Chapter 18
You know how I didn’t want to spend my second day as Noah’s girlfriend? Going to a support group. But it’s Tuesday, and my royal conservator is dedicated to his self-appointed job. So here we are.
“Here’s an idea,” I say to Cassian as I reluctantly follow him into Dylan’s small apartment elevator. “What if we drop off the cupcakes and leave? You can say you accidentally ate one and are now in major gastric distress.”
Looking highly amused, Cassian says, “If I ate a cupcake, I would be lying on the floor whimpering, not walking into a support group meeting. So that probably won’t work.”
“Fine, we’ll just leave the cupcakes outside Dylan’s door and make a run for it.”
“It won’t be that bad.”
“Noah is already on his way home, waiting for dinner.”
“Noah is a grown man and can make his own dinner.”
“I didn’t say he was waiting for me to cook.” I pause, feeling a little giddy. “He just wants to eat together.”
“The three of us? That’s so considerate of him.”
I haven’t told Cassian that Noah and I are together yet, but I suppose now is the time. “No…just me and him.”
“Oh, really?” The vampire doesn’t sound terribly surprised, probably because of what he interrupted in Noah’s office. “I suppose that’s why Ashlyn looked heartbroken when I passed her in the administration office hall yesterday.”
The thought of seeing her tonight ties my stomach into knots. “Yeah, Noah didn’t handle that super well—which is another reason to ditch the meeting.”
“Max is here. Don’t you want to support him and meet his pre-vamp?”
“Yes, I guess.” I sigh, knowing there’s no way I’m getting out of this. “Do you think Dylan’s going to serve us all smoothies?”
“Not likely. High-quality matcha is expensive.”
“Is that what makes them frog-colored?”
“I believe so. And I would think a vegetarian would have a different view on green smoothies.”
“I like greens just fine, just not pureed into baby food in a blender.”
The elevator opens, and we walk down the hall until we reach the right apartment. I glance at the vampire as we wait for Dylan to answer the door, smiling at the cupcakes he’s carrying.
“What?” Cassian asks.
“You used pink frosting.”
“It’s strawberry.”
“And sprinkles.”
Playing up his accent, he waggles his dark brows. “They’re fun and flirty.”
I laugh. “Never in my life have I heard someone refer to sprinkles as flirty.”
“Well, now you have.”
“Do you miss food?” I ask him.
“I eat food every day. Multiple times a day, even.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I’ve never tasted modern food, if that’s what you’re getting at. It’s hard to miss something you’ve never had.”
“Okay, yeah. But at first, did you struggle when you couldn’t eat…I don’t know. Your pottage?”
He smirks. “I wasn’t a peasant.”
“I’m worried I’ll miss things.”
Cassian looks at me sharply. “You’re not a vampire, Piper. Why would you miss them?”
Dylan finally answers the door. His eyes sweep over us and land on the plate in Cassian’s hands. Wrinkling his nose like the little snot he is, he deadpans, “Cupcakes. Cool.”
“They’re certified organic,” I tell him. “Made with ancient grain flour that was ground by baby goats in California.”
He studies me for a minute. “Really?”
I walk past him. “No.”
Max is already here with his pre-vamp. I haven’t met her yet, but I know her name is Hillary, and she’s in her early fifties. She’s been in the first stage for about twenty years and just moved here from Idaho to be closer to her kids.
Basically, she’s the training wheels version of a pre-vamp—perfect for a new conservator like my brother. But why she’s suffering through a support group, I don’t know.
“Piper,” Max calls across the room when he sees me, looking a touch nervous.
I make my way toward him. About half the regular attendees are already here, crammed in Dylan’s small living room.
It’s a dark, masculine space, but it’s immaculately clean.
A sepia-toned photo is the focal point over the television, featuring a horse and a pig in a top hat.
The furniture has an industrial vibe, with metal pipe frames and black leather upholstery.
Everything about it screams Dylan.
“Hillary, this is my sister, Piper,” Max says when I reach them. “Piper, this is Hillary.”
“It’s nice to meet you.”
The woman sits on the couch, with Max in a dining room chair beside her. Her blonde hair is pulled back in a clip, and she’s wearing black athletic leggings, a sporty tank top, and a smartwatch. She’s brought her knitting, and she’s currently working on…a head.
“It’s a doll for my granddaughter,” she explains, holding it up so I can see it better. “Or it will be, after I join all the pieces and stuff it.”
“Oh…cool.” I smile even though it’s actually creepy.
“It will be cute once I add the eyes,” she assures me.
Sure.
Hillary bundles the project into her purse. “So, Piper, Max tells me you grow and sell cut flowers?”
I’m about to answer, but my phone vibrates…and so does Max’s. He slips his out of his pocket first.
