Page 19 of Vampires and Violas (A Vampire’s Guide to Gardening #2)

18

You know how I didn’t want to spend my second day as Noah’s girlfriend? Going to a support group. But it’s Tuesday, and my royal conservator is dedicated to his self-appointed job. So here we are.

“Here’s an idea,” I say to Cassian as I reluctantly follow him into Dylan’s small apartment elevator. “What if we drop off the cupcakes and leave? You can say you accidentally ate one and are now in major gastric distress.”

Looking highly amused, Cassian says, “If I ate a cupcake, I would be lying on the floor whimpering, not walking into a support group meeting. So that probably won’t work.”

“Fine, we’ll just leave the cupcakes outside Dylan’s door and make a run for it.”

“It won’t be that bad.”

“Noah is already on his way home, waiting for dinner.”

“Noah is a grown man and can make his own dinner.”

“I didn’t say he was waiting for me to cook.” I pause, feeling a little giddy. “He just wants to eat together.”

“The three of us? That’s so considerate of him.”

I haven’t told Cassian that Noah and I are together yet, but I suppose now is the time. “No…just me and him.”

“Oh, really?” The vampire doesn’t sound terribly surprised, probably because of what he interrupted in Noah’s office. “I suppose that’s why Ashlyn looked heartbroken when I passed her in the administration office hall yesterday.”

The thought of seeing her tonight ties my stomach into knots. “Yeah, Noah didn’t handle that super well—which is another reason to ditch the meeting.”

“Max is here. Don’t you want to support him and meet his pre-vamp?”

“Yes, I guess.” I sigh, knowing there’s no way I’m getting out of this. “Do you think Dylan’s going to serve us all smoothies?”

“Not likely. High-quality matcha is expensive.”

“Is that what makes them frog-colored?”

“I believe so. And I would think a vegetarian would have a different view on green smoothies.”

“I like greens just fine, just not pureed into baby food in a blender.”

The elevator opens, and we walk down the hall until we reach the right apartment. I glance at the vampire as we wait for Dylan to answer the door, smiling at the cupcakes he’s carrying.

“What?” Cassian asks.

“You used pink frosting.”

“It’s strawberry.”

“And sprinkles.”

Playing up his accent, he waggles his dark brows. “They’re fun and flirty.”

I laugh. “Never in my life have I heard someone refer to sprinkles as flirty.”

“Well, now you have.”

“Do you miss food?” I ask him.

“I eat food every day. Multiple times a day, even.”

“You know what I mean.”

“I’ve never tasted modern food, if that’s what you’re getting at. It’s hard to miss something you’ve never had.”

“Okay, yeah. But at first, did you struggle when you couldn’t eat…I don’t know. Your pottage?”

He smirks. “I wasn’t a peasant.”

“I’m worried I’ll miss things.”

Cassian looks at me sharply. “You’re not a vampire, Piper. Why would you miss them?”

Dylan finally answers the door. His eyes sweep over us and land on the plate in Cassian’s hands. Wrinkling his nose like the little snot he is, he deadpans, “Cupcakes. Cool.”

“They’re certified organic,” I tell him. “Made with ancient grain flour that was ground by baby goats in California.”

He studies me for a minute. “Really?”

I walk past him. “No.”

Max is already here with his pre-vamp. I haven’t met her yet, but I know her name is Hillary, and she’s in her early fifties. She’s been in the first stage for about twenty years and just moved here from Idaho to be closer to her kids.

Basically, she’s the training wheels version of a pre-vamp—perfect for a new conservator like my brother. But why she’s suffering through a support group, I don’t know.

“Piper,” Max calls across the room when he sees me, looking a touch nervous.

I make my way toward him. About half the regular attendees are already here, crammed in Dylan’s small living room. It’s a dark, masculine space, but it’s immaculately clean. A sepia-toned photo is the focal point over the television, featuring a horse and a pig in a top hat. The furniture has an industrial vibe, with metal pipe frames and black leather upholstery.

Everything about it screams Dylan.

“Hillary, this is my sister, Piper,” Max says when I reach them. “Piper, this is Hillary.”

“It’s nice to meet you.”

The woman sits on the couch, with Max in a dining room chair beside her. Her blonde hair is pulled back in a clip, and she’s wearing black athletic leggings, a sporty tank top, and a smartwatch. She’s brought her knitting, and she’s currently working on…a head.

