Blue stood. “I can already tell this is going to be a long day. Let me see if they have a remote for the TV.”
After I finished ordering a beef enchilada plate with Spanish rice and refried beans, I got up to have a look around. We had a windowless room, so I felt closed in with all the talking. I sat at the counter and watched a guy making fresh tortillas. Though my father would enjoy this, the last thing I needed was him driving in treacherous weather.
Switch sat on the barstool next to me, a beer in hand. “How many languages does that girl speak?”
“Who? Gem?” I admired the speed with which the man in the kitchen made the tortillas. “Seventeen? Twenty? Something like that. She pays attention when we go out. Always listening, always learning.”
“Sounds like something a Relic would do.” He sipped his beer.
I couldn’t recall if Gem had ever mentioned to him that she was born a Relic, so I left the topic alone. “I know she speaks Mandarin, Russian, Spanish, and I think Arabic.”
“She’s a sweet girl. It’s interesting.”
“What’s interesting?”
He slowly took off his leather jacket, revealing a skintight T-shirt beneath. “She comes across as a little ditzy. Purple hair, tall shoes, funky clothes, always floating in the pool or skating around the mansion. You’d never know she was a bookworm. I catch her reading in the libraries a lot. I don’t know why she projects a different image.”
I stared at the owl tattoo on his muscular bicep. “I’m sure you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
He glanced down at his attire. “I see your point. I just think she could attract better men if she let everyone know she has a brain.”
I stole his beer and sipped it. “If you think the women of Keystone are pinning their hopes on finding a husband, think again. We’re here because that’snotwhat we want in life.”
He gave me a one-sided grin before tucking his hair behind his ear. “That’s not what I hear. Word on the street is you’re engaged.”
I swiveled toward him.
He reached out and pressed his finger to my lips. “Don’t embarrass yourself. Everyone saw the banner trailing from the plane. Maybe nobody else knew what it meant, but I’ve heard Christian call you Precious more than once.”
“The banner was just a diversion.”
“Is that right?” He eased back on his elbow as if he might call my bluff. “I guess Crush wouldn’t mind if I let him in on the joke.”
“If you tell him, I’ll cut your throat in your sleep.”
“Ahh!” He caught my arm when I tried to get up. “You don’t get off that easy. We’re stuck in here all day, and if you think I’m letting this go, you’re mistaken.”
I sighed and reluctantly sat back in my seat. “Don’t say anything. Not yet.”
Switch scratched the back of his neck. “Do you think Christian’s a mate who will stick around? Vampires are loners, Raven.”
In the other room, the television was competing with the music on the speakers. “Do you forget who you’re talking to?”
“You’re only half,” he pointed out. “But he’s whole. It’s against his nature.”
“Don’t buy into the urban legend. Most of them stayed single out of necessity. We all need someone. Vampires are loners for a reason, and it has to do with their history and lifestyle.”
Before he could reply, an attractive waitress sauntered up and asked if we needed anything. Switch was not only a flirt but undeniably handsome. His features were sculpted, his brows pensive, and he always had a look on his face like he might lean in and kiss you with those soft lips. The woman blushed when he complimented her necklace. He was very respectful when it came to flirting with women—never touching them, never leering. And that was hard considering Switch was a Shifter who had different dating rituals among his own kind. With humans, he merely smiled, winked, and that was enough.
He admired her as she walked around the counter to the kitchen.
“You’re the one who needs to get mated,” I suggested.
He waggled his eyebrows. “Maybe in twelve more years.”
I frowned, uncertain where he came up with that number.
“That’s when Hunter turns eighteen,” he reminded me. “Then I’m free to go.”
