Page 36

CELINE

I pick up the laminated menu set down in front of me and scan for my usual favorites. We decided to try out a new local spot that serves burgers, flatbread, wings, and other bar food.

Sometimes a burger with all the fix-ins is in order to pick a girl up and be productive.

“I think I’m going to go for the Caesar salad with salmon,” Ava muses while tapping her chin.

“I should’ve known,” I laugh.

Ava and I are both creatures of habit.

I swirl my straw in the glass of water sitting to my right.

“At least I got this.” Ava holds up her fancy sparkling lemonade. “You got water, you plain Jane.” She sticks her tongue out like the mature adult woman she is.

I crumple up my straw wrapper and throw it at her face. It falls pitifully short and doesn’t make it anywhere near its mark.

“Hello ladies! I’ll be your server today!” A cheerful voice I know all too well pipes up.

Ava’s light blue eyes dart back and forth from the server to me, and her grin gets so wide I think it’ll split her face in half.

“Do I even want to look?” I shield my gaze from the side where the new presence stands and look at Ava who nods vigorously. Shutting my eyes, I rub the heel of my palms against my eyeballs for the oncoming headache I’m sure to get.

Ugh.

Sure enough, when I turn my head and peel open my tightly closed lids, a crimson-headed Adonis stands there, apron and all.

Zavier tilts his head at me like a dog begging its owner for attention.

Where did I find this one? In an abandoned alley?

Well, kind of.

“I don’t want to know how you knew we were here or how you got this job on such short notice. You couldn’t go the day without me, huh?” I laugh but it is endearing in a twisted, unhinged way.

He leans over and rubs his cheek against the top of my head.

“Of course I couldn’t. I missed my pumpkin too much.”

“All right, get off me.” I shove Zav off, and he rocks back and forth on his feet. Now that I know he’s a vampire, I realize he lets me do this. He’s strong enough to not go anywhere if he doesn’t want to. “What happened to our original waiter?”

Zav certainly wasn’t the one to take our drink order and ask if we wanted any appetizers.

Zavier smiles mischievously, and I make a point to ignore it and not let my mind wander to what could’ve happened.

Ava and I rattle off our orders which Zavier writes down and takes to the kitchen.

“Speak of the devil.” She smirks at me while sipping on her lemonade. “How’s it going living together?”

“He’s attentive that’s for sure. I thought he was going to have an aneurysm when I told him I was going into work today.

” I run a hand through my hair tucking flyaways behind my ear.

“Midnight, the little shit, seems to love him for some reason so he’s living his best life.

I wish there was movement on the intruder in my apartment, so I have a timeline for moving back in but so far nothing.

I don’t want to be a burden to Zavier, you know?

I basically took over his space and he refuses to let me sleep on the couch so I take his bed. It’s not fair to him.”

What I don’t tell Ava is I sleep better than I ever have in his bed. His scent which I thought would fade, only seems to stick to the sheets and lull me to sleep each night.

As much as I try to hold myself back from the goofy vampire, he continues to wiggle under my skin and into my heart. I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be able to hold back from pursuing a full-on relationship with him.

I keep that tidbit of information to myself. Zav would probably throw a parade in his own honor if he found out I’m thinking about asking him to make things serious.

“I doubt he’s bothered by you living with him,” she laughs.

“He’s a walking boner for you. From everything I’ve seen he’s going to be heartbroken when you leave.

” I spy Zav watching from the corner, but he quickly disappears when he’s caught.

“It's an interesting situation, but maybe you moving in is the universe telling you to follow your heart and not your head.” Ava gives me a pointed look and sucks down the last of her drink.

“Get yourself laid and see if your natural chemistry bleeds into sexual chemistry and decide if you want to take it further. Nothing wrong with walking away if it goes south.”

“Yeah, maybe.” She has a point but there’s still part of me reluctant to take the plunge. He’s also an immortal being and I’m a human. How the hell would that work?

I take a sip of my water, and a different waiter appears with our plates of food. Ava’s salad does look delicious, but my burger has me salivating.

I reach for my water for another sip and frown when I find it empty. I must’ve downed it without realizing in my discomfort answering Ava’s questions. Before I can dwell too long on my dry throat, another full cup of water is placed in front of me and a lemonade in front of Ava.

I slowly run my gaze up the apron covered chest, corded throat, and strong jaw in front of me. Zavier smiles and walks away without a word.

“See? He knew what you needed before you did.” Ava digs into her salad and draws her new lemonade closer.

“Pfft. It’s his job to stay on top of that. I’m sure he’d do it for anyone,” I reason with her, but know it’s more than that. I just don’t want to say it out loud.

I stifle the moan that wants to come out when I bite into my burger and flavors burst on my tongue. The meat is perfectly cooked to my liking and not too greasy. All of the toppings flow together seamlessly, and the fries are delicious too.

“This was a great idea.” I point a fry at Ava, and she nods in agreement.

We finish our meal in relative silence, both enjoying our food. A certain someone is mysteriously gone but I still feel his eyes on me. I don’t think I could miss the heat of their gaze if I tried.

Ava’s phone rings as we’re winding down and she holds the screen up to her face with a sigh. She hesitates answering, but rolls her neck and scoots out of the booth. Flashing the screen to me I see Spencer’s name and understand. I nod at her, and she walks away to chat with him.

While she’s gone, I take the chance to clean up our table a bit. Stacking our plates and wiping up crumbs I neatly place them on the corner. Customer service jobs in any capacity can be tough, and I try to help the workers as much as possible when I can.

I’m shocked when Ava slides back into the booth minutes after her phone rang.

“That was a short conversation,” I marvel, and look up, only to find someone who is very much not Ava sitting in front of me. Unless Ava grew a few feet, dyed her hair red, and sported a set of fangs.

“I can’t leave a lovely lady like yourself unattended.” Zavier picks up my water and strategically places his lips on my lip gloss prints on the edge of the glass. His green eyes bore into mine and I fight the shiver that comes over me.

This man.

“Are you trying to move out of my apartment already?” he remarks, and I internally sigh.

Of course he overheard that. “I know what you’re thinking, and I promise I try to tune out your conversations to give you privacy, but I’m a vampire and we hear extremely well. Ava’s loud so it was hard to miss.”

Free of his apron I see Zavier’s full outfit of a black tee under a gray flannel. The contrast really brings out the color of his hair and eyes.

“I just feel bad I’m all up in your space, and don’t want to intrude that’s all.”

Zav’s eyebrows wrinkle at my statement and he reaches across the table to grab my hands which I’m wringing in front of me.

“Celine. I promise you are not a burden in the slightest. I’ve been alone for hundreds of years and now I have you.

” His eyes soften and I melt a little. “I love waking up to you in my apartment. I love hearing your soft snores through the door. I love learning what I do that makes you roll your eyes. I love seeing how wild your hair looks when you walk out of the bedroom in the morning.” That one earns a flick on the hand from me and a chuckle from him.

“Please don’t think you’re a burden. You’re a light in my life.

” A small stroke on the top of my hand. “Well, Midnight comes first and then you.” He winks and I purse my lips.

Zav pulls the check out from under the table and sets it in front of me. When I open it, it says it’s already been paid for.

“On the house.” He disappears in the next breath before I can look up.

Freaking stalker vampire.