Bright sunlight streams through the windows. I stretch and roll over, finding Lucas lying perfectly still next to me. He really does look dead when he’s sleeping. His chest isn’t rising and falling. There’s little color to his cheeks. And he’s cold to the touch.
Yet he’s still as gorgeous as ever.
It’s only eight a.m., and I could easily fall back asleep. But I should get up, go for a run, and then head into town, getting everything done so I can be home by lunch.
Lucas wakes as I get out of bed, and we get dressed and go downstairs together. I plug in my coffee pot and sit on the couch in the living room as I wait for the coffee to be ready. Exhaustion hits me again, and I doze off.
“Are you awake?” Lucas asks softly, coming into the living room with my cup of coffee.
“I am,” I mumble. Lucas sets the mug on the coffee table and sits next to me, pulling the blanket off the back of the couch.
“Go back to bed if you’re tired.”
“I should get up,” I say and take the blanket, covering us both. I’m comfy next to Lucas and just so damn tired. Maybe I should go back to bed. “I didn’t sleep well last night,” I explain. “I missed you, and I couldn’t turn my brain off.”
“I’ll be here tonight,” he says, running his fingertips up and down my arm. It’s all I need to be lulled back to sleep, and my coffee is cold by the time I wake up forty minutes later. Lucas is still on the couch with me, and the Infernal Dictionary is in front of him.
“Riveting read, isn’t it?” I ask as I stretch.
“It is,” Lucas answers seriously. “There are many demonic creatures I wasn’t aware of, even after sixteen hundred years of walking this earth.” He flips a page, and I get up and stretch, reaching for my coffee.
“I need to go to the store today,” I tell Lucas, holding my hand over my coffee, using magic to reheat it. “I’m supposed to take care of all the social media posts, and I’ve been slacking.”
“You’ve had a good reason to,” Lucas says, trying to make me feel better.
“I know. I meant to schedule posts like a week ago and didn’t, so I’m going to for real now. I’m taking the herd with me. People always like my cat and books posts. Now I can do cats and books and a puppy.”
“If you want me to pose naked with the books, I’m willing,” he says with a perfectly straight face. He closes the Infernal Dictionary and turns to me as I blow on my coffee.
“Those photos would go viral.” I smile and take a sip of the coffee. It tastes bitter today. Maybe from sitting out and then being reheated? I take another drink anyway, needing the caffeine.
“Want to shower with me?” I ask, knowing the answer already. “We should save water.”
“We should.” Lucas gets up and offers me a hand. We go into the kitchen, where he shows me photos of the house from last night. I finish my coffee, feed Scarlet and my familiars, and then go upstairs for a shower with Lucas. We stayed in for quite a while, the opposite of saving water, but it was well worth it.
“How are the sales going?” I ask as I look through my closet for something to wear. We’re going into what I jokingly call second summer, and the weather is warming up again. I take a black t-shirt dress from my closet and pull it on.
“Which ones?” Lucas grins.
“The ones in Miami and Anaheim. Are there more?”
“I just inquired about a small property in Chicago and sold one of my cars to a collector in Texas.”
“Not the Chevelle?”
“No, not that one. One of my Corvettes.”
“One of?” I hike up my eyebrows. “It’s like I don’t know you.”
Lucas laughs. “We did go over everything. What I own you own.”
“I know. I kind of checked out as we were signing papers.”
“I’m aware,” he says with a chuckle. “Would you like me to discuss transactions with you before I go forward with them?”
“As long as you’re not selling our house, no.” I step in front of my dresser and use magic to put my hair into tight pigtail braids. “I trust you, and honestly, that business stuff bores and confuses me.”
Lucas smiles. “You are my wife. What is mine is yours, as long as you know that.”
“I do.” I get the simple silver bracelet Michael gave me and put it on, feeling a small tug on my heart. It’s the only thing I have of my mother’s, and I still have no idea what she even looked like.
Or sounded like.
