by Lana Melyan
He chortled, crouching before the fireplace.
5
Nathan stopped the car in front of Sam and Kate’s house, and as we looked at it, we both smiled. The lights were off and the curtains shut. But we could still see the shadows from the dancing candle lights.
“We could just drive away and tell them we came and no one was home,” I chuckled, getting out of the car.
As soon as I knocked on the door, it opened, and a loud, “Happy birthday” cry burst out at me.
“Hi, guys.” I beamed, looking at their colorful, pointy party hats.
Connie rushed forward and hugged me, and Logan turned on the lights.
“Come in, guys,” said Kate.
Connie pulled me toward the cake with eighteen candles sticking out of it. Grinning, I glanced back at Nathan. He covered his smile with one hand and nodded.
“Make a wish,” said Sam, appearing next to me with a bottle of champagne.
I took a breath, and the moment I blew out the candles, I heard a pop, and the cork flew out of the bottle. The champagne erupted out of it, and Kate stuck out the glass she was holding ready.
Logan added little forks to the plates while Connie cut the cake.
“How did the lesson go?” she asked as we sat at the table.
“We did it!” I said with excitement.
Sam and Connie stared at me.
“Did what?” asked Connie, raising a brow.
Trying hard not to smile, Nathan looked away.
“Magic, guys, magic.” I rolled my eyes. “Nathan helped me overcome my fear, and I did it. I created a wind, then I made the rose petals swirl in the air.”
“You created a wind?” Sam asked, sounding impressed.
“Uh-huh.” I nodded.
“I wish I could have seen that,” Connie moaned. “It must have been so beautiful.”
“It was,” said Nathan. “It was a powerful work of art.”
“And you didn’t video it?” She gazed at him. “Or take a picture?”
“I’m sorry. My hands were kinda full.”
“He was holding me.” I pursed my lips. “In case I decided to blow something up.”
“So no damage this time?”
“Nope.”
With the quiet music in the background, we sat eating, drinking, and talking.
Nathan was sitting across from me, at the other end of the table. Every time we looked at each other, I felt the warmth in his eyes that he so carefully hid at the cabin. Now, when we weren’t alone, he wasn’t trying to control his feelings, and the tender glance of his black eyes melted my insides.
What if I’m wrong? What if I’m seeing what I want to see? Or maybe it’s just a result of our lovely, and at the same time intense, day together?
I felt Sam’s eyes at me. He’s probably noticed this wordless exchange between me and Nathan. He kept trying to attract my attention by offering me more cake, or champagne. Then when Kate, who was sitting next to me, got up to get something, he took her place.
“I was wondering how you did it. The wind part. How many tries did it take?”
“Only one.”
“Did Nathan teach you?”
“No, he didn’t tell me how to do it, he just evoked some . . .” I was about to say feelings, but I bit my tongue. “He didn’t help perform the magic, he helped me believe I could control my powers if I wouldn’t fear them.”
Sam put his arm on the back of my chair and turned in his seat to face me.
“So you’re not afraid of your powers anymore?”
“No, I’m not. I think I’m ready to finally use them.”
“Does this mean you don’t need his help anymore?”
I knew where this conversation was going, and it seemed that Sam didn’t care that others might hear us. I got up.
“I’m sorry, I need some water.” I looked around to find a way out of the room, which I assumed will lead me to the kitchen. But all I saw was Nathan’s observing look.
Sam got up from his seat too. “Let me help you. The kitchen is this way.”
I headed in the pointed direction. If Sam had something to say, it was better if he did it in private.
“Sam, please, don’t do this,” I said the moment we walked into the kitchen. “Don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what? Like I can see what’s going on?”
“Nothing is going on.”
“You two were gone for the half of the day. And now he looks at you like he wants to . . .” He clenched his teeth.
“Why do you care so much?” I said with frustration.
“Because I’m trying to protect you,” he snapped.
“Why? Do I look helpless to you?”
“Because you don’t know him like I do. Because I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“He isn’t trying to hurt me. He’s trying to help me get on with the mission.”
“And in the meantime, he’s getting under your skin.”
“How do you know? Maybe it’s me who’s getting under his. I am the reason we came back later than we supposed to, not him. And if I get hurt, it will be my fault.”
“Nicky,” he lowered his voice. “I care about you, and—”
“And what?” I rolled my eyes. “And this is just friendly advice?”
“No. Not just friendly.”
At least he was being honest. I regretted my temper.
“So you’re jealous?” I said, lowering my voice.
He looked down. “It doesn’t matter where this comes from.” He raised his eyes back to me. “The point is the same.”
“Sam, I don’t want to hurt you. We have all been through a lot, and we need to support each other to get through this hard time. Let’s not fight. Nothing has happened. I’m still trying to figure things out, and I promise I’ll be careful.”
“Maybe you’re right. Maybe I’m overstepping my bounds. But I want you to know that, if you need to talk, or you have some questions, I’m here for you.”
“Thank you.”