“It’s a doll for my granddaughter,” she explains, holding it up so I can see it better. “Or it will be, after I join all the pieces and stuff it.”

“Oh…cool.” I smile even though it’s actually creepy.

“It will be cute once I add the eyes,” she assures me.

Sure.

Hillary bundles the project into her purse. “So, Piper, Max tells me you grow and sell cut flowers?”

I’m about to answer, but my phone vibrates…and so does Max’s. He slips his out of his pocket first.

“It’s the family app.” He frowns. “Why does it say Mom and Dad are almost at your house?”

My heart stops beating, and cold dread washes over me like a rogue wave.

“What are they doing back already?” I say frantically, zooming in to make sure it’s not a glitch. But no, their circles are moving down the street toward my house.

Where Noah is right now.

Never mind figuring out how to tell them I’m a pre-vamp. How am I going to explain Noah? I’m not prepared.

“I gotta go.” I whirl around, looking for Cassian. I spot him in the kitchen with his cupcakes, talking to Marilyn and Brooke. “Cassian, something came up. We need to go.”

“What’s wrong?”

I don’t want to get into this in front of the support group leader because she’ll want to bring it up at the next meeting the annoying vampire drags me to, so I stare him down, silently telling him to stop asking questions and move .

Thankfully, he gets the point.

“Okay.” He turns his attention back to Marilyn. “I’ll send you that recipe tomorrow.”

“And me, too.” Brooke swipes some of the frosting off the top of her cupcake and licks it off her finger. “These are so good.”

I’m two-point-seven seconds away from dragging him out by the arm.

“I’m glad you like them,” he says graciously, and finally, he’s moving.

Unfortunately, we reach the door when Ashlyn and Colin arrive. She and I pause awkwardly when we see each other, uncomfortable smiles pasted on our faces.

“Are you leaving?” she asks, glancing toward the hall.

“Yeah, something came up.” I loop my arm through Cassian’s when I sense he’s going to stop and chat. “Cassian made cupcakes, though—be sure you grab one.”

And—success!—I have him out the door. As soon as we hit the hall, I drop his arm and take off at a jog.

Cassian easily matches me, annoyingly agile even with his long legs. “What’s gotten into you?”

But I can’t answer because I’m in the middle of calling Noah, who has the audacity not to answer.

“Pick up!” I growl.

But no. His phone goes to voicemail. Quickly, I send him a frantic message.

Piper: My parents are almost at the house. Don’t answer the door.

Cassian, nosy vampire that he is, reads my text and laughs . We’re forced to stop and wait for the elevator, and I pace in front of it. Maybe it would have been faster to take the stairs. We’re only three stories up.

“You seem tense.” Cassian’s eyes are bright with amusement.

“I didn’t tell my parents I took on a boarder.”

“Will they care that you’re living with your boyfriend? You’re almost thirty, aren’t you?”

“Like that matters.” A semi-hysterical laugh slips out, making me sound a little insane. “And I have zero plans to tell them we’re dating, but…”

“What’s the problem? You don’t think they’ll believe you and Noah are only friends, just because he’s a good-looking man about your age, and you two exude romantic chemistry like a heat lamp?”

I flash him a look as the elevator opens. “Have you been reading romance novels?”

“I like a good romance.”

“Maybe you should try living your own, instead of living vicariously through others. Isn’t that the advice you gave me? How are things with Sophia?”

His expression instantly sobers. “Sophia is a criminal.”

“Yes. And how does it feel to be in love with a criminal?”

The vampire shoots me a dark look. “I loved her once, but that was over a hundred years ago.”

“Yeah, okay.” Then I narrow my eyes at him. “And about that—don’t mess with Olivia, all right? If you’re not interested in her, don’t lead her on.”

“Have you given her this speech as well? I know she likes Max. Aren’t you worried she’s going to break my heart?”

“You seem…resilient.”

He presses his hand to his chest, his dark eyes glittering once again. “I’m not a player, if that’s what you’re insinuating.”

“Sure.”

The elevator finally reaches the ground level, and we hurry to the apartment complex’s parking lot. Well, I hurry. Cassian moseys .

When he finally reaches the Lamborghini, he opens the door for me. As soon as I’m in, I try to call Noah again.

He doesn’t answer.

Frantically, I flip back to the GPS app.

They’re there. Mom and Dad’s two dots are at the house.

“You look a little green,” Cassian says as he leisurely pulls onto the road. “Don’t throw up in the car, okay? I don’t want to buy a new one.”