Of if she took her coffee black, too.
I wonder what her familiar looked like. What kind of food she ate. What she did for fun. If she drank too much wine when she was upset like I do. What were her parents like? Where did she go to school?
And how the hell did she meet a freaking archangel?
“You handle the money and I’ll handle the demons,” I joke, running my finger over the clasp of the bracelet. “Everyone knows I’m your trophy-witch anyway.”
Lucas laughs and comes over to me, snaking his arms around me. “That is why I asked you to marry me. You look good on my arm, and it’s always handy having a witch around.”
“I know, right?” I hook my arms around his neck, and he kisses me deeply. “What are you going to do while I’m gone?”
“Look out the window and await your return, of course.”
“Good answer,” I laugh. “This shouldn’t take long. Though I’m not sure who’s working today. I could end up staying at the store for a while again.”
“Do you miss working?” he asks, picking me up and carrying me to the bed. He sits with me in his lap.
“Not really, though I do miss being at the store.”
“So you do miss working?” He raises his eyebrows.
“I miss being at the store, talking to people and getting to look through books all day. I haven’t finished a book in a long time, and that’s so fucking sad.”
“That is. I’ve loved books since I taught myself how to read.”
I plow my fingers through his damp hair. “That’s still so weird to think about.”
“Me being human?”
“Yeah. And how you weren’t allowed to learn how to read or write. And it’s almost crazier to think that there are still people in this day and age who don’t know how to read or write.”
“Being able to read gives one a certain power. Once you get a book in your hands, the possibilities are endless. And that’s not to mention having the ability to communicate with others.”
“It’s hard to fathom, you know? I can send a Tweet or group chat to anyone around the world now. Screenshots last forever. We can’t undo what’s been said nowadays.” I mess up Lucas’s hair some more, finding him so fucking sexy with his dark brown locks in disarray. “And you’ve lived through so much. From messages delivered by owls to Morse code to typewriters to texting.”
“Watching humanity progress has been interesting, that’s for sure. As has watching the Earth slowly fall apart.”
“Humanity is like a virus, isn’t it?”
“In some ways. The more humans evolve, the more they take from the very thing that keeps them alive.”
“I don’t want to kill the planet. Maybe we should live off the grid.”
Lucas laughs. “How would that help?”
I shrug. “I wouldn’t pollute as much?”
He kisses me. “You’re doing fine the way you are, my love. Now go to the store so you can get back to me.”
Warmth floods through me, and I find it very hard to get out of his lap. “Fine. Don’t miss me too much when I’m gone.”
“I’ll do my best, but I make no promises.” We kiss, and then I force myself up and out of the house, with all three of my familiars and Scarlet in tow. My familiars are never an issue, but Scarlet is a bit annoying to have in the car, reminding me why I’m a cat person.
Betty and Danielle are working today, and I feel bad that I haven’t had a chance to take Danielle out for a stiff drink while I explain everything. The longer we
go without talking, the more awkward it gets. Obviously, I know more than I’m letting on. I saved her as well as many others from having their body parts harvested by a demon. And now…now I’m showing up with three cats and a puppy, who all happen to be freakishly well-behaved. At least I can count on Scarlet for acting like an actual puppy and being rather annoying at times.
“Hey,” I say with a wave, setting Scarlet down. I clipped her leash on when we got out of the Jeep, and she runs forward as fast as she can and chokes herself, flipping over and falling to the ground. It’s funny and endearing and so fucking weird when I stop and think about what she really is.
“Hey, Callie!” Betty replies. She’s straightening the books in the front display. “You brought a zoo!”
“Yeah,” I laugh as my familiars waltz in like they own the place. Act like cats, I remind them, and Binx jumps up on the counter, immediately knocking shit off. Pandora trots off, and Freya rubs against Betty, purring as she picks her up. “I need to take some pictures for the store’s Instagram. I’m behind on posting.”
