“Old,” I answered honestly.
She scoffed and took another sip of her scotch. “I’ll say. I couldn’t believe it when they told me.”
Ben laughed. “Your face said it all, Erin. Kian nearly wet his pants.”
Erin rolled her eyes. “They’re just kids.”
“They’re older than we were when we conceived her,” I reminded her.
“That’s a scary thought in its own right.” Glass in one hand, Erin traced over the picture with the other. “I always thought I’d give this to her on her wedding day. She grew up dreaming about wearing that dress. I had it preserved just in case she wanted it.”
If that wasn’t my opening, then I didn’t know what would be. The grin on my mouth widened into a full smile, and I took the photo album from Erin and commanded her full attention. “What if you still could?”
Chapter 23
Those last fewhours leading up to our flight, there was a certain tension lingering in the house, one neither James or I wanted to address. Though on the same hand, we didn’tneedto address it. Not right away, that is. We both knew what needed to be done: We needed to tell Gabriel what we knew, and we had to figure out how to get his sisters’ focus off of us.
But none of that could happen right away. We had too much to do. All of our family and friends were currently either in Vegas or on their way there. Even as I tossed and turned in bed, trying to shake it all so I could fall asleep, I knew that James was right: The twins—however powerful they were—would be foolish to make a move with so many eyes on us. Especially with humans in the mix, if their aim was to protect the human race and all.
James started kissing my shoulders before the sun even rose. He’d been a total airport dad about packing; who wouldn’t want to arrive way too early? Seriously. The roosters weren’t even up yet.
“James,” I groaned, burying my face in the pillows. “I just got to sleep.”
He removed the blanket with his teeth. I whined, squirming against the cold—then again when his lips kissed my bare ass cheeks. “What if I said we could shower together?”
His weight vanished from my back, and I cracked an eye to see him walking backward toward the bathroom. The water was already running, steam billowing from the room behind him. My eyelids threatened to droop again, until he dropped his underwear and leaned against the doorway.
Dammit, my dick was interested now.
James snickered as I scrambled off the bed to chase after him. We stumbled into the shower, where I shoved him to his knees and made himthoroughlyapologize for waking me up so damn early. Supernatural strength or not, he still knew when to give me the upper hand.
I longed for the day when he didn’t need to “let me” anymore.
Though as we packed the last of our things, fed Carlos and left a note for the dog walker, and locked up the house, butterflies kicked up in my stomach. The next time we walked through that door, it would be as a married couple.
I couldn’t wait.
At the airport, James offered me a second apology in the form of an expensive coffee, but even the extra shots of espresso didn’t stop me from yawning. I was so sleepy as we boarded that I was momentarily confused when James tugged me to a stop in first-class. Once we settled in the comfortable seats, I raised a brow at him. “Seriously?” I asked, letting him stow our luggage above.
He shrugged. “What better time to splurge than our wedding?”
The special treatment continued when a flight attendant handed us glasses of champagne. “Congratulations.”
James and I thanked him, settling in for the long flight ahead.
As I sipped at my drink, I took one last scroll through my phone. There were a few notifications: My parents, confirming they’d made it safely, and a text from Raleigh saying how excited he was to visit “Salem” again. I snickered, amused at the commitment everyone showed to keeping Vegas a secret.
James’s hand brushed my shoulder, his finger trailing a path up my arm. I met his eyes, and a grin tugged at his lips. “You should try and get some rest.”
Leaning over as far as he could, he grabbed my champagne and pressed it into my palm. Fortunately, the alcohol relaxed me a bit, and exhaustion slammed into me once more. By the time we reached cruising altitude—and I hit the bottom of my glass—my eyelids were growing heavy. I grabbed a pillow, stuffed it between the wall and my head, and closed my eyes. Apparently, no amount of wedding jitters could keep me awake.
I managed to sleep for the entire flight. James woke me up by squeezing my thigh, and I suspected there’d been some vampiric powers keeping me asleep. I didn’t mind. I felt a bit better without the fatigue weighing me down on top of everything else.
The plane hit the ground, andthatstarted the buzzing in my veins.
I hadn’t been back to Vegas since making up my mind that I needed to return to Salem for Hannah’s sake. I’d always intended to visit regularly, but between Hannah and James and vampire stuff, time had gotten away from me.
“Is Raleigh here?” I asked, excited to see my best friend. A bar emergency had cut their last visit short, and I was determined to make up for the lost time.
