Page 49

“Well, I brought back another one.”

Esther glanced over her shoulder as Ashley held up a large, black book. This turn was the stool’s final hurrah. With a crunch, a leg gave out, and Esther toppled backward, careening into the abyss. And then she was in Ashley’s arms, cradled like Ashley would walk her over a threshold. Esther didn’t even realize there was time to catch her in this position. But of course there was. Ashley was fast.

And cold. Not how an ice cube was cold. She wasn’t emitting a chill. More like a rock. Like if Esther kept her hand resting here on Ashley’s chest, Esther might sink beneath her skin and warm her all the way to the inside. Esther’s thumb moved experimentally back and forth along the smooth curve of Ashley’s collarbone. The rise and fall of Ashley’s chest shuddered, and Esther moved her attention from her hand to Ashley’s face.

Ashley’s smile was gone, and she was looking at Esther…and Esther wasn’t sure what this look meant, but it was dark and called to a deeper part of Esther.

Ashley blinked. “Sorry, sorry.” Ashley set her down faster than Esther enjoyed but still safely so it wasn’t like she could complain. “I brought you your book.”

There was a swish of air, and what felt like a brick dropped into Esther’s hands, nearly toppling her with the sudden weight. Poe was back.

“So, about Christmas.” Ashley paced the room, her eyes everywhere but on Esther.

Oh no, Esther thought. Ashley probably realized how ridiculous this plan was. A fake girlfriend? And Esther at that. She had to have noticed how awkward Esther was and decided to nicely take back her request.

“I was thinking a scarf for Dad and a candle for Mom. I can just say it’s from both of us. Do you mind being the type of girlfriend that does couple’s gifts?”

A couple’s gift, right.

“Sure. That’s fine.” This was all fine. Except now her mind raced from relief she wasn’t being fake dumped to calculating the pressure of meeting the parents for the first time. What should she wear?Wasa couple's gift a proper first impression?

“All right, perfect.” Ashley grabbed the back of Trouble and swiveled it around. The chair complied with zero resistance, and Esther glared at it. Ashley pulled a notepad and pencil from her pocket and crossed something out. “Next item on the list: getting out of a large family gathering. I propose we milk Romania for all its worth.”

“I…do not know what you’re talking about. Is your family from Romania?”

“No.” Ashley set down the notepad and crossed her legs.

She wore impossibly tight skinny jeans highlighting the curve of her hip and the athletic flex to her calves when she tipped her foot just right. Esther pulled her gaze back to Ashley’s face.

“Studying abroad in Romania is the cover story I’ve been using for my extended absence,” Ashley said. “I’ll have to fake my death at some point, but I haven’t quite worked up to it yet. And I’m not sure how to pull that off. Faking your death is surprisingly difficult. Even when you’re technically dead already.”

Esther nodded as though all of this made sense. It didn’t, but she was sure she could follow along. “Isn’t Romania a little on the nose for a vampire cover story?”

Ashley stopped tapping her pen and looked at her. “What do you mean? Is Romania, like, a big fan of vampires or something?” She gave a timid chuckle. “It’s not like I said Transylvania. That would have been…” Her words tapered off as she took in whatever face Esther was making. “No. I mean, I’m not great with maps, but there’s no way—Transylvania is its own country, right?”

Esther cringed. “It’s more like a region. In Romania.”

“Dammit.” Ashley turned to the ceiling and groaned, the vibrations of which sent goosebumps racing up Esther’s forearms. “It’s fine. We’re fine.” Ashley took a deep breath and shook out her hands. “If they haven’t noticed in the decade I’ve been using this excuse, then they won’t notice now. Let’s just skip to the list.” She picked up her notebook. “First up, large family gathering. I propose we tell them we’re exhausted from travel and jet-lagged. We couldn’t possibly function at a large gathering under such conditions.”

“That could also be an excuse for why you’re not going out during the daytime.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, jet lag. Maybe you have an important meeting when you get back and a week isn’t enough time to switch your sleep schedule twice. So, we have to make the nights work instead. You did say they don’t know you’re a vampire, right?”

“Right.”

“You’ll probably want to do a better job of hiding that too.”

“I do a perfectly adequate job of hiding my vampireness, thank you very much.” Ashley flicked a lock of golden hair over her shoulder and tipped her chin up. Esther did her best not to be charmed by the dramatics.

There wasn’t enough room on the desk to sit so Esther leaned instead. “I mean, I noticed something was up after spending time with youonce. And I haven’t known you your whole life.”

“Well, that’s just because you are very astute.”

Esther gave her a skeptical look.

“Fine, what am I messing up on?”