When we returned to the room, Connie and Kate were still at their seats, chatting, while Nathan and Logan were talking next to the window. Nathan threw a flitting look at us and turned back to Logan.
I bent down to Connie and Kate. “Guys, I think the newborn is ready for bed.”
“Come on, tomorrow is Saturday,” said Connie.
I sat next to her, and Sam dropped into the chair across from us.
“Kate, how was Brian’s trip? Is there any news?”
“Yeah.” Nodding, she bit her lip. “I’ll be off in a few days.”
“I’m sorry.” I sighed. “But you know what? Maybe you’ll like it there and you’ll want to stay. After all, he’s your dad.”
“He’s your only family, Kate,” said Connie.
“He’s a stranger to me.”
“Worst-case scenario,” Connie shrugged, “like Sam said, you’ll be eighteen soon.”
“Well.” I looked from one to another. “I have to go, guys, I haven’t seen Gran today.”
“If Brian isn’t back, neither is she,” said Connie.
“I think It’s because they’re waiting for Nathan to give them the green light to return to their homes.” I chuckled.
A hand landed on my shoulder. “If you think it’s time, I’ll let them know,” Nathan’s voice said above me.
“Yeah, I think it is.” I looked up at him.
Logan bent to Connie and whispered something in her ear.
“That would be great,” said Connie, barely moving her lips. Her eyes glittering, she smiled to him.
There’s something hot going on here. When did this happen?
Nathan offered me his hand and pulled me up when I took it.
“Thank you so much, guys,” I said, looking from Kate to Sam. “It was nice to get together away from school.”
“It was our pleasure,” said Sam, gazing from me to Nathan.
Nathan put his arm around me and led me to the door.
Connie got up from her seat to walk us outside, and when Nathan went to the car, I lingered behind to say bye to her.
While others stopped at the porch, she came down the stairs and gave me a hug.
“Do you have something to tell me?” I whispered into her ear.
“Maybe. And I think you do too,” she whispered back.
“Then see you tomorrow?”
“Deal.” She let go of me.
“Bye, guys,” I said, heading to the car.
6
“Let’s get you home,” said Nathan, starting the engine.
We drove in silence for a moment. Then he threw me a sideways look.
“Did he come clean?” he asked.
“Don’t start those jokes of yours again.”
“No, Nicky. This isn’t a laughing matter anymore.”
“What are you saying, Nathan?”
“I’m saying, maybe he’s right.” Nathan looked through the windshield.
“Right about what? You don’t know what he said. There’s no way you could hear us.”
“I don’t need to. I know Sam, and I’m sure he thinks he knows me too. He wants you to stay away from me, doesn’t he?”
“He’s just jealous, you know that.”
“Yes, because he’s in love with you.”
“What is this?” I looked at him, feeling half sad, half angry. “Why are you doing this? Nathan, this was one day we spent together without bickering. And, as I’ve said to you a dozen times already, it was amazing. So, please, let me have it, at least until tomorrow.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry.” He took my hand, and he drove the rest of the way holding it tightly.
He stopped the car in front of my house and turned to me. “I want you to know that today was a perfect day for me as well.”
“Then why did you wait the whole day to tell me that?” I asked, my heart hammering.
“If I’d said that earlier, it could have gone a whole different way.” He smiled and stroked my cheek with the back of his hand. “And I couldn’t let that happen.”
Why not? It seems like you want it to happen as much as I do.
“Then maybe you shouldn’t have said it today at all. Because, you see,” I looked into his eyes, “the day isn’t over yet.”
“I’m sure it is now.” With soft chuckle, he turned his head at the sound of a car behind ours.
It was Gran.
“Sleep tight, Nicky Callahan.”
I held his tender look for a moment, then I squeezed his hand once and got out of the car.
I walked to the porch and heard him drive away. Without waiting for Gran to get out of the car, I unlocked the door and went into the house. I needed a minute to pull myself together and put a smile on before facing her.
I got myself a glass of water, and while I was drinking it, Gran showed up at the kitchen.
“Hi, honey.”
“Hi, Gran.”
She came forward and hugged me. “Happy birthday, Nicky.” She kissed me in the cheek. “How was your day?”
“It was . . .” My eyes glazed over for a second. “It was very special. My friends tried hard to make it so. And it worked.” I didn’t need to pretend. My smile came naturally. “I had a wonderful day.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Nathan told me that he was planning to have a lesson with you. At his cabin.”
He told you about the cabin?
She put her purse on the table and sat down.
“How did it go?”
“That went surprisingly well,” I said, sinking on a chair next to her. “I did pretty good, and I learned how to control my powers.”
“So you didn’t break anything?”
“Have you been there?” I asked carefully.
“At the cabin? Of course I have. Alan’s taken me their a few times.”
“Gran?” I narrowed my eyes. “Is there something going on between . . . you know . . . you and Mr. Lancaster?”
“Don’t be silly.” She rolled her eyes. “I’ve already told you, we’re just good friends. And don’t change the subject.”