“It’s the family app.” He frowns. “Why does it say Mom and Dad are almost at your house?”
My heart stops beating, and cold dread washes over me like a rogue wave.
“What are they doing back already?” I say frantically, zooming in to make sure it’s not a glitch. But no, their circles are moving down the street toward my house.
Where Noah is right now.
Never mind figuring out how to tell them I’m a pre-vamp. How am I going to explain Noah? I’m not prepared.
“I gotta go.” I whirl around, looking for Cassian. I spot him in the kitchen with his cupcakes, talking to Marilyn and Brooke. “Cassian, something came up. We need to go.”
“What’s wrong?”
I don’t want to get into this in front of the support group leader because she’ll want to bring it up at the next meeting the annoying vampire drags me to, so I stare him down, silently telling him to stop asking questions and move.
Thankfully, he gets the point.
“Okay.” He turns his attention back to Marilyn. “I’ll send you that recipe tomorrow.”
“And me, too.” Brooke swipes some of the frosting off the top of her cupcake and licks it off her finger. “These are so good.”
I’m two-point-seven seconds away from dragging him out by the arm.
“I’m glad you like them,” he says graciously, and finally, he’s moving.
Unfortunately, we reach the door when Ashlyn and Colin arrive. She and I pause awkwardly when we see each other, uncomfortable smiles pasted on our faces.
“Are you leaving?” she asks, glancing toward the hall.
“Yeah, something came up.” I loop my arm through Cassian’s when I sense he’s going to stop and chat. “Cassian made cupcakes, though—be sure you grab one.”
And—success!—I have him out the door. As soon as we hit the hall, I drop his arm and take off at a jog.
Cassian easily matches me, annoyingly agile even with his long legs. “What’s gotten into you?”
But I can’t answer because I’m in the middle of calling Noah, who has the audacity not to answer.
“Pick up!” I growl.
But no. His phone goes to voicemail. Quickly, I send him a frantic message.
Piper: My parents are almost at the house. Don’t answer the door.
Cassian, nosy vampire that he is, reads my text and laughs. We’re forced to stop and wait for the elevator, and I pace in front of it. Maybe it would have been faster to take the stairs. We’re only three stories up.
“You seem tense.” Cassian’s eyes are bright with amusement.
“I didn’t tell my parents I took on a boarder.”
“Will they care that you’re living with your boyfriend? You’re almost thirty, aren’t you?”
“Like that matters.” A semi-hysterical laugh slips out, making me sound a little insane. “And I have zero plans to tell them we’re dating, but…”
“What’s the problem? You don’t think they’ll believe you and Noah are only friends, just because he’s a good-looking man about your age, and you two exude romantic chemistry like a heat lamp?”
I flash him a look as the elevator opens. “Have you been reading romance novels?”
“I like a good romance.”
“Maybe you should try living your own, instead of living vicariously through others. Isn’t that the advice you gave me? How are things with Sophia?”
His expression instantly sobers. “Sophia is a criminal.”
“Yes. And how does it feel to be in love with a criminal?”
The vampire shoots me a dark look. “I loved her once, but that was over a hundred years ago.”
“Yeah, okay.” Then I narrow my eyes at him. “And about that—don’t mess with Olivia, all right? If you’re not interested in her, don’t lead her on.”
“Have you given her this speech as well? I know she likes Max. Aren’t you worried she’s going to break my heart?”
“You seem…resilient.”
He presses his hand to his chest, his dark eyes glittering once again. “I’m not a player, if that’s what you’re insinuating.”
“Sure.”
The elevator finally reaches the ground level, and we hurry to the apartment complex’s parking lot. Well, I hurry. Cassian moseys.
When he finally reaches the Lamborghini, he opens the door for me. As soon as I’m in, I try to call Noah again.
He doesn’t answer.
Frantically, I flip back to the GPS app.
They’re there. Mom and Dad’s two dots are at the house.
“You look a little green,” Cassian says as he leisurely pulls onto the road. “Don’t throw up in the car, okay? I don’t want to buy a new one.”
“A new car?” I balk, knowing how much this thing costs. “Wouldn’t you just get it cleaned?”
He wrinkles his nose, obviously against it.
“I’m fine,” I assure him. “Just…hurry. Or don’t. Actually, no. Let’s go to Fiji. Is that still an option?”
Cassian chuckles, stubbornly taking me exactly where I told him to—my house.
I nearly have a panic attack when I see my parents’ car parked out front—right next to Noah’s SUV. And it’s empty, which means they’re inside.
It suddenly hits me that they have a key, just like I have a key to their house. I let myself into their place. They let themselves into my place. It’s never been a big deal because it’s just them and me.
But today…
Crap.