and all, and it kind of was, but it was hard to just, you know, dangle there. So I oomphed and umphed and climbed him until my ankles were crossed behind his back and my arms were looped around his neck.
"How delightful," he said. "This is bringing something more interesting than current events to mind."
" Perv . Can you believe Nick just stopping by like that?"
Sinclair's mouth went thin. "Yes."
"Wasn't that nice?"
"Yes. Nice."
"Oh, take it easy. Threatened much? Dude, take a break, go look in the mirror, and then relax, okay?"
"I didn't win you only to have you be distracted by some living meat with a shiny badge."
I gaped at him. Okay, I knew Sinclair generally felt vampires were superior to regular guys, but… living meat with a shiny badge?
"You didn't exactly win me," was the best I could come up with. "I'm not a Lotto ticket."
At my expression, he added, "You know you're attracted to shiny things. If you were a raven, you'd snatch that badge and go put it in your nest."
" Wh —uh—" Okay. One thing at a time. "Okay, listen, the reason I was trying to hear is, I just—Jessica said the dumbest thing on the way here. How sometimes she felt invisible next to me."
"Who said what?"
"Very funny. Don't you think that's dumb? I thought that was dumb."
"Dumb," he agreed.
I tried to kick him, but my feet were, of course, behind him. "This is serious! A) it's so not true, and b) it's terrible that she thinks that. But I think I know why she's got such a silly idea in her head."
"Because you're the eternally young, beautiful vampire queen no man can resist?"
"No!" Aw. But no. "She hasn't gone on a date in forever; she hasn't had a steady boyfriend since—jeez, when
did
she break up with dave ?"
"
Elizabeth."
I rested my chin on his shoulder and thought. "Was it before or after my dad threw the Ant the anniversary party at Windows? Because he— dave —came with her for that, but was that their 'we really can just be friends' date? Or were they really still living together then?"
" dave ?"
"Yeah, after they broke up we decided he didn't deserve to have a capital letter in his name. Anyway, I need to fix her up. Trouble is, I'm running around with gay guys and vampires."
"That is a problem."
"Ha! So you agree vampires make rotten dates."
"That is a subject for another time. However, I think this could be very, very good for us."
"What?" I felt his forehead. "Are you all right? Because it almost seems like you're not following this at all."
"So we, and by we I do mean you, dearest, need to be supportive."
"What?"
I heard rapidly approaching footsteps, and Sinclair set me down. So things looked relatively innocent when Jessica burst into the room and yelled, "Nick asked me out!"
Then, the scowl. "I know you bums were talking about me."
Chapter 13
I recovered quickly. Which is to say, I stammered and mumbled and Sinclair had to totally help me out.
"Can you believe it?" she said gleefully.
"Of course he did, dear. Frankly, I'm surprised there hasn't been a stampede. You are a worthy prize for any man."
She beamed. "Aw, Eric. Let's gloss over how incredibly creepy that is and instead talk about the fact that I have a date."
"I'm surprised that you're surprised," he said.
"If they're rich, they don't try," she explained, "and if they aren't, they're freaked out because I'm rich. That's oversimplifying it, but…"
"I know several men who would leap at the chance to see you in a… social capacity," Sinclair said. "Really, dear, what are"—another tiny hesitation—"friends for? You should have mentioned this long ago."
"Well, I dunno . It's hard to set up a friend with a friend… it's so awkward if it goes badly."
"Wait a minute!" I cried. "Eric Sinclair! You knew when she came back in the room that—you could hear their
"How delightful," he said. "This is bringing something more interesting than current events to mind."
" Perv . Can you believe Nick just stopping by like that?"
Sinclair's mouth went thin. "Yes."
"Wasn't that nice?"
"Yes. Nice."
"Oh, take it easy. Threatened much? Dude, take a break, go look in the mirror, and then relax, okay?"
"I didn't win you only to have you be distracted by some living meat with a shiny badge."
I gaped at him. Okay, I knew Sinclair generally felt vampires were superior to regular guys, but… living meat with a shiny badge?
"You didn't exactly win me," was the best I could come up with. "I'm not a Lotto ticket."
At my expression, he added, "You know you're attracted to shiny things. If you were a raven, you'd snatch that badge and go put it in your nest."
" Wh —uh—" Okay. One thing at a time. "Okay, listen, the reason I was trying to hear is, I just—Jessica said the dumbest thing on the way here. How sometimes she felt invisible next to me."
"Who said what?"
"Very funny. Don't you think that's dumb? I thought that was dumb."
"Dumb," he agreed.
I tried to kick him, but my feet were, of course, behind him. "This is serious! A) it's so not true, and b) it's terrible that she thinks that. But I think I know why she's got such a silly idea in her head."
"Because you're the eternally young, beautiful vampire queen no man can resist?"
"No!" Aw. But no. "She hasn't gone on a date in forever; she hasn't had a steady boyfriend since—jeez, when
did
she break up with dave ?"
"
Elizabeth."
I rested my chin on his shoulder and thought. "Was it before or after my dad threw the Ant the anniversary party at Windows? Because he— dave —came with her for that, but was that their 'we really can just be friends' date? Or were they really still living together then?"
" dave ?"
"Yeah, after they broke up we decided he didn't deserve to have a capital letter in his name. Anyway, I need to fix her up. Trouble is, I'm running around with gay guys and vampires."
"That is a problem."
"Ha! So you agree vampires make rotten dates."
"That is a subject for another time. However, I think this could be very, very good for us."
"What?" I felt his forehead. "Are you all right? Because it almost seems like you're not following this at all."
"So we, and by we I do mean you, dearest, need to be supportive."
"What?"
I heard rapidly approaching footsteps, and Sinclair set me down. So things looked relatively innocent when Jessica burst into the room and yelled, "Nick asked me out!"
Then, the scowl. "I know you bums were talking about me."
Chapter 13
I recovered quickly. Which is to say, I stammered and mumbled and Sinclair had to totally help me out.
"Can you believe it?" she said gleefully.
"Of course he did, dear. Frankly, I'm surprised there hasn't been a stampede. You are a worthy prize for any man."
She beamed. "Aw, Eric. Let's gloss over how incredibly creepy that is and instead talk about the fact that I have a date."
"I'm surprised that you're surprised," he said.
"If they're rich, they don't try," she explained, "and if they aren't, they're freaked out because I'm rich. That's oversimplifying it, but…"
"I know several men who would leap at the chance to see you in a… social capacity," Sinclair said. "Really, dear, what are"—another tiny hesitation—"friends for? You should have mentioned this long ago."
"Well, I dunno . It's hard to set up a friend with a friend… it's so awkward if it goes badly."
"Wait a minute!" I cried. "Eric Sinclair! You knew when she came back in the room that—you could hear their
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