“Okay,” I said, still looking at her suspiciously. “Well, no. I didn’t break anything. But—I don’t know if you’ve seen them—he has these rose bushes in the backyard.”
“I know. I helped him plant them. What about them?”
“Really?” I blinked a few times. “I kinda used them to perform the magic. So the roses are gone. But the good news is, the bushes are still there,” I hurried to reassure her. “Please don’t tell him.”
Gran laughed. “Don’t worry. He was mostly afraid for the cabin when he heard about your training. The roses, they’ll grow back.”
“Yeah.” I jerked my shoulder. “That’s what Nathan said.”
“So, what did you do for the rest of the day?”
Her question sounded innocent, but something in her eyes said she was asking what I did with Nathan, not with the others.
“We had dinner,” I said, trying to keep my voice casual.
“Is he a good cook?” She raised a brow.
Well, she has a right to know if her granddaughter was a good girl.
“Gran, nothing happened. He was very gallant. He cooked, then we ate and talked about—”
“I was just curious if he kept his word. And just so you know, I didn’t ask him to tell me where you were going or to promise me anything. He made that promise himself and said I shouldn’t worry.”
So that’s why you were so careful. No. You didn’t make that promise to Gran. You made it to yourself. And then you told her so you were completely chained.
“And he was right,” I said softly. “You had nothing to worry about.”
7
Next day after breakfast, when I was practicing the healing spell in my room, I got a message from Connie.
Are you up yet?
Yep.
Of course you are. You’re an early bird.
Hellooo. It’s 10 a.m.
Well, I just opened my eyes. You wanna meet at the Grill?
I thought for a second.
No. Not at the Grill. Coffee shop at the town square?
Sure. See you in an hour.
A few minutes later, I finally made the red glow appear around my palm, and the sensation that came along was pleasant and pretty overwhelming, like I had that same glow inside me, warming me up somewhere between my stomach and chest.
I shut my eyes and pressed my other hand to my stomach.
How could Dad and Nathan do that without moving a muscle? It was probably like alcohol. You choke on it the first time, then you get used to it.
The day was nice and warm, and there was no wind, so we chose one of the outside tables of the coffee shop.
“How long did you stay yesterday after I left?” I asked.
“Ten, maybe fifteen minutes.” Connie ripped open the sugar bag and emptied it into her cup. “Why?”
“No reason.” I picked up the little spoon, then remembered it wasn’t me who put the sugar in the coffee and set it back on the saucer.
“Nicky?” Connie gazed at me, arching a brow.
“It’s Sam.” I sighed. “He’s been keeping an eye on us. I mean, me and Nathan, and I don’t like it.”
“Did he say something to you?”
“Yeah, but.” I shook my head. “Forget it. It doesn’t matter. I think he’s just being jealous. Tell me about you and Logan. You two seem to be much closer now.”
Pressing her lips together, Connie smiled and nodded.
“You did it, didn’t you?”
She nodded again.
“Oh my God, Connie, you had sex with an immortal. And a vampire. Shame on you, Connie Cassidy.” I laughed.
“And that was something.” She closed her eyes slightly and spun her head. “And after all that, who the hell cares what he eats. Really.”
“Right. Like people say—Life is short. Carpe
diem.”
“I could kiss the poet who wrote that line. You can say it and do anything you want.”
We both laughed.
“It’s nice to see you happy, Connie.”
“I am. I’m in love, and I think he is too,” she said, getting serious. “It’s just, there are still so many questions. But I decided to let myself live a little. We’ll face the problems when they knock on the door. For now, the only problem we have is to rent a place for him.”
“Doesn’t he have one? Or you mean he wants something better?”
“He was staying at Nathan’s. He didn’t need his own place, until now.”
“Right. I forgot. But I’ve never seen him there. That mansion must be bigger than I thought.”
“What about you?” she asked. “You two seemed pretty tight yesterday. He couldn’t take his eyes off you.”
“You noticed that too?”
“Yeah, I think everybody did. Did something happen at the cabin?”
“Nothing like between you and Logan. We didn’t even kiss, if that’s what you think. No. But we were close.”
“You mean emotionally?”
“Yes. The lesson itself was very intense. Then he made dinner for us, and we had some wine, and the day was really special, as he promised. And when we sat on the couch and I put my head on his chest, his heart hammered like crazy.”
“Then what was the problem?”
“I don’t know. I have no idea what’s holding him back, but he thinks he shouldn’t do it.”
“Nicky, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. He’s trying to be careful because he’s falling for you. I know what the problem is because we have the same one. It’s the age difference. Logan and I, we just went with the flow. But for Nathan, it’s difficult because he knew your mom and dad, and he knows your Gran, and after everything that happened, he feels responsible for you.”
“Maybe. There’s also something else. Everyone keeps saying I should stay away from him. First it was my mom and dad, and now Sam.”
“Sam said that to you?” Connie frowned. “You can’t listen to what Sam says. He’s in love with you. Of course he wants you to stay away from him.”
“No, it’s not just that. He thinks Nathan could hurt me.”