“Sure, but that doesn’t mean I’ve lost my ability to judge what good kissing is. And that was good kissing.” Had he enjoyed it? Hard to tell. He seemed to be more focused on analyzing what had just happened, rather than lost in the pleasure of it all, which was how she felt.
His eyes narrowed to slits. “And if the kiss was bad, you would tell me that, too?”
She paused. The memory of his mouth against hers lingered so strongly she could still feel it, but the blissful aura was fading with this conversation. “I wouldn’t deliberately hurt your feelings, but if you were honest in your efforts, then what more could I ask for?” She blinked up at him. “Why? Do you think I’m just stroking your ego?”
He shrugged and looked away, but not before she caught a glimpse of past hurt in his eyes. “It behooves you to make me happy, doesn’t it?”
She laid her hand on his arm, hoping she could get through the pain of his memories. “I’m not playing you, if that’s what you’re thinking. I get that keeping you happy makes my life easier. After all, I need you to go along with all this, or I’m in a lot of trouble. But that’s not what I’m doing.” She gave his arm a squeeze. “I like you. Even if you are prickly.”
He shot her a look, but said nothing for a moment. Then he glanced at the door again. “We should get your shopping done.”
“Okay. Thanks, by the way.”
“For what?”
“For being cool about all this.”
“You can’t help what’s been done to you. I can’t help being the one who freed you. There’s not much point in ruining either of our lives for longer than necessary.”
Not quite the response she’d hoped for, but they’d only known each other for an hour. There was still plenty of time for him to fall madly in love with her.
She hoped.
* * *
What was he doing kissing her like that? Letting his basest urges overrule his brain? There was no trying to kid himself that it was what the curse required. He’d kissed her for far longer than necessary.
Maybe it was the memories of Miranda that had been stirred up. Maybe kissing Andromeda was his attempt to soothe that pain. Because he certainly wasn’t trying to lose his head and his heart again.
Not after Miranda. Not after that humiliation.
And while he liked Andromeda, that was as far as this—whatever this was—would go.
Fortunately, he didn’t have to kiss her again for two days.
At least they were out and about now, and she’d be distracted with shopping. He could have some time to cool off this way. Time to straighten himself out and make sure that kind of display didn’t happen again.
They entered the first boutique, Parks & Main, and while Andromeda got to browsing, he chose to sit in the leather love seat near the back of the store. He didn’t need to be involved in her purchases. He was just here so she could be, too.
And to pay.
He frowned. That was what women did. They made you pay.
Not that the current situation was Andromeda’s fault, but the fact remained that he was footing this bill.
Lydia Parks helped Andromeda take about half of the store into the dressing room, then came to check on him. “Hello, Constantin. I must say, I didn’t expect to see you in here this evening.”
Or ever, her eyes seemed to add.
He nodded. “Hello, Lydia.” He glanced at the dressing room. “My friend needed some things, so…” He finished with a shrug, hoping Lydia would leave it there.
“Your friend, hmm?” She smiled. Probably hoping he’d elaborate.
He didn’t. Just nodded and picked up a magazine. After a moment, Lydia walked away. She knew his mother and sisters because they shopped here, so there was no way the news of his visit with Andromeda wasn’t going to be spread. But he’d just explain to the female side of his family what had happened and—
He went very still. He couldn’t just explain, though, could he? He’d already told Valentino that Andromeda was his girlfriend. How could he now tell his mother and sisters differently? One of them, his mother most likely, would tell his father, and the truth would inevitably get back to Valentino. Even if it was just a slip of the tongue.
There was no way around it. He’d have to tell his entire family that Andromeda was his girlfriend, or face the relentless ridicule that Valentino would put him through for lying.
He groaned softly. His sisters were going to get excited and instantly try to make Andromeda feel welcome. It was one of the more wonderful things about them, but in this case, it would serve only to complicate the situation, and his life, when Andromeda’s curse was broken and she was able to leave.
Unfortunately, none of this could be avoided, because tomorrow night he’d be expected to appear (as all his siblings were) at the family dinner.
Which meant, thanks to the curse’s tether, he would be forced to take Andromeda. She’d be dragged along whether she wanted to go or not. And there was no canceling, unless a drastic circumstance arose. And he couldn’t think of one drastic enough to qualify.
Of course, if the tether wasn’t functioning for some magical reason, he’d have to take her anyway. If he didn’t, the assumption would be that they had already broken up. That would mean questions and insinuations about his ability to hold on to a partner. Or how he wasn’t over Miranda yet.
But taking her meant they’d both be peppered with endless rounds of questions.
Which was worse? Hard to say. They had six days together at a minimum. After that, he would have to come up with a reason for her disappearance. So what then? A manufactured breakup story?
He closed his eyes. This whole thing was a gigantic mess. And all because he’d told a lie to protect his pride.
“What do you think?”
He opened his eyes and found Andromeda standing before him in a small dress of merlot-colored velvet and a pair of strappy black satin heels. The dress fit her perfectly, and the thin straps showed off what beautiful shoulders she had. And what remarkable cleavage. None of which had been all that evident in her T-shirt and leather jacket.
