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CHAPTER EIGHT

The day passed uneventfully. Crystal texted that she was down sick with a cold, and I offered to drop by with some chicken soup, but she said she was fine and she didn’t want me to catch it. I helped Astra go through a list of local contractors to consult about the kitchen remodel, and then I decided to tackle my office—Astra’s former sewing room—and ended up rearranging all the furniture, sorting through my books and office supplies, and catching up on several shows I’d missed because of classes.

I also tackled my homework, which was mostly a lot of reading on theories of how various forms of exorcism worked, along with a chapter for my cryptozoology class. By the time I finished, it was dinnertime. Astra was out with a friend, so I made myself a roast beef sandwich, then settled in the living room.

Dahlia came bouncing up, gave me a loud bark, then turned and raced away. Miss P. jumped off the sofa and chased her. A moment later, the inevitable tussle started and then, five minutes after that, by the time I finished my sandwich, they were curled up together, snoring.

At eight, I decided the black gauchos I was wearing would work, and added a green turtleneck sweater, a black belt, and a pair of knee-high leather boots. Despite Auntie’s warnings, I decided against the pendant. It seemed rude. I’d just show as little skin as possible. I had no idea what set off vampires, but I wasn’t giving him any indication that I might be interested in seeing or feeling his fangs.

“I’m stereotyping and I know it,” I muttered to myself, feeling vaguely embarrassed. “Remember Ona Sera’s advice.”

But vampires were dangerous, so regardless of his position in society, I wasn’t taking any unnecessary chances. As I stood back, I thought I looked both professional yet casual enough. I took Dahlia out for her pee-time, then with both her and Miss P. comfortably preoccupied with their dinners, I locked the door and headed for my office.

* * *

Once there, I tidied up again, gathered the paperwork I’d need, and settled back with a game on my phone while I waited for Zandre.

Promptly at nine o’clock, he walked through the door. I could feel the difference in energy immediately. It wasn’t that I couldn’t breathe, but I felt out of breath , as though his presence just sucked the air right out of the room, and I couldn’t draw my gaze away.

He was tall—well, tall for me.

Around five-eleven, Zandre had long wavy black hair, drawn back in a sleek ponytail. His eyes were jet black, ringed with crimson—the surefire sign that he was a vampire. His skin was smooth, like fine alabaster, and he had chiseled features—a long Roman nose, ridged cheekbones, and bowed lips. He was absolutely beautiful, reminding me of some gothic prince.

I tried to pull my gaze away, to pay attention to what was going on, but it was difficult. I finally found my tongue and stood, reaching out to shake hands.

“You must be Zandre,” I said, shivering at his touch. His hands were ice cold, reminding me that this man was actually one of the undead. He had been through the Veil and returned, not as one of the Unliving, but as an actual vampire. “I’m Maisy Tripwater. Welcome to Married At First Bite.”

He smiled, the corners of his lips turning ever-so-slightly upward. As he opened his mouth to speak, I caught sight of his fangs. They were down, and the sight of them immediately reminded me that he was a predator.

“Hello, Ms. Tripwater. Thank you for seeing me at this time. Obviously, I cannot travel about during the daylight hours.” He looked around. “You have a lovely and welcoming shop.”

“Thank you. So, how about you tell me why you’re here. Every client has a different story about why they seek out my services.” I sat down, taking up my pen. I liked taking notes by hand.

He paused, then cleared his throat. “Two hundred years ago, I was the son of a banker. This was before I became a vampire. I was madly in love with a woman named Eugenia. She was my everything. Shortly after we married, she came into the bank where I worked for my father. She wanted to talk about dinner or something of that sort. Anyway, right then, a group of bank robbers burst in, and they killed her in front of me. They also shot my brother. I was hit by a bullet, but I played dead and the men left.”

I caught my breath. “What a horrible thing to happen. I’m so sorry.”

“Time heals, I suppose, but in the case of Eugenia, it hasn’t. She’s still on my mind. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of her. Our love…it was meant to last.”

“So…do you want me to contact her spirit?”

He shook his head. “No. I know that she’s reincarnated, and I know that she now resides here, in Midnight Point. She may not remember me, but I believe she’s come back so that we can be together. I’d like you to approach her for me.”

I sat back, uncomfortable. I wasn’t in the habit of running down past-life loves, especially when I doubted the woman in question would remember her past life as clearly as Zandre seemed to. It seemed stalkerish.

“I’m not sure if I can do that, especially if you have your sights fixed on one person in particular. Have you two met?”

He shook his head. “No, but if she would just talk to me, I’m sure she’d remember me.”

An uncharitable thought ran through my head that yes, she’d remember him from then on, but not in the way he hoped. I tapped my pen on my notebook.

“Why don’t you give me her name and let me look into this. Meanwhile, just in case it doesn’t work out, I need you to fill out some forms for me. If she’s not the actual person you think she is, I might still be able to find you the woman you need.” I didn’t want to argue with him, but I was here to match him with the right person, not the person he assumed he should be with.

Zandre gave me a long look, then said, “All right. What do I do?”

“First, I need a nonrefundable fee of five hundred, then we’ll get started. If you make it to the altar, I charge an additional thousand dollars.”

He pulled out a credit card and silently watched me run it through my scanner. After I gave him his receipt, I sat him in front of my spare laptop to fill out my extensive questionnaire. After he finished, he returned to my desk.

“All right, what’s this woman’s name, the one you’re convinced is your reincarnated love?” I asked. I’d look into it—stranger things had happened—but I was leery of his request. Especially since he was a vampire. But at least he had come to me, and not approached her himself.

“Denise Rober. She’s a teacher over at Shifter Creek Preschool Academy.”

