“It isn’t. I don’t care a thing about it.” Then Desi put her hand up. “Don’t say anything about it, either because I don’t want to know.”
“Not another word.”
She sighed. “I probably shouldn’t have talked to her quite that boldly. I’m sorry if my outburst is going to make things difficult for you.”
“It won’t. She respects those who stand up for themselves.” Then he shook his head. “I really was trying to get you one. You would have had to give it back after the divorce, but I thought it would keep you safe until we could figure out who was after you at least.”
She reached over and gave his leg a squeeze, sending a sharp jolt of desire through him that he instantly tamped down. “That was kind of you. But like I said, I’ve been fine this long. I’ll continue to be fine.”
They both went silent for a few minutes, giving him time to wonder what had taken over her thoughts. Maybe now would be the right time to tell her that Alonso was dead. Or maybe as soon as they got home. Then she could go to her room and be alone if that’s what she needed. That was the plan. He’d tell her as soon as they were back in the penthouse.
She spoke suddenly. “Must be nice, though. Not having to hide from the sun, I mean.”
“It is.” He shrugged. “Comes with some strings attached, though. Not as much as it used to, but…it’s always a possibility with my grandmother.”
Desi nodded. “I’m sure. Explains a lot. About how you haven’t turned to ash yet, I mean. Anyway, seriously, I don’t want to talk about it. The less I know, the better.”
He couldn’t argue with her about that. Elenora was probably freaking out that a soon-to-be non-family member knew about their amulets, but she’d mellow in a few days. He hoped. Otherwise…he wasn’t sure what. Maybe she’d come up with some non-disclosure statement for Desi to sign.
With Elenora, you really never knew.
Happily, he changed the subject. “You want to go straight home or do something else?”
“Home is good.”
“Have you gotten that email from ticketing yet?”
She sat up a little. “You know, in the flurry of getting ready, I never checked.” She pulled out her phone and opened up her email. “Yep, it’s there. We can look at the attachment on my tablet as soon as we get in.”
“Excellent. I have an idea about what to do with the names when we narrow it down.”
“Good.”
He looked over at her. “Because you’re ready for this threat to be handled or you’re ready to go home?”
She glanced back at him. “Because I’m ready for the threat to be handled. As far as going home…you might not believe me, but this crazy little town is growing on me.”
“Even with my grandmother here?”
She smiled. “Even with her here. It’s a great place to live for people like us.” She put her phone away, but her gaze stayed on her lap. “Your family is really nice too. All of them. They love you.”
She seemed wistful. Or maybe a little sad. That made him hurt for her. He knew she didn’t have a lot of friends and he’d never once heard her talk about family, but he’d always assumed those were deliberate choices she’d made. “You can come back and visit any time you like.”
She laughed. “Yeah, thanks.”
“No, I mean it.”
“I’m sure you do, but at some point, there will be a new woman in your life and I have a feeling she won’t be on the same page as you with that invite.”
He didn’t answer right away. He couldn’t imagine having another woman in his life. After Desi left, he planned to spend a long time alone. Just recovering from the loss of her was going to take some doing, but to get to the place where he could be in a relationship again? That seemed unfathomable.
He pulled into the Excelsior’s parking lot. “Once we deal with that list of names, we could watch a movie. I think that new Tom Hiddleston movie is playing On Demand now.”
“Which one?”
He parked and turned the car off. “Marty Poppins.”
She laughed. “You really want to see a remake about a magical nanny who sings and dances his way through life?”
“With Anna Faris as Bernice, the chimney sweep?” He nodded. “Yeah, I’m up for that.”
She shot him a look. “I guess you are if you know the story that well.”
He palmed the key fob. “Do you not like musicals? I’d think you of all people would, I mean, you make your living on stage. Plus, Mary Poppins is a classic, so aren’t you at least a little interested to see the remake?”
“I am.” She shook her head, her grin sheepish. “And actually, I love musicals. But I never thought you would.”
“I love a shoot ’em up action flick as much as the next guy, but there’s something about a good song and dance movie every once in a while.” They got out and walked toward the lobby together. He itched to hold her hand, but didn’t, finally reaching for the door instead. “Not sure what that says about me, but it is what it is.”
She trailed a finger on his chest as she passed him, leaving a wake of heat on his skin. “It’s because you have a lot of kid in you. Like that pantry full of candy.”
“You think that’s a bad thing?” He followed after her, doing his best to control the desire she’d brought to life with her touch.
“Evening, folks,” Lou called out.
Julian gave the man a wave. “Evening, Lou.”
Desi waved at him too before continuing her thought. “It’s not a bad thing at all. In fact, I think it’s amazing that you can be nearly four hundred years old and still tap into your inner child. It’s one of the things that made me fall in—”
Her eyes widened and her mouth closed.
Love. She was going to say love. She loved him? She loved him. He stood there staring at her, willing her to continue.
“Hope you had a nice night,” Lou said. “There’s a delivery for you.”
And just like that, the spell was broken. Julian grimaced as Desi turned toward Lou. He looked at the man. “What is it?”
