I cleared my throat. “Is Carl also a vampire?” It still felt strange discussing immortals in casual conversation, like I should have concluded the statement withjust kidding!
“Oh, no. Carl is about as human as they come. Right, Carl?”
Carl met my gaze in the rearview mirror. The corners of his eyes crinkled as he grinned. “And Robert is about asvampireas they come. Even after forty-odd years of being at his service, I still catch him ogling my neck. He’s the reason I started wearing collared shirts.”
I laughed. What a joker Carl was.
At least, Ihopedhe was joking.
“I’ll give you two some privacy,” Carl said, punching a button that raised the center window divider
“He’s funny.” Their banter had relaxed me. The champagne wasn’t hurting, either.
“Yes. He keeps me on my toes.” Robert leaned back in his seat, meeting my eyes. “So, how did a girl like you come to be a vampire decoy?”
“Don’t you already know?”
His eyebrows knitted together. “Why would I be privy to your background?”
“I thought you could maybe read my mind?” I blushed as it dawned on me that he’d have heard a lot more inside my brain than just my background. How many dirty thoughts had I had about him?
He smiled at my assumption. “Unfortunately, I cannot. Vampirism alters everyone differently. Only a small percentage of us can read minds. Many don’t take onanygifts during the changeover, then there are others who receive gifts that are seemingly pointless.”
“A pointless vampire gift?”
“For example, I have a friend in Italy who acquired the ability to wilt flowers just by looking at them. He can wilt nothing else, only flowers. It’s a party trick at best.”
“That’s wild,” I said. “What are some traits thataren’tpointless?”
“Other than reading minds?”
“Yes, a different talent. Something useful.”
He rubbed his chin. “Well, there’s Michael, who you obviously know. Some say he’s able to see the future.”
“What? That’s insane! That’s way cooler than being able to read minds.”
“He can’t see the future in its entirety, though. Only bits and pieces.” Robert sounded almost jealous.
“Do his visions come true?”
“Sure,” he answered with a nod. “But his prophecies are general. Vague predictions.”
“So, no winning the lottery for Michael, then?”
Robert chuckled. “It doesn’t work that way, unfortunately. I haven’t talked to him about it much. Our gifts aren’t exactly public knowledge.”
“I bet—” I managed to bite my tongue before finishing.I bet Marlena’s vampire strength is being bitchy. To play it off, I coughed. “And you, do you have a gift?”
Slyly, he said, “I should tell you, Olivia, I can hypnotize you with my voice.” He raised his hands and wiggled his fingers at me.
“No! You can?”
He snickered. “Mortals.”
I was confused. While Erika had been accurate describing Robert as “hot with a capital H,” she’d been way off by making him sound like a world-class stick in the mud. Maybe he just didn’t like Erika. But, no, she’d said that he’d been morose with other decoys, too.
“Please, continue,” he smiled. “You were telling me how you came to work for Dignitary.”
