Page 20

The steakhouse was bougie, very upscale. The hostess was wearing black palazzo pants trimmed with gold lace, and a matching shirt, sheer with the ends tied in a knot at her waist, over a pale gold tank top. With a high ponytail, sleek and black, she was wearing a nametag pin, which read Rachel .

I smiled at her, and said, “We’re here to meet Zandre.”

She glanced at her list, then nodded. Picking up two menus, she turned toward the screened-off dining room. “Please follow me.”

We threaded our way through the main dining room, where mostly couples were sitting at tables, though here and there a four-top or six-top was buzzing with quiet conversation. There weren’t any children present—Numa was an adult eatery, and while not explicitly forbidden, it was obvious kids weren’t welcome.

We came to a table near a big bay window, where Zandre was waiting, wearing a black suit and red tie. With slicked-back hair into a ponytail, and expensive sunglasses, he looked even more like some gothic prince, or gothic millionaire. He stood as we approached, slowly removing his sunglasses. The crimson rings around the black of his irises glowed.

“Ladies, welcome. Please, sit down.” He moved around, holding Crystal’s chair for her, then my own. “I’m so glad you could join me for dinner.”

At first, I thought he was speaking to me, but then I noticed his eyes were on Crystal. The moment he took his sunglasses off, he had fixed his gaze on her and he wasn’t looking away. Crap. Could my visions actually be right ? Was Crystal Zandre’s potential mate? Regardless of her obsession with vampires, I hoped they wouldn’t make a connection. I wasn’t sure whether I was afraid for her, or whether it was my own prejudice speaking.

I cleared my throat. “Thank you. Zandre, please meet my friend Crystal. Crystal—Zandre.”

Crystal reached out and he took her hand, but instead of shaking it, he leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on the top. She caught her breath and slowly leaned back in her chair. I sensed a ripple between them.

“How do you do?” Crystal returned his gaze.

“Meeting you has made my day,” he said.

I started to clear my throat, wanting to interrupt what I foresaw happening, but Aphrodite whispered in my ear again, startling me.

You have to get used to this. You’re not going to feel comfortable with every match. You don’t control this. You’re my priestess now, you need to understand that I’m going to be talking to you a lot. And, as my priestess, I expect you to listen.

But Crystal is my best friend. I don’t see this as working, long term.

She’ll still be your best friend, but you can’t always dictate the way you think love should go. It’s not your place to step in and stop this—not unless she’s being harmed. Maybe this will work—you can see the attraction and chemistry that’s simmering under the surface. Maybe it won’t. You’re used to finding precise matches, but maybe it’s time you let go of control of the end result?

Crystal and Zandre began to chat, exchanging pleasantries, barely noticing me at all. Meanwhile, I sat with my discomfort, trying to fathom what was happening. Why was I so resistant to their obvious connection, other than the fact that I didn’t trust vampires? And at that moment, it hit me. I didn’t trust Crystal to make her own decisions.

Oh my gods, I’m the expert, so I feel that I should be the one to pair her up!

Bingo, Aphrodite said. And you’d feel the same about your aunt, if she were to find someone. You want to run the show. You want to protect them. But you can’t. The truth is, your power lies in facilitating meetings, not making the final choice. If you make a match, there’s no guarantee it will last forever and you have to be okay with that.

I started to argue, but then realized—how much follow-up had I done on my matches, a year after they got together? None. I had no clue if any of the people I’d paired up were still married. My expertise was in bringing people together, not assuring happily-ever-after. I wasn’t the clearinghouse for happy marriages. I was just a witch who managed to pair up eligible and compatible people. But that was no guarantee of long-term happiness. It was no guarantee of ever-after.

“Are you okay?” Crystal asked. “Earth to Maisy, are you in there?”

“What?” I jumped.

“I’ve asked you if you’re okay twice and you ignored me.”

I must have been so deep in thought and discussion with Aphrodite that I hadn’t heard her. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I was thinking.”

The waitress showed up to take our order. Zandre ordered a steak and lobster.