“A new car?” I balk, knowing how much this thing costs. “Wouldn’t you just get it cleaned?”

He wrinkles his nose, obviously against it.

“I’m fine,” I assure him. “Just…hurry. Or don’t. Actually, no. Let’s go to Fiji. Is that still an option?”

Cassian chuckles, stubbornly taking me exactly where I told him to—my house.

I nearly have a panic attack when I see my parents’ car parked out front—right next to Noah’s SUV. And it’s empty, which means they’re inside.

It suddenly hits me that they have a key, just like I have a key to their house. I let myself into their place. They let themselves into my place. It’s never been a big deal because it’s just them and me.

But today…

Crap.

I sure hope Noah let them in, or they all had a nasty surprise.

Cassian parks and looks at me. “You ready to get this over with?”

“Nope. I changed my mind. I live with you now.”

“Will that make them any happier? In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a man as well.”

“Probably not, but you have twenty-seven rooms. I can hide for a long time before they find me.”

“I think you’re overreacting.”

“I have an acute sense of responsibility, and I was told nice girls don’t live with boys before they’re married.”

“Well, that’s an easy fix. Get married, you trollop.”

I snort out a laugh, telling myself this isn’t that big of a deal. My house has become a bed and breakfast, not a house of ill repute. It’s even better than a bed and breakfast because Noah usually cooks for me.

I take a deep breath, leave the relative safety of the car, and march up the porch steps.

My dad meets me at the door. He’s about six feet tall, broad-shouldered but soft around the edges, with a little gray in his short beard. Up until he retired, he was the CEO of a construction company he built from the ground up. He’s strong-willed and efficient, and it annoys the daylights out of him that his daughter was born with an entrepreneurial spirit and a love for flowers.

Right now, he’s smiling. But it’s not a friendly smile; it’s a concerning smile. If a cat could smile, this is the smile it would wear when it cornered its prey.

But before he can say anything, his eyes stray to the Lamborghini. His jaw goes slack, and his gaze moves to the man beside me.

“Dad!” I say brightly, hurrying forward to give him the awkwardest of hugs. When I step back, I say, “What are you guys doing back already? I thought you were going to be gone until the end of summer?”

“We came back early. Mom broke her glasses and decided she would like to update her prescription before she orders new ones.” He glances at Cassian, frowning. “And we didn’t hear much from you and Max, so we decided to come home.”

His expression says he thinks it’s a good thing he did. I’m sure he’s imagining that I got myself into all kinds of trouble while they were out of town. And he’s right, but I bet his mind hasn’t leaped to vampires yet.

So, I’m still a step ahead.

“Ah,” I say.

Also, note to self: next time your parents are gone, call them.

“Your mother is inside with Noah,” Dad says.

“I could have introduced you to him if I’d been here.” I raise my eyebrows, hoping to subtly get my point across. “I wish you would have texted first.”

“I’m sure you do.” He gives me a wry look and then jerks his chin toward Cassian. “Who’s this, and whose Lamborghini did he steal?”

“Huh?” I glance at the vampire by my side. “Oh, this is Cassian, and the Lamborghini is his.”

Kind of. I mean, it seems to be, though I think he claimed it with bloodline politics and clout. Not sure how that works. Not sure I want to know how that works.

Dad frowns at him like he’s up to no good. Then he offers his hand.

“Hello, Mr. Edwards,” Cassian says smoothly as they shake. “I’m pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Dad nods, sizing him up, and then turns toward the door. “Let’s go inside.”

I follow him, reminding myself I’m an adult. Even if my parents don’t like my decisions, I’m not a child. And it’s not like they’ve agreed with all my life choices up to this point, anyway. What’s one more thing to add to the list?

We find Mom and Noah in the living room. One of them looks more uncomfortable than the other.

Mom sits in Grandpa’s old rocking chair, drinking a diet soda. She’s pleasantly plump, always on a diet, with shoulder- length brunette hair and what appears to be a slight vacation tan.

“Piper.” She rises, crossing the room to give me a hug. She smells like the raspberry vanilla hand cream she buys from the mall in Junction. “Dad thought he heard you pull up.”

“In a Lamborghini.” Dad gives her a pointed look.

Yep, he thinks I’ve gotten involved with a European drug lord.

