well-behaved after all. I had expected chaos, spills, and tantrums, but these two little souls seemed to possess an extraordinary level of decorum. Around me, at least.
Despite holding down plenty of odd jobs over the years, babysitting was one I had never expected to be any good at. But reclining on the overgrown lawn, eating jam biscuits with my little guests, I found I was rather enjoying myself.
I had been secretly pleased to hear that the twins were only part vampire. It was comforting to know I wasn’t the only human hanging around, and it also meant there was a steady food supply in the household.
During my earlier weeks with Jordan, the vampire had completely forgotten that I didn’t have a taste for blood, and I had to remind her more than once that regular human food was a necessity in the apartment.
She had subsequently forked out far too much money and set me loose in the grocery store to shop to my heart’s content.
It was decided rather quickly that I would be the one doing the shopping every week, since the first time Jordan had tried her hand at it she had returned with a stack of donuts, some raw onions and three different brands of cereal.
Sitting with my face tilted toward the sun, I chuckled inwardly at the memory of Jordan watching me eat a cheeseburger, awed fascination on her face. Apparently even vampires were drawn to Mcdonalds' greasy golden arches.
I snapped out of my daydreaming to find Hilda offering me a daisy she had plucked from the ground. “Why thank you, angel. That’s very kind of you.”
I tucked the small flower behind my ear and clinked my teacup against hers.
Not to be outdone by her sister, Hazel leapt to her feet and proceeded to rip whole patches of plant-life from the ground, presenting her foraged goods with a proud grin.
“Oh, my. Thank you, Hazel.” I accepted the pile of plants graciously, checking over my shoulder to make sure Sigrid wasn’t lurking about. “But your grandmother might bite my head off if we dig up any more of her flower bed.”
