Page 52 of Sweeter than Honey
“Well, youshouldhave!”
Celine growls at me, her eyes flashing crimson. “Fine, Renata! Are youhappy? You were right, and we didn’t plan ahead, and now we’re dealing with all this shit.”
“I’mnothappy!” I yell back, furiously. Hallie takes an anxious sip of bloodwine from her tumbler. “I’m just sick of being the one who always has to deal with the messesyoucreate!”
“Do you think I’m not cleaning up messes every day? Do you think I’m not doing enough? Just because I’m not an insane workaholic like you, doesn’t mean I’m not working my ass off to keep all of you safe!” Celine shouts. “We’re all doing our best, Renata!”
“Well we have to dobetter,” I reply. But unexpectedly, my voice breaks on the last word, coming out in a strangled sob. My sisters look at me in concern, and I lower my gaze. I continue, a little shakily. “I can’t…wecan’t…go back to what it was like when Tudor was here. And Xavian…Xavian would be evenworse…”
There’s a thick silence in the wake of my words.
Celine crosses behind my desk, and puts a hand on my shoulder. It’s an unexpectedly tender gesture, for her. “Renata, that’s not going to happen. At least not if I can help it.” She turns to our wide-eyed younger sisters. “Neither of you will remember, but things haven’t always been as easy as they are now.”
“Is noweasy?” Hallie asks.
“Yeah, it’s not like the past hundred years have been a cakewalk,” Lexi says with a scowl. “Do you remember the War of the Final Fire? You both act like you’re the only ones who have to deal with Tudor’s wrath, but at least helikesboth of you. He thinks you’re valuable. He always treated me like I was useless. He used to threaten to stake me at least once a week.”
“He locked me in a coffin,” Hallie adds. “At Elmwood, when I told him I wasn’t going to help him capture it. It wasawful. I thought I’d spend eternity in there.”
“I think it’s safe to say he doesn’t like any of us anymore,” Celine sighs. “So we just have to hope that he stays locked up, and do our best to keep the other vampires away.”
She gives my shoulder a final squeeze, and all three of my sisters say goodnight.
There’s a somber quiet in their wake. I don’t like hoping. I likedoing. I have to keep myself occupied. Maybe if I can work harder at the hotel, then Celine can focus on Xavian. The more we earn, the more resources we have against him. And perhaps hosting the witch conference isn’t the worst idea. If it impresses the Triple Council, maybe they’ll support us against the other vampire clans if it comes to a conflict.
I press a button on my speakerphone. “Lily, could you bring in thefile for the witch conference, please? I’m going to look over the budget and room assignments again.”
“Right away, Renata.”
Despite the anxiety in my chest, there’s a little flicker of pleasure when she says my name. I probably should have asked her to email me the file. When she enters my room, she brings with her the warm throb of her beating heart, and fills my office with the smell of sunshine.
She deposits the file on my desk, complete with coloured tabs indicating things she’d like me to look at. “Oh, I also wanted to mention to you that one of our vendors asked for a meeting tomorrow evening, but there was no time in your calendar. I thought I could ask Lexi if she would…”
“No, don’t ask Lexi. Instead, cancel my donor for tomorrow night. Schedule the vendor meeting first thing in the evening.”
She gives me a puzzled look. “Are…are you sure?”
“Yes, I’ll be fine.” I give her a firm nod, and she reciprocates.
There’s a small smile on her face that she can’t hide. I wonder if she’s thinking about when I drank from her. It’s impossible not to conjure up the memory when her scent fills my nostrils, when the soft flush across her cheeks reminds me of the flowing, delicious blood dripping from her thigh.
“That will be all, Lily,” I tell her. She swallows, and exits my office.
My god, what am I going to do?I need Lily, especially given how busy our summer is going to become. But each day, the tension between us thickens. I was hoping it would dissipate, but it’s only gotten stronger.
I take the shining black file and open it. I have to focus.
I have to distract myself the same way I always have.
Chapter 18: Wait until I tell you
Lily
It’s a Tuesday again, my favourite day of the week. Or night, I should say.
I’m in a perfect flow state. You know what I mean. When you’rereallyin the flow of things at work. With nobody else in the office but Renata, and no drama to deal with in the hotel, I’ve completed the final proposal for the witch conferenceandone of our August weddings, and my inbox is all clear. I love looking at the blank white screen.
But then there’s a crispding, and another email appears. It’s from the usual donor, asking if Renata is going to require his services this week, since she canceled last week.