I stagger, and suddenly Ned is right in front of me, taking my elbow and steadying me. Damn. Vampires really are fast.
He checks I can stand on my own, then he leaves me to shut his bedroom door.
“The spell worked just fine,” he says.
The calm and assured way he says it is soothing. I trust him, but damn it. If the spell is fine, that means all this hurt is all mine. And I don’t want to be a dramatic bitch. I want to be someone who has all their shit together. Rolls with the punches and all that. Lands on their feet every time.
I wave my very nearly empty vodka bottle in the air. “Shouldn’t you check?”
His dark eyes narrow at the bottle. “How much have you had?”
“Not enough,” I grumble.
A splash of bright color on the wall catches my attention, so I weave my way over to it. I peer through my blurry vision, but I’m pretty sure Ned’s wall is plastered with kids’ drawings. And that’ssurprising enough to blast away my self-pity and switch my focus to this new bright and shiny thing.
“What the hell?”
Ned comes to stand beside me. “They are gifts from my great-great-grandkids.”
I swivel my head to look at him. He barely looks twenty. Presumably that was how old he was when he died. Which means he had kids hella young. But hey, I’m not one to judge. According to records, my own parents were teenagers. Besides, times were different back then. I assume.
“They think you’re just the manny?” I ask
Ned rolls his eyes. “Nanny.”
I giggle at him. I knew he was a squishy marshmallow. I move my arm to poke him, but it makes me lose my balance and I stagger into the cabinet that’s under the drawings. A framed picture topples over.
“Oops!” I exclaim as I pick it up.
It’s a lovely photo of a good looking, mid-thirties man in a dark suit. Three young children are draped over him and he is grinning broadly at the camera, flashing perfect white teeth.
“That’s them,” says Ned.
I narrow my eyes at the vampire. I’m on to him. Nobody, absolutely nobody, keeps a framed picture of their boss. I’m sure there are plenty of other photos of the kids.
“You fancy him?” I slur.
Ned glares at me, but his cheeks turn adorably pink. I didn’t even know vampires could blush. It is so cute and adorable.
“Wait, isn’t that incestuous?” I ask, as the connotations sink into my addled mind.
Ned’s glare intensifies. It’s now the same force as a thousand suns. He is going to turn me to dust with a look.
“He’s the widower of my great-granddaughter! We aren’t blood related at all!”
I hold my hands up in surrender. Vodka in one hand, photo frame in the other. “Alright. Alright.” Annoying a vampire is probably a stupid idea. Even a squishy marshmallow one like Ned.
Ned huffs as he snatches the photo from my hand and places it reverently back on the cabinet.
“Let’s get your drunk ass tucked up into bed,” he sighs.
I give him my best pout. “Can’t I hang out with you?”
He sighs and shakes his head at me. For fuck’s sake, I really am losing my touch. Maybe I’m getting old and losing my looks? Isn’t that a depressing thought. I don’t want to lose the only thing I have going for me.
“I’m going out,” he says.
“Where?”