Mom blinks at him, flummoxed. Then she gives Cassian a cautious smile. “It looks like you’ve already met my husband, Robert. I’m Elette.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Edwards,” Cassian says, as charming as I’ve ever seen him.

She turns back to me, smirking ever-so-slightly. “Are there any more men hanging around the house we should meet?”

Okay then.

“Just Noah and Cassian,” I answer dryly.

“So…” she begins, her eyes moving between them. “Noah says he’s renting a room from you. Is that right?”

She doesn’t believe it.

“Do you want me to show you our rental agreement?”

She rolls her eyes, her expression softening with pity. “Honey, if money was so tight you thought you needed to take on a tenant, I wish you would have let us know.”

And now they think my business is going under.

“It’s not that—” I cut myself off, realizing this is my best out. “Okay, it was a bad spring, and I didn’t get as much planted as I would have liked. I didn’t want to worry you.”

Dad practically glares at Cassian. “Are you renting a room, too?”

“No, I’m…” Cassian trails off, realizing he’s not sure how to answer. He can’t say he’s my conservator. The vampire meets my eyes, silently asking for help.

“Cassian is Noah’s friend,” I explain.

“You go for joy rides with your boarder’s friends?”

“He’s my friend now, too. And we were just out.”

“Out where?” Dad asks, being blatantly nosy now.

“ Out. ”

He glowers at me for a minute and then turns to Cassian. “What do you do for a living? You a trust fund kid?”

“Guilty,” Cassian lies before I can tell my dad to drop it. “But I also dabble in investments.”

“I can’t place your accent,” Mom says. “Where are you from?”

“I was born in France but spent my formative years in Romania.”

Mom blinks at him. “What brought you to the States?”

“I’m keenly interested in medical research.”

“I thought you were in investments?” my father asks, growing even more suspicious.

“ Dad ,” I warn.

He shrugs, not the slightest bit repentant.

“Okay, well.” Mom looks between Cassian and Noah, her concern evident. “But what does Kevin think about all this? Where is he, anyway?”

Oh…oh no.

I didn’t tell them about my ex-boyfriend. I mean, I know I didn’t tell them. I figured I’d deal with it when they got back.

And look.

They’re back.

“Um, okay. So…” I catch Noah’s eye and wince when he shoots me an incredulous look. “That’s kind of a long story, but Kevin and I aren’t together anymore.”

“Because of these two?” Dad demands. “We leave for a few months, and we come back to find you’ve broken it off with your long-time boyfriend and are now cohabitating with a couple of rich, pretty boys. Piper, are you doing drugs? Worse? What the hell is going on here?”

Dad isn’t really a bad language guy, at least around us. Maybe at work. I don’t know. But anyway, I can tell he’s pretty concerned.

And, okay, when you look at our situation from the outside without all the info, it probably looks a little alarming.

But I don’t know how to fix it, at least not yet.

Thankfully, I don’t have to. Because Max, bless his often-annoying heart, walks through the front door.

“Max!” Mom exclaims, her face softening.

My brother ambles in all casual-like, grinning at our parents like the charming suck-up he is. “You guys are back.”

Grateful for the moment to think, I take a deep breath. Noah stares at me, silently asking me how we’re going to explain this.

I have no idea.

Max hugs Mom and then gives Dad one of those side-arm guy embraces.

“Do you know your sister has leased a room in your grandparents’ house to a guy none of us has met?” Dad demands.

Here we go.

Growing up, I was the golden child. Teachers loved me, I got good grades, and except for that pesky vegetarian “nonsense,” I was the model child.

Max barely made it to graduation. He skipped school more often than he went, started his band, almost lost his driver’s license a week after he got it, and refused to work for Dad in the family business.

He was the black sheep. I was the darling lamb.

But after high school, Max got his act together. He’s held down a steady job, even though it wasn’t the one Dad had lined up for him. He hasn’t had a speeding ticket in a good eight years, and his band doesn’t interfere with paying the bills. He even bought a house. (Which is, obviously , the measure of a successful adult.)

And just like that, Max miraculously became the golden child—or at least a little shinier than me.

But maybe that could work out in my favor. All he has to do is take my side.

“Yeah, I know,” Max says calmly, jerking his head toward Noah in a cool hello.

“And you’re okay with that?” Dad says, growing even more agitated.

Max shrugs. “Well, yeah. I didn’t really want Piper here alone, you know? Not with her stalker and the vampire diagnosis.”

Or maybe he won’t be any help at all.