Crystal followed suit. She glanced at me. “Since you’re driving, I’ll have a glass of red wine,” she said.

“Have two. I’m definitely not drinking tonight.” I turned to the waitress. “I want a double mocha, with whipped cream and shaved chocolate. And a bowl of minestrone, and the fettuccine Alfredo.”

She wrote it down, then vanished, promising to be back with our drinks in a few minutes.

As we waited for our food, we fell into an awkward silence. Crystal and Zandre were exchanging glances, and both kept shooting side-eye at me, as though at any minute, I was going to jump up yelling at them. I tried to navigate what was happening. I had planned on trying to shoo him off from the idea of dating me, but now I realized that wasn’t an issue anymore. On one level, that made me relieved.

“So, I’m thinking of changing up my business model,” I said, deciding somebody had to say something.

“Oh?” Crystal asked, looking relieved, though she was still blushing.

“Astra really made me think about it. I’m going to start holding mixers at the shop once every couple weeks, and I’m going to offer more services than readings—I’ll keep the same name, but it’s time I branched out.”

The waitress appeared with our food and, relieved, I fell into eating. I was surprised to see Zandre eating, but then I remember vampires could eat food—it just didn’t do them much good beyond in a tasty treat kind of way.

As I focused on my dinner, Crystal cleared her throat and asked, “So, Zandre, you’re a member of the Pacific Northwest Vampire Collective?”

He nodded. “Yes, I am. I represent Midnight Point. I’m not high up in the hierarchy, but Val Slater does listen to my ideas.” He paused, then added, “I’m proud of what I do, though. I didn’t ask to become a vampire, but since I am one, I want to make the world a better place for all of us to coexist. I know that sounds odd, coming from someone that most people fear, but I like to think I retain enough of my humanity to make a difference.”

“How were you turned?” Crystal asked, quickly adding, “Don’t feel you have to answer. I really don’t mean to pry.”

Zandre paused, then said, “After my wife was shot by the bank robbers—this was around 1825—I went into a deep depression. I began drinking, and one night I was out late, when a woman I met in the bar offered herself to me. I was so lonely that all I could think of was that for maybe a minute, I could forget Eugenia. Maybe, for just a moment, I could be happy again.”

My stomach knotted and I wanted him to stop. I could feel the pain around him, and I knew what was coming.

“She wasn’t a prostitute, was she?” Crystal said, her voice soft.

He shook his head. “She was looking for victims. I went home with her, and the next thing I knew, I was naked in her bed and she attacked me. I remember her draining my blood, and all I could think was that my father would be so disappointed in me.”

Crystal reached out, placing her hand on his arm, and all I could think of was how much pain Zandre had been through, and how harsh his life had been.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“I died…and then I woke up, and I was out in the forest near the town, awake and healed up. But something was different. My sire found me—she could sense where I was—and she explained to me that I was now a vampire. Then she laughed at me when I asked if I could travel with her. She left me behind. I think she must have been staked, because eventually, when I thought of her, I couldn’t feel anything.”

“Can you usually feel your sire?” I asked.

“For the first few decades, yes. But she vanished after about ten years, at least from my mind. When I was left alone in the woods, I had to make a decision. I could live by hunting victims, or I could go back home and figure out a way to exist with my family, if they’d have me. I chose the latter. My parents had already lost one son to the bank robbers. I didn’t want them to lose me, too. I need blood every week or so, just enough to keep myself strong and viable. And so, I occasionally did a bloodletting on the cows—it was enough to sustain me, though it tasted vile. And my family took me back in, although they always treated me differently. But I helped my father make a go of the bank.”

“Vampires seem really good with financial stuff,” I said.

“We are. It’s an odd flex that we receive as our powers grow. When my father died, he left the bank to me. I sold it at a profit, and left the area, eventually settling in Midnight Point.”

“Do you have any family?” Crystal asked.

He shook his head. “My sister married and had children, and they had children, but the line died out with her great-grandchild. There was only one, and he died childless and alone, too young. So, I’m alone. Nobody else—none of my cousins wanted anything to do with me.” Zandre sighed, then shrugged. “I’ve been here for over sixty years, after traveling around the United States. But I’m lonely. I can admit it.”

