“There are?”
I shook my head, deciding to spit it out before I lost my nerve. Hannah needed to have all of the information. “No, not unless something activates their powers.”
“Like what?”
Here we go. “Like turning into a vampire.”
Hannah didn’t miss a beat. Her eyes widened, and for a long moment—maybe a littletoolong for my liking—she simply stared at me. Her attention flickered to my neck, then back to my eyes.
I swallowed hard. “Please say something,” I finally said.
“You’re a vampire?”
“Not yet.” Then I let it all spill. “James tried a couple of times to turn me. When it didn’t work, we had a friend dig into our family history. Turns out, we’re not only descended from witches—we’re descended frombloodwitches. Which means I’m going to be stronger than the average vampire.” I pressed the heels of my hands into my eyes until I saw stars. “God, I really don’t want to think about this anymore.”
A hand pried mine away. I blinked, my surroundings coming into focus. Hannah smiled at me, squeezing my hand and bringing my heart rate down. How she looked socalmafter learning all of this was beyond me. She had Erin’s composure.
“We don’t have to talk about it anymore,” she assured me.
“We don’t?”
“No. Not today anyway. Besides, the way you talk about Victoria, I think it might be helpful for me to meet her too. And if I’m going to have three dads—two of them vampires, it’s kind of cool knowing I’ll have some kind of powers too—eventually.”
“Three dads? Thanksgiving is going to be crowded.”
Hannah choked out a laugh. “Good thing vampires don’t eat.”
“Hey—don’thaveto,” I corrected. “I’ll still fight you for your Nana’s mac and cheese—I remember how good that shit is. Did you happen to inherit the recipe?”
Now, Hannah’s eyes sparkled for a different reason. “I did.”
Thankfully, all conversation of the supernatural ceased the second our food was set in front of us. Hannah asked a few questions—about Victoria and the friend who introduced us—but for the most part, we focused on our food and wedding planning. Try as I might, Hannahwould notdivulge where the venue was.
“And don’t you dare ask Kian!” she scolded when I walked her to her car.
As emotional and awkward as the first hug was, they came naturally to us now. Hannah didn’t hesitate to wrap her arms around my waist and squeeze me tight. I told her to text me once she was home safely.
I walked to my own car feeling better than I had in a long time. A year ago, the thought of talking about my feelings had me running for the hills. I’d never tell Raleigh that he was right to force me into doing so. It felt like the first time I opened up, it started the Diaries of Ryder Clark.
The house was dark from the outside, save for the faint glow of the TV through the living room window. I was exhausted, and the only thing I wanted to do was collapse into my vampire’s arms and sleep for the foreseeable future.
I unlocked the door and stepped into the house, narrowly dodged an enthusiastic welcome from Carlos, and decided to shower while I waited for James. I half expected him to join me when I sensed that he was home, but as I walked down the hallway, I found that there was already someone in my spot.
The smile that curled my lips was entirely involuntary. “Hey, Shi Baby.”
Chapter 18
Shi twistedaround to look at me. They straddled James’s lap, their hips between his hands and fingers twisted in his hair. “I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to apologize for,” I told them, opening Hannah’s door for Carlos, letting him lie on the bed for once. I wanted some alone time with the two people on my couch, watching me like they’d been caught with their hands in the cookie jar.
I sauntered over to the couch, dropping into the seat next to James. “Can I join the fun?”
“Look who remembered his manners,” James remarked. Dark eyes watched me, close enough to a “good boy” that it sent a shiver down my spine.
“We were hoping you would,” Shi said, distracting me. “You’re usually the one tobringthe fun, after all.”
I flattened a hand between their shoulder blades, giving them a subtle nudge forward. “Show me what you two were doing.”