“Not for you, Mr. Ellingham. It’s for Miss Clarke.” He smiled oddly. “Actually, it’s for Desdemona Valentine, but I searched that name on the Internet and your picture came up, Miss Desi.”
“That is my stage name, but it’s my real name too. Clarke was another of my names. You know how it is for most vampires.” She walked over to his desk.
“Yes, ma’am.” He reached underneath and pulled out a long white florist’s box. “Here you go.”
She took it, but turned to squint at Julian. “Did you send me flowers?”
“No, I would have just given them to you. It’s possible Delaney or Tessa did.”
“That fast?”
“They’re thoughtful woman.” He went closer to look at the box. “Delaney loves a big gesture and she’d definitely think it was her duty to welcome you to the family properly since she married into it first.”
“Well, if she did, that’s above and beyond.”
He looked at Lou. “Do you know who delivered these?”
Lou nodded. “Joe. He’s the regular delivery guy from the Enchanted Garden.”
“Marigold Williams’s shop.” Julian looked at his watch. “Closed now. When did these arrive?”
“Right after you left.”
An uneasy feeling came over Julian. “Then Delaney didn’t send these. I don’t like this. No one’s supposed to know you’re here.” He took the box from Desi and put it on Lou’s desk, then he held out his hand. “Box cutter?”
Lou took one out of a drawer and handed it over.
Desi chewed on her lower lip. “You think this is from my stalker?”
“We’ll know soon enough.” He slit the tape on the sides of the box and pulled the top off.
Nestled inside a swath of white tissue paper was a bundle of long-stemmed black roses.
Desi sucked in a breath. “Just like Sam got.”
A note lay on top. Julian sna
tched it up, opened it, and read it out loud. “Enjoying your visit?”
He swore softly.
Desi backed away, shaking her head. “They know I’m here. How?”
He grabbed her hand. “I don’t know, but we’re going to figure this out.” Then he looked at Lou. “Have you seen anyone odd around here lately? Anyone come in looking for Miss Clarke?”
“No, sir.”
He gestured with the note that was still in his hand. “No one gets up to that penthouse without my permission.”
“No, sir.”
That was already standard operating procedure, but Julian felt better saying it. He tucked the note into his pocket, then shoved the roses toward Lou. “Get rid of those. Or take them home for Rella, if you think she’d like them. I don’t care either way, I just don’t want to see them again.”
Lou pulled the box off the counter and tucked it under the desk again. “You got it, Mr. Ellingham.”
Julian turned his attention to Desi. “You okay with that?”
“Absolutely.”
“Good. Let’s get upstairs. We have work to do.”
Desi paced the expanse of Julian’s living room while he looked at the list of names she’d forwarded to him. They’d both changed out of their dinner clothes and into more comfortable ones, meaning he was back in his black tee and drawstring pants.
It was fast becoming one of her favorite looks on him. She’d opted for leggings and a slouchy tee. Nothing fancy, but they were in for the night.
Julian let out a soft grunt. He stared at the laptop screen, the soft glow lighting his handsome face and giving his focused expression extra seriousness. He was so concerned about her that her heart almost couldn’t bear the sweetness of it. But that was Julian. Earnest, sincere, and loyal. How amazing that this man was on her side, despite her rejecting his love. She didn’t deserve him. But here he was anyway.
He glanced up. “You okay?”
No. She was a conflicted mess, but she nodded anyway. “Any idea how they found me here?”
“No, but I’d like to know that too. And we can assume they know Sam’s not you. Which doesn’t mean she’s not still in danger, so I’m keeping Harlan up to date and making sure he’s still being vigilant.” His fingers flew over the keyboard. “There. I dumped the list into an Excel spreadsheet and ran a search for duplicates. Found a lot.”
“What’s a lot? How many?”
“Since your show started, you’ve had over three hundred repeat attendees.”
She sighed. “That’s both awesome and completely unhelpful.”
“I’m not done yet.” He typed some more, his eyes narrowing in concentration. “I’m searching for the names that show up the most.”
She stopped pacing. “And?”
“Fifteen names, all of whom have seen the show more than five times. We can eliminate me, that makes fourteen.” He looked up as he shrugged. “It’s a start.”
She nodded. “It is. Still feels like a big number.”
“We’ll get there. I need to make a few calls.” He glanced at her again, studying her. “You need something? I know you said you’re okay, but you don’t look it exactly.”
She sat on the couch across from him. “I’m fine. I don’t know. I just feel unsettled.”
“I bet you do. This is very unsettling.” He moved his gaze toward the kitchen. “Hang on, I have just the thing.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” She stared at the flickering television. He’d put a movie channel on for a diversion. Neither of them had paid attention to it. The volume was low, too, but vampires had excellent hearing. And she didn’t need to hear it to know that the movie was The Princess Bride.
He went into the kitchen and came back a few minutes later with a large, glass appetizer platter. Except instead of conventional snacks, all the little compartments were filled with different gummy candies.
She laughed and shook her head.
“See?” he said. “You feel better already, don’t you?”
She snagged a Swedish Fish and popped it in her mouth. “I do.”