I didn’t say much, but his story had affected me. I realized that, vampire or not, he’d had a rough life and he was just trying to carve out a bit of happiness for himself. If I could help with that, I wanted to help.

As the evening wore on, the awkwardness slipped away. As I watched, I could see the connection forming between Crystal and Zandre. Even though it didn’t make me happy, I found my resistance weakening. Whatever happened, Crystal would be okay, because I could tell that Zandre wouldn’t hurt her—whether they became friends or lovers.

* * *

Next morning, I joined Astra in the kitchen. “I have a reading today,” I said. “But after that, I’m closing my doors for a week or so, then reopening with a new focus. Aphrodite—and you—have convinced me that I’ve been on a path that really isn’t my path. Close, yes, but I need to embrace all of my strengths. Not just what I thought was my strength.”

“I don’t think you’ll be disappointed,” Astra said. “So, how did dinner go with the vampire?”

I wasn’t sure what to say. “It was…unexpected. We’ll see how it turns out.” I told her about what happened. “Crystal was so happy last night when I dropped her off. I had to confront my tendency to turn away from the things I don’t want to see. That she felt so embarrassed telling me how she feels, it hurts my heart. She thought I’d look down on her. That tells me something about myself—something I’m not proud of.”

“And what is that?”

“That I’m a snob. That I’m bigoted, and I didn’t realize it. I want to do better, Auntie.” I poked at my waffle with my fork. “But I apologized to her, and we’re good. With Zandre, I need to wait and see. But I’m trying not to automatically mistrust him. He’s had a hard life, and he’s made some good choices. I don’t know too many people who could choose the path he did, after being turned.”

Astra snapped her fingers. “Speaking of hard lives, I almost forgot to tell you. You remember you asked me for help with Terry’s fundraising? The mailman?”

I nodded. “Please tell me that there’s good news on that.”

“Yes, there is. Most of my gardening group know him. They had no idea what was going on. We’ve started a Please-Help-Me in his name and we’re spreading the word. In less than two days, we’ve already raised $25,000 to help, and it’s still going strong. And a couple of our members were nurses. They’ve volunteered to donate a couple afternoons a week to go over and help out. Terry’s insurance barely covers one day a week for home health care, but with our volunteers, we’ve managed to cover every afternoon of the week, so Terry won’t have to worry about his husband being alone all day long.”

Relieved, I almost burst into tears. “Thank you,” I said.

“That’s not all,” Astra said. “We arranged for the Happy Maid Cleaning Service to come in—they’re going to volunteer a cleaning every week until Lin passes, and then a full deep clean afterward, when Terry’s ready.”

Touched by how kind people could be, I settled back in my seat. “This will make a world of difference for them. I really do believe that when you help one person, you help the entire world.”

“So do I, my dear. So do I.”

At that moment I received a text. It was from Kyle. I read it and smiled. “Kyle just received an email from the school. I probably did, too. Willows is out. He won’t be hurting any more students.”

“Cheers to that,” Astra said, raising her coffee mug.

As we ate breakfast, I thought about my future.

I was trying to find a new label for myself. I was more than a matchmaker. I was more than a widow. And all facets of my life were changing.

As Miss P. jumped on my lap and I began to pet her, I once again felt at loose ends. But now, my world was expanding, rather than just exploding, and I was in control of the direction in which it was growing. I was part of the Dark Moon Society, I had a home with an aunt I adored, I was exploring a new business path that promised a brighter future, I was dating again, and my best friend may just have found the love of her life. And all in all, that wasn’t bad.

* * *

If you loved this book, stay tuned for more of Maisy’s adventures in Yasmine’s Married At First Bite Series . In the meantime, for more paranormal women’s fiction, read on for the first chapter of Starlight Web , the first book in Yasmine’s Moonshadow Bay Series and you can preorder the thirteenth book in that series: Feathered Web .