“I can help with it if you want. I decided to overhaul my Bookstagram feed and am getting lots of interaction. It’s fun and kind of an addiction now.”
“If you want to and it doesn’t put you out, then by all means, take over.”
“Send me whatever photos you get of the animals and I’ll be in filter-heaven. I might have spent a small fortune on apps to filter my photos.”
“I did notice you’ve upped your game. I’ve spent a good hour or so daily just scrolling through Instagram.”
“Just an hour?” Betty laughs.
“Fine, it’s more like three hours. But your feed did offer a nice distraction last night when I was lying in bed at three a.m. unable to sleep.”
“Your new hubby didn’t offer to help?”
“He wasn’t home.”
“At three—oh right. Vampire. That’s like three p.m. for them, isn’t it? Is it weird that he sleeps all day? Do they really sleep all day? Do they even need sleep?” Betty’s cheeks flush a bit. “Sorry. I don’t want to be rude.”
“You’re not. I think it’s better to ask questions than to make assumptions, anyway. And no, they don’t have to sleep all day. Most vampires figure out a way to seal up their house and avoid the sun. And they do sleep, but they don’t need much. If they haven’t eaten in a while, then they require more sleep to heal or regenerate or whatever it is vampires do.” I unclip Scarlet’s leash and watch her walk around sniffing everything.
“Can I pet her?” a girl in the children’s section asks.
“Yeah, go ahead. Her name is Scarlet,” I say slowly, hoping it comes out in English and not Enochian. No one gives me a weird look, so I think I’m safe. “And it’s not really weird for us. Lucas stays up with me during the day, we go out a lot at night, and I go to bed around three or four some nights. Being able to sleep in makes a big difference.”
So does being a Nephilim. I don’t need as much sleep as a full human.
“Though if I do go to bed earlier, Lucas comes to bed with me and stays until I’m asleep. It really works out well.”
I do wish we could go out together during the day, but I still think there has to be a way I can figure out how to make that possible as well. A customer needs help finding a book, and Betty shows them down the right aisle. I call for Binx, Freya, and Pandora, and we move around the store, posing and taking photos.
Scarlet doesn’t comply quite as well as my familiars, but I do get some adorable photos of her in the children’s section, lying down as Binx sits in a chair with a book, making it look like he’s reading to her.
I spent about twenty minutes taking photos and get sidetracked talking with Mrs. Bishop, an older woman who owns the antique store in town.
“I heard you got married!” she says with a wide smile. “I always knew a pretty girl like you wouldn’t stay on the market long.”
It’s a compliment, yet I still find it offensive for some reason. Like it’s bad to be on the market or something.
“I did.” I smile back and hold up my hand. Light catches on my ostentatious ring, and my heart does that flutter thing it does when I think about Lucas.
“Oh my goodness, that’s quite a rock you’ve got there!” Mrs. Bishop takes my hand and brings it closer to her face. “Is that real?” she asks in a hushed tone.
“It is.”
“Wow. You landed a good one.” She gives me a wink. “Smart girl, marrying rich. Now you don’t have to work anymore. What does your husband do?”
“Something in finance that’s too complicated for me to figure out,” I say with a fake smile. Good thing I married rich, right? “Want to see wedding photos?” I ask a little too eagerly.
“Oh, I’d love to, dear!”
My phone is already in my hand from taking pictures of my animals, and I quickly open my email and click on the link the photographer sent. I can’t help the smile that comes over my face when I see Lucas standing by the altar, looking so fucking sexy in his suit.
“That’s him,” I say, gooney smile still on my face.
“He’s very handsome.”
“He is,” I gush and flip through a few more photos. There is only one of me with Michael, and it’s a shot from behind where you can’t see his face when he’s walking me down the aisle.
I’m suddenly hit with emotion and have to quickly blink away tears. Anything having to do with family kills me a bit on the inside, even after all the years I spent repressing the issues I undoubtedly still have.
I was never sure if I’d get married, and I never ever thought my father would walk me down the aisle. Even if asshole Martin offered, I wouldn’t have let him come within a mile of my wedding.
