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"Josie!" Georgia squealed. She ran towards me, almost tackling me in her haste to hug me. She twirled me around and hugged me tightly. She released me from her freakishly strong grip and gave Stefan a slow once over flippantly, her nose crinkling as if she'd smelled something bad.
I could see they still had miles to go before they'd be friends. It was silly of me to hope that in their case, absence would make the heart grow fonder. Wrong. In the back of my mind, I suppose it didn't really matter if they were friends. We were moving back to the US and I was leaving my so-called human life behind me, learning to live as an immortal hybrid. If I were to be completely honest, the thought of disappearing from Anna and Georgia's lives broke my heart. There was just no other way around it. It would be a matter of time until they noticed Stefan and I were different. I thought back to Nikolaus words. We were unchanging anomalies.
"Georgia. " Stefan inclined his head and managed a forced smile. At least I could say he was trying to be civil.
Georgia chose to ignore him, instead focusing her attention back on me. A smile broke over her face, her blue eyes glowing, bouncing around with energy that could rival Lukas. "Anna was supposed to pick you up but she ended up getting stuck with a client. So she called me and here I am, at your service!"
"Lucky me. Remind me to pay Anna next time to take the day off of work if we need a ride from the airport. " Stefan was unusually sarcastic today. Even his mind voice was in a mood.
Nudging him in the side with my elbow, we continued walking. "Thanks, Georgia. It saved us from getting a taxi. "
She waved me off, flipping her dark hair over her shoulder. She flashed me a bright smile for a moment. Her smile slowly faded and she pulled on my arm, stopping us in the middle of the airport. Her hand dropped and she stared at me critically, as if she was trying to figure out the differences in my appearance. Her dark blue eyes flew over my hair and face, her eyes narrowing as she took in the minute differences.
"There's something different about you, Josie. Don't get me wrong, you look great. You just look. . . different. " She tapped her finger on her upper lip and her eyes moved to sweep over Stefan. I lowered my shields, focusing on her future to see where her mind was headed. She was going to compare the more prominent changes and similarities in my appearance to Stefan: the cooler, firmer skin that almost seemed to glow, the glossy hair, and the sparkling eyes. She was going to become her very curious as to why we appeared so similar. Georgia may be a pain in the ass but she was observant.
"She has noticed you are different. You need to divert her thoughts. " Stefan's mind voice had a warning edge to it.
Stefan and I exchanged a look and I nervously laughed, pulling Georgia along. "It must be something in the water and all the good food in New York. " I stretched out a fake yawn, hoping that my acting skills were good enough to convince Georgia. "I'll be so glad to get home. I'm exhausted. "
Stefan chuckled under his breath as we walked along. "Do not give up your day job, vackra. "
"I'm trying to let her know I'm tired before she dreams up going out or hanging out all night. So you better hope she buys my acting skills. " I raised an eyebrow sharply and shot him a look out of the corner of my eye as we headed out into the early evening light. The muggy, humid temperatures of Bali were a shock after the much cooler weather of New York.
"Damn it! I was hoping you'd feel up to going out and having a girl's night out," she responded with a small pout on her lips, her voice becoming a whine. "C'mon, just come over to my house for an hour, Josie. I can call Anna and we can stay in. "
"It'll be fun. I can tell you all about the guy I met a few days ago," Georgia was still chattering away as she led us to her sedan, unlocking the doors and popping the trunk so Stefan could stow our bag away. As I watched him place the luggage in the car with tense shoulders, it was obvious all of Georgia's plans specifically excluded Stefan from the equation. He slid into the back seat of Georgia's car without a word and left Georgia and me to stare at each other over the roof of her car. I was doing my best to ignore her pleading, puppy dog eyes.
"We'll see. I'm really tired, Georgia. "
With a loud huff, Georgia opened her car door and got in, slamming it behind her. Realizing that this was going to be a stressful ride home, I got in and buckled up, silently willing the car ride to go quickly.
We drove for miles in silence, an awkward pause settling over us. Georgia was transmitting irritation and frustration so vividly that it was making my head hurt, even with my shields in place. I could hear Stefan's fingers tapping away on his phone from the back seat. He'd chosen to ignore the tension and had preoccupied himself with reading e-mails.
"So how long are you staying?" Georgia asked anxiously. She was gripping the steering wheel tightly, her knuckles almost white.
"A few days. However long it takes me to get my things sorted and accounts closed out. "
An uneasy quiet filled the car again. I was armed with the knowledge that Georgia was just waiting for the right time to unleash on me. She was biding her time and playing nice for the moment.
"I thought you didn't like big crowds. New York City is kinda known for that," Georgia remarked, glancing away from the road and giving me a pointed look.
"You're right, I don't like big crowds. I think this is a good move for me," I commented, rubbing my hands together nervously. Stefan cleared his throat from the back seat, reminding me he was still present. "I mean it's a good move for us. Stefan has business there, my book publisher is there. It's kind of a win/win for both of us. "
She let out a loud, overly dramatic sigh. "Yeah, it's a win/win for you," Georgia mumbled under her breath, figuring neither of us could hear her. Unbeknownst to her, Stefan could hear a pin drop a mile away, and thanks to my much improved hearing, her words were as clear as if she'd yelled them.
"What kind of business does Stefan do, Josie?" Georgia sneered. She was going to continue her charade of pretending that Stefan wasn't in the car, choosing to let her immature, obnoxious side take over. I was relieved to see my villa approaching as we climbed over a small hill in the road. She slowed and turned into my driveway, the gravel crunching under her tires.
"I own some properties in the New York area. I can work from anywhere, however it is helpful to be close by to manage the day to day operations," Stefan answered her, ignoring the fact that Georgia had directed the question to me.
Internally rolling my eyes at Stefan's obvious understatement of his wealth, I sighed as she parked in front of my villa. She finally acknowledged Stefan as she peered at him in the rearview mirror, her blue eyes flashing as she turned off her car.
"Well, goodie for you, Stefan. So you just figured you'd just be your normal over-bearing self and drag Josie along with you. 'Cause I'm sure you figure she doesn't have anything better to do besides follow your ass all over the world. "
. . . And she was off.
Moving quickly, I unfastened my seat belt and leaped out of the car. I was going to attempt to head off Stefan and get between them before she could say anything else. I was too late. He was already out of the car, his six-foot-four frame barreling around the front of the car to Georgia's door. Managing to cut him off, I placed my hands against his chest and looked up at him with imploring eyes. I understood his frustration. I was also trying to figure out her real problem with Stefan. She antagonized Stefan at every turn and was testing his patience.
"Stefan, please. Don't let her do this. She's trying to get you angry," I silently pleaded with him.
