Keep Me Close

by Elizabeth Cole

  Emma smiled. “Take the Benz, then. I never liked it.”

  She stood up. “Okay.”

  “Whoa. Not till tomorrow,” Emma said quickly. “And not till after I make pancakes.”

  Vin laughed and sat back down. “In that case, I’ll wait till tomorrow.”

  Epilogue

  She drove three days to get to the small Ohio town that Salem Associates called their headquarters. Along the way, Vinny played old songs from all the bands she’d ever been in or played shows with, screaming at the top of her lungs, because she was in a Mercedes-Benz and no one could stop her.

  But now, when she was at her destination, all the bravado melted away, leaving her shaking with nerves. Was she about to make a complete fool of herself?

  Vinny parked the car on the road, just at the driveway of the address she knew was Dom’s. A mailbox with the name Salem on it stood by the road. Well, stood was the wrong word. The mailbox leaned worse than the tower of Pisa, and the metal post looked like it had been whacked by a truck at least twice.

  The house beyond didn’t look that much better. It was one of those gigantic Victorian mansions that must have been gorgeous when it was new, but time had taken a toll. The rainbow of paint colors applied over the decades had all faded. Parts of the wooden siding were gone, and the roof sloped dangerously in places.

  Still, someone was working on it, to judge by the pile of wooden beams to the side of the house. Scaffolding had been constructed along one wall where a huge bay window looked as if it was about to fall right out of the side of the house.

  And yet there were flowers and plants growing in the front yard, obviously well cared for. Bright orange marigolds bloomed by the walkway, and there were white roses closer to the porch.

  A guy in shorts and a tank top had been shooting hoops in the driveway when she pulled up. He stopped to watch her when she got out of the car and walked toward him.

  He was like a younger, skinnier version of Dom. Same coloring, but definitely a later model. He tucked the basketball under his arm, giving her an inquisitive once-over.

  “Afternoon,” he said. His eyes were different than Dom’s, she saw now. They were much lighter, almost a hazel. She got the sense that he was, and had always been, a good kid. “Sure you’re not heading for the house across the street?”

  Vinny looked over her shoulder. The house across the street looked popular. There were a bunch of workmen around and several cars in the drive. She turned back to the guy.

  “I want the Salem house,” she said.

  “Oh. Then you’re here.” He paused, trying to guess why she was there. “You looking to hire us, or do you want to see a particular Salem?”

  Maybe Dom hadn’t even mentioned her to his brothers. Something in Vinny went cold. She made a mistake. She read way too much into a stupid text message. She should turn around and go.

  The guy was still watching her. “You did want to see the Salems, right?”

  “I want to see Dom.”

  The guy blinked at her use of the nickname. “He’s inside. Or…actually.” He pointed to the front porch.

  Dom stood there, and Vinny’s breath left her body. Lord, it had only been a few days, and she missed him so bad. Then he was joined by a slim, pretty Chinese woman, and Vinny hesitated. What else didn’t she know about Dom’s life?

  Just as yet another guy walked out of the house—also a Salem brother, obviously—a meow reached her ear.

  She turned her head in time to see a familiar shape. Piewicket streaked across the lawn toward her. Vinny crouched down to pick the cat up.

  Pie nuzzled into her arms, purring madly.

  “Well, at least someone’s happy to see me.” She glanced at Dom, and thus saw when the Chinese girl elbowed him sharply.

  “Ow,” Dom said. “I am happy to see you.”

  The girl rolled her eyes and stomped down the wooden steps. “Hi, I’m Lily,” she said, offering a hand to shake.

  “Vinny,” said Vinny. Her arms were full of cat, but she extracted one hand to shake. Lily had been the one to help Dom on the phone. The researcher. Vinny felt better. “I don’t know if Dom mentioned me, but I was there for the whole demon thing in Seattle.”

  “Oh, your name’s come up.” Lily threw a look over her shoulder. “Will one of you dorks invite Vinny in, please?”

  “Does she know the secret handshake?” the youngest guy asked, grinning. He was clearly enjoying the scene.

  “Shut up, Lex,” Dom said.

  “Only if you invite her,” Lex retorted. He nonchalantly rolled the basketball into the open garage, where it clattered against something in the dim back corner, followed by the sound of breaking glass. He winced. “Oops.”

  Dom walked toward Vinny, who still had Piewicket in her arms. He glanced back at everyone else standing around. “Don’t you guys have anything better to do?” he asked crossly.

  “Nope,” said Lex.

  “No way,” the brother on the porch agreed. He was surveying Vinny with the air of a man who surveyed women very regularly.

  Lily took pity. “Lex. Mal. Come inside and help me get dinner started.”

