Liz was meeting us in Edinburgh. She’d been spending a lot of time there lately, as she and Joseph were now an official item. The rest of the party was waiting for us at the castle that served as the VGO headquarters. The VGO had gone all out for the party, according to the text Liz had sent me, and they’d even decorated a baby room for Andrew for the three days we were going to be there.
I’d worried that Liz would be offended by our choice of godparents—that maybe she’d assumed that I’d naturally pick her, with her being my best friend. Liz, in true Liz nature, had understood. She assured me she’d love and protect Andrew, no matter what. Besides the obvious reason that Jerry and Tim were kind and decent people, Robert and I had selected them because we wanted to ensure that Andrew would still have human parents in his life, should anything ever happen to me. Jerry and Tim had applied for adoption themselves, but red tape was holding them up. They’d babysat for Andrew oodles of times and were so good with him.
Everyone was happy. Which made me happy.
35
Ifelt like a rock star when we arrived at Andrew’s party.
My jaw dropped open at the spectacle. It seemed the VGO had invited every important vampire they knew. There had to be hundreds of vamps in attendance.
After we’d said our hellos and made a quick visit to our room, Joseph pulled me aside, looking nervous. “I do hope you’re happy with the animal theme. If you aren’t, it’s my fault. I’m the one who picked it.”
I shook my head and gushed, “Are you kidding? It’s absolutely perfect!”
Astonished, I gazed around the castle, which was decorated in a kind of zoo / safari theme. They’d hired animal handlers, who walked through the room with various exotic creatures: striking rainbow birds, lemon-colored snakes, tarantulas, large wild cats, and even a couple lemurs. The handlers wore matching tan expedition outfits, net hats included.
“Liz told me Andrew’s an animal lover, so I donated to the zoo here in town on behalf of the VGO. They showed their gratitude by offering to exhibit a few of their critters.”
That must have been some donation, I thought.
I clapped my hands together. “I love the cake. It’s so cute!” And big enough to feed an army, though there were few humans present. It had several tiers like a wedding cake, but the fondant icing had been tinted to look like animal skins: zebra stripes on the bottom, leopard spots in the middle, and crocodile scales on the top. Perched at the very tip was a cartoony giraffe; it sat back on its rear playfully, its long legs splayed out in front. It even had its little tongue sticking out and one ear cocked.
Taking in the lush greenery that had been placed throughout the room, I asked, “How in the world did you get potted palm trees in Edinburgh—in the middle of winter? And ferns? And coconuts? It’s snowing outside!”
“We have our ways,” Joseph said cryptically.
I gestured at the vampire band that played an upbeat reggae song. “They’re wonderful! Andrew seems to love them, too.”
Emi, a Japanese vamp who’d used my blood to go on a human vacation in Majorca, was holding my son. He giggled as they danced along to the music. Thankfully, the band was mindful that they were performing for a baby’s party. I’d been worried that the music would be too loud when they first started up, but they were playing softly enough that it was enjoyable.
“Look at Andrew, clapping along. Your boy is so very sweet, and he looks just like you. He’s going to besucha heartbreaker.” Joseph grinned. “You’re going to be fighting the ladies off with a stick.”
“Andrew isn’t allowed to date until he’s thirty,” I joked. “Until then he has to stay home with his mamma.”
“You let me know how that works out. We flew the band in from Jamaica, especially for the party. They’re friends of Linus’s.”
“Remind me who Linus is.”
“He’s over there,” Joseph said, pointing to an older man with dreadlocks down to his waist.
“Oh, yes. I remember him being nice. And, look, he even wore more clothes for the occasion.” Last time I’d seen him, he wore a vest with no shirt and black leather pants. He was still dressed like a rocker tonight, in platform boots and shiny skintight leggings that laced up the sides, but he wore an actual shirt. It was sheer and had a skull hand-painted on it, but it still counted.
“So, listen, Olivia, there’s something I want to talk to you about.”
I eyed Joseph suspiciously. “Uh-oh. You look serious. You aren’t going to ask me for more of my blood, are you?”
Joseph laughed. “No, it’s nothing like that.” He craned his neck and located Liz on the other side of the room, wiggling his brows at her. She blew him a kiss and then turned back to her conversation with Robert.
“That’s a relief. I’d hate to have to stake you at my son’s birthday party.” I winked.
“I need to show you something, but I don’t want you to freak out or make a commotion.”
“Okay, but it better not be one of those tarantulas.”
“Err, no, it’s definitely not a tarantula.” Joseph looked for Liz again, her back now turned to us. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small red velvet box.
“Oh my God!” I squealed.