He blinked, trying to remember what he was supposed to be doing.
“Con?” She peered down at him. “Yes or no? Or don’t you have an opinion?”
He nodded, so full of opinion that he didn’t bother to correct her use of a nickname for him. “Is that for tonight? Actually, it doesn’t matter what it’s for, you should get it.”
“It is for tonight.” She grinned. “So you like it, huh?”
“That’s an understatement. It looks like it was made for you.”
“The shoes, too?”
He glanced at them again. Her toes were painted a deep, sparkling burgundy. It must be her favorite color. “The shoes, too.”
“They’re kind of expensive.”
He shrugged. “It’s only money.” Something that suddenly didn’t matter as much to him as it usually did.
“Okay, if you say so.” Still smiling, she strode back to the dressing room. He watched her go with great admiration. Too much admiration, perhaps.
Was he in trouble?
She was beautiful. She had an incredible figure. She’d made him laugh more than once. The scent of her was the slightest bit intoxicating. And kissing her was…more pleasure than he’d experienced in a long time.
Then there was the fact that he was a man who’d purposefully not had a relationship since his last one had ended so disastrously.
He wasn’t lonely, exactly. He’d genuinely come to enjoy time alone. But the thought of being forced into spending time with Andromeda seemed less and less like punishment with every passing moment.
That was fine. It would make the days pass with much greater ease. But there was a fine line between like and love. It wasn’t one he wanted to cross again. Not at the risk of having to rebuild himself.
Because despite what he told people, Miranda had destroyed him. And that wasn’t something that was ever going to happen again.
Andromeda came out of the dressing room, the strappy black heels dangling from her fingers, the velvet dress over her arm. “All set.”
He stood and joined her. “That’s it? I thought you’d need more than—”
Lydia came over to take the items. “I’ll put these at the register so you can look around some more.”
Andromeda smiled and said, “Thanks.”
When Lydia left, Andromeda lowered her voice a little. “I do need more, and I know you said it’s only money, but this place is expensive. Really expensive.”
“It can’t be that bad. My mother and sisters shop here.” He reached for the nearest item, a red sweater with bands of black sequins at the wrists, and checked the price tag. It was almost three hundred dollars. His brows lifted as he dropped the tag. “Then again, what do I know about their clothing budgets?”
He’d brought Andromeda here only because it was the one shop he was sure would have nice women’s clothing. How nice, he hadn’t realized. But really, it was only money. “I don’t care about the cost of things. Get what you need.”
She frowned. “Not at these prices. There has to be another store in town we could try. Plus, this stuff is nice, but it’s not exactly all my taste.”
It probably wasn’t her style. Parks & Main wasn’t known for leather jackets and ripped jeans. And he doubted they’d ever even consider selling tank tops with cats on them. “Okay. I know of another place.”
“Good. Let’s go there next.”
And so they did, after he paid the bill at Parks & Main.
He stopped outside another shop. “Is this okay?”
She looked up at the sign. “Because it’s secondhand? Yeah, I’m fine with that. I love thrift shops. My leather jacket came from one.”
“Really?” In truth, he’d expected her to balk. But he was coming to realize that his assumptions about her were often wrong.
“Yep. But I’m not buying my underwear here.”
He snorted, hands up. “I won’t argue with that.”
He held the door for her, and in they went to Stella’s Bargain Bin. He’d never been in the place, and he was a hundred percent sure his mother and sisters hadn’t either.
Andromeda let out a little coo of appreciation. He liked that. She could have put up a fuss and refused anything that wasn’t brand-new, but she hadn’t. Better yet, she seemed genuinely excited to check the shop out.
And while he’d never been inside, he knew Stella, the owner and store’s namesake. She was a regular customer of his. A good one, too, even if she was also constantly prodding him to stock romance novels. So while the woman behind the counter looked a lot like Stella, almost identical really, she wasn’t. The scent of her blood was not the same. Very close, but a few subtle notes were different. Also, the last time Stella had been in the Gilded Page, her hair was fire-engine red. This woman’s was blue. He nodded at her. “Evening.”
“Evening.”
“You’re not Stella, are you?”
She gave him a sharp look, then it quickly turned into one of amusement. “You’re a quick one, aren’t you? No, I’m not Stella. I’m Della, her twin sister.”
“Nice to meet you, Della. I didn’t know Stella had a twin.”
“I don’t suppose anyone did. I just moved here a month back. Long story, big divorce, bad feelings, but all done with now.” She gave her deep-blue coif a few pats as if checking to see that every hair was still shellacked into place. “Anyway, I told her I’d pick up the night shift, make myself useful. You know.”
“Of course.” He introduced himself and Andromeda, as was only polite. “I’m Constantin Thibodeaux, and this is my friend Andromeda Merriweather. I own the nonmagical bookstore in town. The Gilded Page. Your sister is a frequent customer. But that’s beside the point. The reason we’re here is Andromeda is in need of some clothes. Whatever she likes, just so that she’s happy.”
“Got it.” Della popped off her stool with surprising quickness. “Hi there, Andromeda.”
Andromeda lifted her hand in a little wave. “Hi. You can call me Andi.”
