Page 127 of Life and Death

“What’s for breakfast?” I asked.

That threw her for a minute. Her brows pulled together. “I’m not sure. . . . What would you like?”

I laughed. “That’s all right, I fend for myself pretty well. You’re allowed to watchmehunt.”

I got a bowl and a box of cereal. She returned to the chair she’d sat in last night, watching as I poured the milk and grabbed a spoon. I set my food on the table, then paused. The empty space in front of her on the table made me feel rude.

“Um, can I . . . get you anything?”

She rolled her eyes. “Just eat, Beau.”

I sat at the table, watching her as I took a bite. She was gazing at me, studying my every movement. It made me self-conscious. I swallowed so I could speak, wanting to distract her.

“Anything on the agenda today?”

“Maybe,” she said. “That depends on whether or not you like my idea.”

“I’ll like it,” I promised as I took a second bite.

She pursed her lips. “Are you open to meeting my family?”

I choked on my cereal.

She jumped up, one hand stretched toward me helplessly, probably thinking about how she could crush my lungs if she tried to give me the Heimlich. I shook my head and motioned for her to sit while I coughed the milk out of my windpipe.

“I’m good, I’m good,” I said when I could speak.

“Please don’t do that to me again, Beau.”

“Sorry.”

“Maybe we should have this conversation after you’re done eating.”

“Okay.” I needed a minute anyway.

She was apparently serious. And I guess I’d already met Archie and it hadn’t been that bad. And Dr. Cullen, too. But that had been back before I’d known Dr. Cullen was a vampire, which changed things. And while Ihadknown with Archie, I didn’t know if he knew that I knew, and that felt like kind of an important distinction to me. Also, Archie was the mostsupportive, according to Edythe.

There were others who were obviously not as generous.

“I’ve finally done it,” she murmured when I swallowed the last bite and pushed the bowl away.

“What did you do?”

“Scared you.”

I thought about that for a moment, then held up my hand, fingers spread, and waved it from side to side in the international symbol forKinda, yeah.

“I wouldn’t let anyone hurt you,” she assured me.

But that just made me worry more that someone—Royal—would want to, and she would get in between to rescue me. I didn’t care what she said about holding her own and not fighting fair, that idea really freaked me out.

“No one would try, Beau, that was a joke.”

“I don’t want to cause you any problems. Do they even know that I know?”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, they’re quite up to date. It’s not really possible to keep secrets in my house, what with our various parlor tricks. Archie had already seen that your dropping by was a possibility.”

I could feel a variety of expressions rippling across my face before I could control it. What all did Archiesee? Yesterday . . . last night . . . My face got hot.