  “But the show’s out here,” Mal protested.

  “You don’t want to eat?” Lily asked. “Fine by me.”

  “Okay, okay, I’m coming.”

  Dom waited until the others filed inside. Then he said, “You didn’t say you were stopping by.”

  “I’m very surprising sometimes.”

  “Agreed.” He reached to take Piewicket out of her arms, and unceremoniously dumped the cat onto the lawn.

  Pie yowled in protest.

  “Tough,” Dom said to the cat. To Vinny he said, “I really am happy to see you.”

  He proved it by catching her in his arms, holding her tight. She leaned forward to kiss him, and felt like she was spinning as Dom kissed her back. This is how it’s supposed to be when someone loves you, she thought.

  She was breathless when it was over, and the connection she felt to him practically crackled in the air.

  “So. Miss me?” she said, as casually as she could. Her silly grin ruined it completely. She was so glad to see him, so electrified by his touch.

  “Little bit. How long you thinking of staying?” he asked, trying to look cool and failing. He looked adorable when he was trying not to smile.

  “Depends on you,” she said. “How long you want me here?”

  “We can talk about that.” He looked her over, as if not quite believing she was there. “Assuming we can talk at all. Those monsters inside aren’t going to shut up with all their questions.”

  “I’ll risk it. What’s this about an invite?”

  Dom took her hands in his. “I need to invite you, or you can’t come in. Even staying on the property would get difficult.”

  “Okay. So do it. Or is there some weird ritual?”

  “Not usually. Otherwise getting pizza delivery would be super awkward. But I want to do this right.”

  He said, more formally, “Lavinia Rose Wellington Wake, I invite you into this house—”

  “The house isn’t enough,” she interrupted.

  “What?” he said, his face clouding.

  “It’s not good enough to invite me into the house. Maybe today it is,” she amended. “But I want to be clear. If I stick around, if you want me to stick around, I’m not going to just stand by and be The Girlfriend. I’m going to learn what I have to do to fight like you. If you want me in your life, it’s the whole life, or it’s nothing. That’s my offer.”

  Dom ran his hands over her shoulders and her arms, as if checking that she was real. “It’s dangerous.”

  “I’m aware of that,” she told him. “I’ve got a sneak peek, and I’m still on board.”

  “There’s a ton of stuff to learn, just the bare minimum to keep you safe. You need to know about spellcasting, which takes a long time to learn, and all the elements and signs. You need to know about how to use silver, and water…”<
br />
  “Silver and water and love,” she breathed. It all clicked. She remembered him saying that phrase, the iciness of the water, the relief she felt when she was released from the curse. The release that only worked because Dom loved her.

  Dom looked surprised. “What?”

  “That’s what you said, in the river when you were holding me. When you were saving me. Silver and water and love.”

  “I had to say it. It was a sort of spell,” he said, sounding shy.

  “Was it a lie?” she asked.

  “No.”

  “So you love me. You loved me when you said it, and you love me now.”

  He nodded. “And I’ll love you for a long time coming. The rest of our lives, if I’m lucky. For what that’s worth.”

  “It’s worth a lot.”

  “Be careful with your heart, Vin. Just because someone loves you doesn’t mean you have to love them back. You said you had to think about it, and I believe you.” He kissed her softly. “But yeah, I love you.”

  “Then you should know I love you too,” she said. “I should have told you before, but…I’m not good at the whole love and relationship thing.”

  “Could have fooled me. Are you willing to give the whole love and relationship thing a go?”

  “Are you willing to invite me in?”

  He took her hands in his. “The handholding isn’t necessary,” he explained. “I just like to hold your hands. Ready?”

  “Get on with it.”

  “Lavinia Rose Wellington Wake, I invite you into this house. You may rest in the beds here, eat food at the table here, feel the warmth at the hearth here. This place belongs to me and mine, and I open all doors to you. I, Dominic Benno Shelter Manuel North de Silva Salem, invite you.”

  “Wow.” Vinny probably should respond with more decorum after that, but all she could do was smile. “That’s your name?”

  “Yup. Don’t wear it out.”

  “I know all your secrets now, Dom.”

  “You don’t know more than a sliver of my secrets, love.”

  Vinny laughed. “Okay, maybe not. But you still have to keep me close, right?”

  “Definitely. Every day, every night.” He smiled as he nudged the door open. “Now get in here. Welcome home.”

  * * * *

  From the Author

  Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed Keep Me Close. Please take a moment to leave a review. It helps independent readers like you find independent authors like me.

  Keep reading more of The Brothers Salem series. The second book, REACH FOR ME, is available now. Get it now: REACH FOR ME (The Brothers Salem #2)

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