The Vampire's Mate by Wendi Wilson

Author:Wendi Wilson [Wilson, Wendi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-03-02T16:00:00+00:00

24

THAT DOESN’T SOUND OMINOUS, AT ALL

“Steph? What are you…? How?”

My mind is spinning, my heartbeat pounding in my ears as I grab my best friend’s arms and hold her still so I can look at her. She’s bouncing lightly on her toes despite my firm grip, her gaze skipping from me to Jesse and back again.

“Aunt Bernadette surprised me with a plane ticket,” she says breathlessly. “She said she couldn’t stand to look at my sullen face a moment longer. She’s even paying me for my days off so I’d have no excuse not to come. Isn’t that amazing?”

“Unbelievable,” I murmur, meeting Jesse’s concerned gaze.

“You don’t seem happy to see me,” she says, deflating a bit.

“Of course, I’m happy,” I say, forcing a smile. “I’m just in shock.”

I pull her in for another hug, and her relief is palpable as she melts against my chest. I hope she can’t feel the tension coiling inside me. Try as I might, I can’t seem to release it and relax into the embrace.

Pulling back, I ask, “When did you get here? Where are you staying?”

“I flew in this morning. Aunt Bernadette would only spring for the red-eye. And I was hoping I could stay with you.”

“Oh, I don’t––”

“Of course, you can,” Jesse interjects before I can drum up and excuse to turn her away.

I stare at him for a moment, pumping all my anxiety and fear into my expression, but he only gives me an encouraging nod. I look back at Steph and force another smile to my lips.

“I guess you’re staying with us.”

I don’t know how this is going to work. Steph has no idea who Jesse really is. She also doesn’t know she’s a witch, a fact that is going to cause problems at the Belloy Manor. None of the vampires there are going to want a witch in their midst, especially since one is effectively, albeit slowly, assassinating their king.

“Allow me to formally introduce myself,” Jesse says, pulling me into his side and offering his free hand to Steph. “Jesse Lee.”

“Stephanie Brummett,” she says, shaking his hand. “You can call me Steph.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Steph,” Jesse says. “Are you hungry? We can find a nice private place to get some food…and talk.”

“I’m starved,” she exclaims. “I’ve had nothing but airplane pretzels and stale coffee since yesterday.”

Keeping his arm over my shoulder, Jesse leads us down the sidewalk. My nerves are twitching beneath my skin as I try to make small talk with Steph. I know what Jesse meant by “talk.” We have to tell her who he really is.

And she’s not going to be happy I kept that little tidbit from her.

“So, I’ve been walking all over Hollywood looking for you,” she says, pulling me from my thoughts.

“That was your big plan?” I ask, arching my brow at her. “To walk around L.A. until you spotted me?”

“Hey, it worked, didn’t it?”

I shake my head. It was a foolish plan, at best. The only reason she found me was because I was looking for her.

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