My companion was crazy.
“She fits right in then,” Caroline quipped, coming up beside me and tossing the two pieces of luggage she’d gone back to her house to pack into the minivan with the rest.
“Did everyone pack more than me?” I asked.
My bag looked pitiful and lonely sitting next to the others.
“Not everyone is as allergic as you to dressing up.”
I scowled at Caroline. “I dress up.”
She smirked. “When other people don’t make you?”
Now that she said that, I realized I did have a habit of showing up and then being given clothes to change into.
In my defense, though, who kept elaborate gowns on hand for cocktail parties?
“I dress nice when I go on dates with Liam,” I said defensively.
“Leather jackets and jeans don’t count.”
“Why not?”
I thought I looked good in them. Liam certainly appreciated taking them off me.
Caroline shook her head, a smile tugging at her lips as Connor walked up and tossed his bag in beside mine. “It’s not a bad thing, Aileen. We just have different ideas of fancy. For you, that involves putting on makeup and doing something with your hair and maybe wearing a tight t-shirt. For Deborah and I, it’s just a little more elaborate.” She shot me a teasing wink. “In fact, I kind of like that part of you.”
I frowned as she sashayed around the side of the vehicle, climbing into the back after Deborah.
With a shake of my head, I glanced up at Connor. “You still mad at me?”
I’d been right that he hadn’t taken the news of our future Friday night plans well; I just hoped he wouldn’t stay mad until I could figure out a way to get out of them. A wall had slammed down and he’d refused to speak to me, just turned and stalked to his room to start packing.
“It is not you I am angry with,” Connor said in that overly controlled voice that I had a feeling he’d picked up from his father. It was always surprising how similar they were, despite the barrier between them. “It is the situation I despise. I do not enjoy having parameters placed around me that force my hand. He knows this.”
“Have you ever considered your insistence on avoiding him is why he does things like this?” I pointed out carefully.
As much as I understood what Connor was saying, I could also see things from Thomas’s perspective. He was a father trying tomake amends with a son who could barely stand to be in the same space as him.
“The fact you stayed in the area after being freed from the stag’s form says a lot, but it’s hard to fix what’s broken if you never talk to each other.”
I thought Connor wanted to reconcile. Otherwise, he would have disappeared when I broke the enthrallment over him. He just didn’t know how. The wrongs and hurt feelings that had built up between he and Thomas over the centuries weren’t easily bridged. Both were too stubborn to give in.
Another thing they had in common.
“Like you did with your family?”
Low blow.
“Our circumstances were different. I stayed away so they didn’t get swept into this world. Then they got pulled into it anyway.”
Technically my dad had always been in it, unbeknownst to me, but that was a whole other thing.
I punched him in the shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’ll see what I can do to fix it. If worse comes to worst, I’ll say he made the deal with me and you’re under no obligation to fulfill it.”
Connor trailed behind me as I headed toward the driver’s seat. “That will not work. I’m a member of your house. Any agreement you make applies to me as well. Others will judge you for not being able to control your members.”
“When have I ever cared what other vampires thought?”