“What are you looking for?”
Andromeda glanced down at her current outfit. “Some T-shirts, another pair of jeans, maybe. A robe, maybe? A few things to get me through the week. I didn’t really have a chance to pack, and this trip was pretty unexpected, so…”
“Say no more.” Della smiled and rubbed her hands together. “Let’s do some shopping.”
Chapter Five
Della seemed to find things on the racks that Andi had somehow missed. Racks she’d just looked through suddenly produced covetable items that were just her size and taste. In about twenty minutes, Andi had a pile of things (including new underwear, which the shop miraculously stocked) that weren’t just cool and hip, but priced exactly right.
Which was to say cheap.
Sure, the other shop had been high-end fabulous (although also a tiny bit boring), but she didn’t want Con spending buckets of money on her when she was going to disappear as soon as she had her freedom back. That would just add insult to injury. Both of which she wanted to avoid.
She double-checked that she had everything from the dressing room that she wanted: a pair of dark skinny jeans that could be rolled up or not, some black leggings with rivets down the sides, a couple of T-shirts, a funky appliqued cardigan, an oversize sweater that hung off one shoulder, the cutest leopard-print ankle boots, a denim miniskirt, and a vintage purple robe that seemed right out of a classic old Hollywood movie.
She planted the stack of goods on the counter. “I love this place.”
“Thanks, honey.” Della smiled and started ringing things up.
Andi checked out the jewelry in the display case and the little stand of earrings sitting on top. She found a thick rhinestone stretch bracelet and a pair of earrings that seemed made to match. She held them up to Con, who was sitting by the door in a chair that looked more like a throne. “To go with tonight’s outfit?”
He put down the paper he was leafing through to have a look. “Sure. Whatever you want.”
That kiss had done wonders. Naturally for her—because who didn’t feel better after a kiss that curled your toes?—but for him, too. He was a lot less uptight all of a sudden. Which didn’t mean he was suddenly happy and smiley and super relaxed. He was still uptight. Just not in such a noticeable way. He hadn’t even corrected her when she’d called him Con.
She was glad about his mood shift. They had a lot of time to spend together, and it would be considerably easier if he wasn’t grumpy about her presence twenty-four seven.
She added the jewelry to the pile, then looked at him again. He’d put the paper down and was sitting very still with a contemplative look on his face, fingers steepled in front of him. Thinking about what? She wondered. His ex?
Poor guy. It seemed to Andi that this Miranda person had really done a job on him. Being left at the altar would do that, Andi supposed. For hurting Con the way Miranda had, Andi despised her.
She almost laughed at that thought. How had she gotten so protective of this random vampire? She felt almost bonded to him, but she supposed that was a natural reaction, considering he held her freedom in his hands.
Well, in his heart, really.
She sighed. How was she supposed to get a man who’d been so badly burned by love to love her in six days? She’d initially thought it was going to be easy, but now she wasn’t so sure. She’d know more tonight, after she saw how he reacted to seeing his ex in person.
For his sake, she hoped he was just angry at her and not still hung up on the woman.
“That’ll be twenty-three fifty.”
Andi looked at Della. “Did you get the jewelry?”
“Yep.”
“And the shoes?”
Della nodded, making her giant hoop earrings swing. “Sure did.”
“Then you must have forgotten the jeans.”
“Honey, I got it all.”
“That can
’t be right. That’s not enough.” When had she ever argued to pay more? Of course, it wasn’t her money, but still.
Della shrugged. “T-shirts are buy-one-get-two-free, jeans are half price if you’re buying shoes, and jewelry is seventy-five percent off if it sparkles. There’s a reason my sister named this place the Bargain Bin.”
That was some kind of crazy math. “If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure. Stella went over it all three times to make sure I was sure.” She rolled her eyes. “Sisters, am I right?”
“You can say that again.”
With a laugh, Della pulled a big shopping bag from under the counter and started putting Andi’s purchases in it.
Andi waved at Con. “I’m all rung up.”
With a nod, he got out of the throne chair and came to the counter, producing a money clip with bills, just as he had in the last store. “How much?”
“Twenty-three fifty.”
His eyes narrowed. “Did you only buy one thing?”
“No, I bought a bunch of stuff.”
He peeled a fifty off the top. “That can’t be right.”
“That’s what I said, but Della said there’s a big sale on.”
He laid the fifty on the counter. “All right then. Maybe you should have gotten more.”
“I can always come back.”
Della got his change, handed it to him, and then made sure Andi had her bag. “You two have a good night now. And come back and do some more shopping real soon.”
“Thank you,” Andi said. “You were a great help.”
Con held the door for her, and they went out into the evening air. It was a beautiful night with an incredible starry sky overhead. He took her shopping bag from her, leaving her hands empty, so she stuck her arm through his.
She smiled up at him. “Thanks for the clothes. I really appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome. It wasn’t much.”
“The first store was.”
“True.” He glanced at her arm linked with his, then looked at her. “We’ll go to the drugstore next. You should be able to get whatever toiletries you need there.”
The Vampire's Cursed Kiss (Shadowvale Book 2) Page 4