He handed me his phone, opened to the local online news site. It had a story on the preschool, and a picture of her. A dog shifter, she looked to be in her mid-thirties, so at least she wasn’t some teenager. She was tall, athletic, and had long brown hair. There was nothing particularly striking about her. Nothing that caught my eye, at least.

“How do you know she’s the reincarnation of Eugenia? Did a psychic tell you? Is there something that connects Denise with Eugenia, like…a common ancestor or something? I need all the information that you can give me.”

I wanted to see where he was coming from. It was important to know how his mind worked, so I could wean him off the idea that his only option was this woman. She could be married, she could be gay, she could hate vampires, she could be anything but interested in Zandre.

He hemmed and hawed for a moment, then finally said, “I saw that picture, and I knew that it was her. I know it sounds crazy, but the moment I saw her, I knew.”

I frowned. How to best work this so he didn’t go away angry, and so that he didn’t try to take matters into his own hands?

“Zandre, what will you do if she’s married? Maybe even gay? You have no idea of what her life’s like?—”

He stared at the ceiling. “I don’t know about that, but I doubt she’s married. I’ve never seen her with a guy.”

I groaned. “Tell me you haven’t gone stalking her.”

“I looked into her background, yes. I haven’t sent her any gifts or anything…well…I did, but it was anonymous. I donated five thousand dollars to the school’s lunch program. They’re hurting for cash to help their low-income students.”

He looked so earnest, it was hard to dump him in the “potential troublemaker” pile.

“You know, I’d like to say something without sounding too rude.”

“Please, just be direct,” he said. “I don’t mind blunt.”

“Good. Zandre, you’re going to get yourself in trouble if you keep following her. You have to be ready to accept she may not be interested in you, she may not be available, and she may not even believe that she’s connected to you in any way.” I leaned back in my chair. “You have a lot to lose if you make a stupid move. You’re the town’s representative to the Northwest Vampire Collective. You can’t be caught skulking around a stranger’s ass, so to speak.”

He stared at me, unblinking. “And you care because…?”

“Because my clients are looking for happiness. I do everything I can to help them. And that sometimes includes being a hard ass and shaking them free from their delusions.”

“Delusions… You’re a witch . Don’t you believe in reincarnation?”

“Of course I do, but…I also believe that grief can make us believe all sorts of things. I will check into Denise, but I don’t think she’s your fated mate. I get none of the usual tingles I get when I put two people together.” I sighed. “I wish it were this easy. But Zandre, let me do this my way. Don’t go after her yourself. Promise me?”

He sighed. “You seem to know my plans before I do. You’re good, I’ll give you that.”

“I’ve been trained to anticipate potential romantic fuckups. Anyway, as far as me finding you the perfect match, I can’t guarantee anything, but I’ll have a far better chance of doing so than the average matchmaker or dating site.” I shrugged. “Are you game? If not, I’ll return your fee right now. But if you want me to help you, you need to agree to try it my way.”

Zandre shifted, and that was the first time I noticed him fidgeting at all. He had an incredible ability to freeze, to sit like a statue. It was unnerving. He leaned forward, just enough to show that he was really listening.

“All right. Let’s give it a few months. I’ll stay away from Denise. But regardless of the fact that you think otherwise, she’s Eugenia . She’s come back to find me, even if she doesn’t realize it just yet. And I think you’ll see the truth as you look into her past. There has to be something in the back of her memory about me. I know there does.”

I wanted to shake him, to say Wake up, you’re in denial but it was going to take more than that to convince him that Denise Rober wasn’t his reincarnated love. These were the cases I hated working on—where someone was hung up on someone from the past. I had a hunch that Zandre wasn’t going to let go of his belief that Denise Rober was his long-lost love, returned to pick up their romance again.

“Well, I guess we’ll have to see. Now, if you’ll indulge me, tell me about the kind of woman you’re looking for. Are you…” This was going to be a sensitive question. “Are you looking for another vampire?”

He eyed me carefully, then said, “It doesn’t matter to me. Human, shifter… witch …I don’t care. The only kind of woman I’m not interested in is Fae. I don’t trust them, and they don’t like vampires.”

I paused again. “You do realize that any other woman besides one who’s a vampire will never match your lifespan. Are you willing to lose someone again? I know I’m being blunt, but you said you preferred that.”

It was Zandre’s turn to pause. Finally, he said, “Some soulmates stay with us through lifetimes. I happen to believe that if she’s my true match, she’ll return to me. Like?—”

“Don’t say it,” I said. “Remember, we aren’t talking about Denise now.”

“Right. Okay, then anyone but one of the Fae, anywhere from twenty-five to forty. Athletic, not a smoker, she can’t eat or use garlic, open minded and not afraid of blood.” He paused, glancing over at me.

I did my best to not react. “Right. Not squeamish.”

“I want her to be well-educated. If I can’t talk to another woman, I don’t want to be around her. I need someone who’s got a good head on her shoulders. Beauty fades, brains are forever. I’m not saying I don’t want beauty, but it’s not the primary focus. I haven’t been a hormonal teenager for over two hundred years, Maisy.”

At that moment, I heard the loneliness in his voice. I’d never thought about it, but it must be a lonely life, especially when you were facing years that would not end until you walked into the sun, or until you decided to end it by fire, or—in a more gruesome sense—some nutjob self-proclaimed vampire slayer got to you.

“I understand,” I said. “I truly do. You want a companion.”

“Yes, I want a companion. Find her for me, Maisy. Because I trust you, and I’d hate to think that I’ve misplaced my trust.” With that, he stood and reached out.

I suppressed a shudder and shook his hand. “As long as you work with me, Zandre, we can do our best to make this happen.” And with that, I escorted him out and quickly locked the door. It took me ten minutes to stop shaking.