“Good.” He set the tray on the table in front of her. “I’m going to make a few phone calls, then I’ll be back.”
“Where are you going to make them?”
“In my office. I won’t be long.”
“Why not make them here? They are about me, right?”
He nodded. “That’s why I was going to go in the other room. I didn’t want to upset you further.”
She took another fish. “You won’t. I can handle it.” And she wanted him here, next to her.
“Okay.” He reached for his cell phone and dialed. He didn’t have to wait long for an answer. “Good evening, Birdie. Sorry to bother you so late.” He smiled and nodded. “You might say that. I need some help.” More smiling. “Thank you, but you don’t know what I’m going to ask you to do yet.”
Whoever Birdie was, she seemed pretty agreeable to Julian’s request. Or maybe it was just Julian.
He continued. “I’m going to email you a list of names. I need you to find out everything you can about those people, and then more specifically, if any of them might currently be in Nocturne Falls. I’m also going to include a list of dates on which these people should have been in Las Vegas. I’d love to know if they were or not. Is that too much?”
He smiled. “Great.”
Apparently, it wasn’t too much. Birdie must be a real pro at whatever it was she did.
“You’re the best,” Julian said. “And feel free to let the sheriff in on this. He knows what it’s about. And he has my permission to fill you in.”
Desi raised her eyes. This Birdie person just got even more interesting if she was connected to the sheriff. Also, Julian wasn’t fooling around.
“Thank you very much. Call me anytime if something worth mentioning turns up, otherwise I’ll come see you in the morning. With doughnuts.” He smiled. “You too. Good night.”
He hung up. “That went well.”
“Details?”
“Birdie Caruthers is the sheriff’s aunt and works the reception desk at the department. She’s also exceptional at digging up dirt on people. And she’s a werewolf. And a bit of a busy body, but in the best possible way.”
Birdie sounded like someone Desi needed to meet. “All right, some inter-species cooperation. I like that. Who’s next?”
He scrolled through his contacts, then tapped one. “Marigold Williams, owner of the shop that delivered those roses.”
Desi sat back. It was good to have a husband, however temporary, who was well connected.
“Hey, Marigold, it’s Julian Ellingham. I’m sorry to call you this late. Did I wake you?” He grimaced. “I am truly sorry about that, but I wouldn’t have called if it wasn’t an emergency.”
Desi felt bad. People’s lives were being disrupted because of her.
“That delivery from your shop that showed up at my building tonight, that was for a friend of mine who’s staying with me. I need to know who sent those roses.”
He listened for a bit, and did some more nodding. “Okay, that’s fine. First thing is perfect. Thanks. Sorry again about waking you.”
He hung up. “She’s home and can’t check her system until she opens up in the morning.”
“Fair enough.”
“Now we wait.” He tossed a couple gummy cola bottles in his mouth and chewed. “There’s not much else we can do. You want to watch Marty Poppins and work our way through this pile of sugar?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
It was the perfect distraction. Candy, a fun movie, and most of all, Julian at her side. They sat in the dark, the tray of sweets half on his lap and half on hers. Occasionally, their hands would touch when they reached for the same thing. Sometimes, when Desi timed it right, it happened on purpose.
She snuck glances at him throughout the movie. He looked happy. Mostly. She hoped he was. She wanted nothing but good things for him. Even if the idea of anot
her woman in his life made her sick with envy.
She shoved that thought aside, because she had no right to it. If she was purposely removing herself from his life, she had no say in what he did with it. She knew that. But it still stung.
His brothers were so happy. No doubt Jules wanted that same life for himself. Why wouldn’t he?
She sighed, causing him to glance over.
His brows bent in concern. “You okay?”
She smiled and nodded as she made something up. “Just wishing we weren’t out of licorice of all sorts.”
He winked. “I can fix that.”
“No. Stay.” She grabbed his hand. “You’ll miss the movie.”
“Okay, but just say the word and I will.”
“I know.”
They went back to watching and snacking. It was so comfortable with him, she felt like they’d known each other forever. And yet, she still hadn’t shared the whole truth of her life with him.
He deserved that much before she left. But not now. It would destroy this peaceful, happy moment, and this was something she wanted to hold on to to help her remember how good life could be. She felt safe, and although she had no right to it, she felt loved.
She tipped her head onto his shoulder, just for a moment. Just to test out what it felt like to be someone in love. Someone who could love.
Then he bent his head and kissed her temple.
Her eyes stung with tears at the simple gesture. For all of Alonso’s awfulness, leaving Julian behind might hurt her even more. How was she going to walk away from this man? How could she not love him?
She did. She knew that. It was the terrible truth she’d been trying to deny, but what was the point of lying to herself that way?
What it came down to was she was a coward. She was afraid to be hurt again. Afraid that something would make Julian snap the way Alonso had and she’d bear the brunt of it again. Afraid that this time, she wouldn’t survive.
But Julian wasn’t Alonso. And just because they were both men and both vampires didn’t mean they’d make the same kinds of decisions.
The Vampire's Accidental Wife (Nocturne Falls Book 8) Page 14