But to have my father, my real father, there…it means so much to me. Michael took another risk coming to Earth to be with me on my wedding day. He looked at me with love in his eyes and never once judged me for marrying a vampire.
And he’s an archangel, for crying out loud. If he’s okay with it, then the stupid Grand Coven should be, too.
“You looked beautiful, my dear,” Mrs. Bishop says. “And very happy.” She swipes back a few photos. “And just look at the way he looks at you. It reminds me of my second husband.”
“That’s one of my favorite photos.” I’m smiling again, and we go through the rest of the photos, and then I walk Mrs. Bishop to the counter.
“You know she hates vampires, don’t you?” I say as soon as she leaves.
Betty laughs. “Yeah, I’ve heard her rants about them before. She has no idea Lucas is a vampire?”
“Nope.” I shrug. “She’s very old-fashioned, and that’s being nice.”
“You are too nice. Though it’s not like I’m going to say anything.”
“You’re like the sweetest person on the planet,” I laugh.
Betty wrinkles her nose. “I try. But is it a bad thing?”
“Not at all.” I go to the front display and help Betty finish straightening the books. Danielle comes back up to the register, cooing over Scarlet.
“She’s so cute.” Danielle bends down and loves all over her. “Didn’t you get her before you got married?”
Well, shit. I know where this is going. “Yeah, she was a gift.”
“That’s one nice wedding present.” She smiles down at Scarlet. “Aren’t you? You are! You are the cutest little present.” The smile disappears from Danielle’s face, and she looks up at me. “She hasn’t grown at all, has she?”
“No, she, uh, has a rare disorder. Dwarfism.”
“Really?” Danielle turns her head, looking at Scarlet. “She looks normal and proportioned.”
“It’s a mild case,” I blurt and know I need to stop talking. “And she’s receiving treatments,” I add for good measure just in case I can adjust her glamour. Though at this point I might need to change her into a different breed and say I got a new dog.
A customer comes up to the register to check out, and Dani
elle goes back to the counter.
“Is she a familiar, too?” Betty whispers, looking at Pandora, who’s walking along the top of a shelf.
“No. Scarlet is…she’s something else.”
Betty looks at Scarlet and then slowly shakes her head. “I can’t believe it’s all real. Magic…familiars…demons,” she whispers.
“Is it surprising, though?” I ask, genuinely curious. “After vampires came out, didn’t you wonder about what else was real?”
“Yeah, I did. It kind of scared me, though.” Her eyes widen. “What about werewolves?”
“Real.”
“Fairies?”
“Real but very rare to find nowadays. They have their own dimensions.”
“Unicorns?”
“Nearly extinct, but some do believe they exist in the same realms as the fae.”
“Holy shit.”
I laugh. “It’s a lot to take in. And witches are the coolest out of any sort of supernatural anyway.”
“Oh, of course.”
I look at Danielle and see she’s almost done ringing up the customer. I should feel bad for sneaking away again, but I don’t. I don’t want to have this conversation with her right now.
“When does Kristy work next?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
“I’m going to write her a note,” I say and head back into the office, patting my leg to get Scarlet to follow me. I write Kristy an over-the-top love note and include a few crude drawings for good measure, wanting to make her laugh when she opens up her cubby in the office tomorrow.
I come back out and see Betty getting the mail. Things are usually addressed to either Kristy or me, but if it’s a box of books, the other employees can open it and make sure we’ve gotten everything we need.
“I didn’t know we were getting a shipment in,” Danielle says when Betty puts the box on the counter.
“It’s not very heavy,” Betty says and reaches for a pair of scissors to cut through the packing tape. Binx bounds forward as soon as the box is open, but it’s too late.
Betty reaches inside and pulls out a little bag. “What is—” she cuts off, words dying in her throat. Binx swats the bag out of her hands, and I know what it is as soon as it lands on the floor.
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