by Rose Pressey
“You guys are close enough now that he’s letting you drive his car?” I raised an eyebrow.
“He’s an all right guy, I guess.” Jack shrugged.
“I’m shocked. I thought you guys would never get along.” I looked from Jack to Quinton.
“Hey, I’m not saying we’re best friends or anything,” Jack said with laughter in his voice.
“Of course not.” I smiled. “We wouldn’t want anything like that to happen.”
“I guess I’d better be taking off. More demons to catch.” Cole smiled sweetly.
The sad look in his eyes made me melt. I wanted to tell him not to go; to find another, less dangerous profession. But what business was it of mine? We’d had a business relationship and that was it. Or was it? I guessed I could consider him a friend now. After all, he’d saved my best friend.
“Don’t be a stranger.” The sadness in my voice was hard to hide.
Cole stepped closer and kissed my cheek. I felt Jack’s eyes on us, but he didn’t say anything.
Chapter Thirty-One
How to Date a Demon, Rule #31
Follow all these rules and you'll have one hell of a date.
We made our way down the alley toward the street with Jennifer. She was still wobbly, but doing remarkably well for someone who had been through such an ordeal. When we reached the end of the alleyway, I glanced back at Cole. I felt his gaze on me. What was he thinking? Would I ever see him again? I felt bad for giving him a hard time.
He stared, then held his hand up in a wave. I waved back. Maybe someday I’d get a chance to thank him and repay him for saving my friend’s life. I knew I couldn’t have done this without him. Jack helped Jennifer in Quinton’s car and I slid in the passenger seat. She laid down in the backseat.
“I’m sorry for not trusting your instincts,” Jack said as he turned the ignition.
“I can’t say that I wasn’t a little disappointed in the way you guys acted. But I know why it happened now. Is that a vampire thing? Do they place spells on other vampires often?” I asked.
“Only the bad ones,” he said.
“Well, that explains it,” I said, holding back my smile. “I still can’t let you off that easily. I have to give you a hard time for a while.”
“I deserve it.” He flashed a boyish grin.
“Just as long as it never happens again,” I warned with a wave of my finger.
“I hope we never have to fight off demons again and then we won’t have to worry about it.” He let out a slow breath. “I’m glad that’s over.”
Jennifer was sleeping in the backseat, the gentle sound of her breathing breaking the silence. When we pulled up to a light, she sat up in the seat with a panicked look on her face.
She wiped her forehead. “I forgot where I was for a minute.”
I frowned. “That’s understandable.”
Jack pulled the car into a parking spot and jumped out, opening the door for Jennifer and me.
“I’ll help her upstairs,” Jack said as he helped Jennifer out of the car.
As we approached my building, I spotted Lily waiting for me with that huge wedding planning book clutched in her arms. She had a hopeful look in her eyes. I groaned.
“Well, thank goodness that’s over with. Now maybe you can help me finish planning the wedding.”
“Lily, I just fought off a demon. I have demon guts all over me and I need a shower. Don’t you think this can wait?” I asked as I breezed past her on the sidewalk.
She followed me up the front steps to my apartment. “I don’t have anyone else to help me, Rylie.” Lily batted her eyelashes and gave an innocent smile. She knew exactly where to hit me where it hurt the most.
Why was I always such a sucker?
I looked at Jack and he gave me a knowing smile. He knew I wouldn’t be able to turn her down. Even with demon guts on me.
I sighed. “If you come up can I at least take a shower first?”
She waved her hand in front of her nose. “Yes, please do. You stink.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“Temper, temper.” She waved her index finger.
I didn’t need to shift again tonight.
“I’ll just go get my bridal magazines and my binder. It has all the information I’ve collected so far.” She rushed back down the stairs.
I turned around. “Hey, Lily.”
She turned around to look at me. “Yeah?”
“We’ll make this the best damn wedding this town has seen in a long time.” I waved my hands for emphasis.
“You’d better,” she huffed as she waltzed out the door.
I groaned. “She really starts to grow on you after a while.”
“You are something, you know that?” Jack asked.
“I hope that’s a good thing.” I smiled.
“I would kiss you again, but Lily’s right. You stink.”
I shoved him. “You don’t exactly smell like roses.” I laughed.
“I’ll meet you at your apartment after we’ve both had a shower. Unless of course you’d like to join me in my shower?”
I sighed. “I would, but I have a wedding to plan.”
“Right.” He nodded. “Is there anything I can help you do?”
“Pick out which type of meat we should serve at the reception? Apparently we’re supposed to have a large variety.” I gave a pleading smile.
He laughed. “The things I do for love.”
Epilogue
Jennifer stood beside me. We both wore brown taffeta gowns that didn’t fit right. I tugged at the sleeves and waist of my hideous gown. Our dresses had puffy shoulders and big gigantic bows on our butts. At least the color was a nice shade of chocolate, although now I was craving a Hershey’s bar. The reception hall was bathed in shades of brown. Lily had carried a black bouquet and now I was standing with a group of female werewolves and Jennifer waiting for my chance to catch the ugly thing.
With any luck, it wouldn’t come within a hundred miles of me.
“I can’t believe you talked me into this,” Jennifer whispered over the last tunes of Kool and The Gang’s Celebration.
“At least you’re getting to spend some time with Cole.” I gestured toward my right at the corner of the room.
She glanced over and gave a bashful little wave to him. People crowded the dance floor with moves that I assumed they thought was dancing. It looked more like the zombie apocalypse.
Finally the disc jockey announced the last call and that Lily would be tossing the bouquet.
“Just get this thing over with,” I mumbled.
Lily stood in front of us. A huge smile spread across her face. She genuinely looked happy and I was happy for her. For once, we weren’t arguing with each other. We’d come a long way. It could have been the fact that she’d had four or five too many strawberry daiquiris though.
Jack watched us from our table. He winked and before I had a chance to wink back, something hit me in the face and landed at my feet. I looked down and my stomach dropped. The hideous black rose bouquet had landed on my ugly brown pumps.
Jennifer snickered and the rest of the women deserted the dance floor like roaches who’d been exposed by the light. I was standing out there all by myself. Wasn’t anyone else going to try to rip the flowers from my hands? Lily glared at me, placing her hand on her hip and letting out a heavy sigh. I groaned and reached down and picked up the bouquet.
“You’re next,” she said with too much jubilation.
I didn’t believe in curses or superstitions anymore… or did I?
Rose Pressey enjoys writing quirky and fun novels with a paranormal twist. The paranormal has always captured her interest. The thought of finding answers to the unexplained fascinates her.
When she's not writing about werewolves, vampires and every other supernatural creature, she loves eating cupcakes with sprinkles, reading, spending time with family, and listening to oldies from the fifties.
Rose lives in the beautiful c
ommonwealth of Kentucky with her husband, son, and two sassy Chihuahuas.
Visit her online at:
http://www.rosepressey.com
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Rose loves to hear from readers. You can email her at: [email protected]