“I don’t want to know if you saw Jack’s death.” She tightened her lips. “I’d rather believe he’s going to live forever.”
“I did, though. Soon after he came back to Dead End.”
She stared at me but didn’t ask, so I told her anyway. “He kind of forced the issue. But I saw hisfirstdeath in the vampire battle. And I saw you.”
“Not his … permanent death?”
“No, and I doubt I ever will. My … ability works with consistent rules, so far. I don’t always see someone’s death when I touch them. If I could touch them when I was a kid, before the ability kicked in, I can still touch them now and see nothing. Once I see the vision, I never see it again. And if I see a death that happened already, like Jack’s or like a new friend, who was … well. Something happened to her, and she was clinically dead for a minute in the ambulance. I saw that, so I won’t see anything else for her. Or for Jack, thank goodness.”
I could tell she was fascinated, and I appreciated she didn’t try to pump me for more information.
She swung around to face me, putting her feet down. “Tess, I want to tell you this. I hope we will become good friends, because I never want to lose Jack’s friendship, and I know he loves you. I have never seen him so happy.”
She paused and shook her head. “No. That’s not it. I’ve never seen him happy at all. I’ve seen him laugh and joke and banter. I’ve seen him deadly, in action. I’ve seen him passionate about protecting his friends, his team, and innocents. But I’ve never seen him happy, truly happy, until now. Thank you for that.”
My eyes burned, just a little, and I felt a lump in my throat. “I’ve been happy in my life. I have a wonderful family and good friends. I enjoy my work. But I can honestly tell you I have never been as happy as I am now, and it’s all because of Jack. You’re already my friend, because you love him, and he loves you.”
Her eyes got suspiciously shiny, and it might have turned into a weepy hug fest, except I couldn’t hug people. Luckily, the door banged open.
“I heard there was pie,” Alaric announced. “We do not have pie in Atlantis, and Jack tells me you are the queen of baking.”
Quinn and I started laughing.
“Yep,” I said, looking up at him with a straight face. “The state issued me my first rolling pin at five years old.”
“When you were five or the rolling pin?” Quinn asked.
Alaric rolled his eyes up to the sky, as if asking a higher power for patience, and I stood up from the swing. “Alaric, how do you feel about pecans?
“They are nuts, correct? I do not have feelings about nuts.”
“Oh, give it five minutes. I am about to blow your magical mind.”
After he finished his third piece of pecan pie, Alaric looked at me, his eyes wide. “Youarethe queen of baking. I may be developing romantic feelings for you.”
Jack: “Hey …”
Quinn grinned. “You should have seen him the first time he had pizza.”
“Can you stay for a while? I have a guest room.” I looked at Jack and bit my lip. “It’s kind of a strange time right now, though. There are some things I need to tell you.”
“We cannot,” Alaric said, rising to his feet and bowing. “Thank you for the wonderful lunch and pie. Be sure that we will return as often as we can for the pleasure of your company and for the baking. Even though Jack will be here, too.”
He gave Jack a side-eyed glance that I could have sworn held suppressed laughter.
“Keep it up, magic boy,” Jack said lazily, standing and clearing the plates.
“Magicman,” Alaric corrected him, smirking.
Quinn raised her eyebrows, probably at Jack doing such a domestic task.
“He likes to wash dishes,” I confided.
“Wonders may never cease,” she said. “We should be on our way, though I hate to eat and run. We have an urgent date with a blood-magic practitioner who thinks he’s going to take over the southern half of France.”
“We will help him understand his mistake,” Alaric said gravely.
“I bet you will.” Impulsively, I added: “I wish I could hug you. I feel like we’re all going to be great friends.”
