"And I really, really like Marquis," Deva confessed, finally letting her guard down. "I mean, he's a doctor, the good kind. The ones who really care about their patients. And a warlock, so I don't even have to explain all the witchy stuff. I'm just scared to get my hopes up."
I reached over and squeezed her hand. "You know, it's okay to get your hopes up. Especially because if they happen to fall, we'll be here to pick them right back up."
She squeezed my hand back. "I know. But thanks."
We dove into our food then, keeping our conversation light. Laughing. Discussing dating at our age, and the changes, and also what our kids were up to. We tried not to just talk about our kids all the time, because we knew darn well that could get old, but in moments like this, it was nice. Some of our kids were struggling a bit. But most had found happiness, one way or another, and that was every parent's goal in life. Just to have happy kids.
“Well…” I stood as soon as I finished eating, patting my finally full stomach. “I need to get home and get ready for dinner tonight.”
Deva grinned. “More time with Mr. Daniel, bear extraordinaire?”
“Oh, no.” Shoot, I’d almost forgotten to tell them. “I have to go to dinner with Vance, the vampire inspector. He wants me to try to get a read on the vampires at his dinner party. I think I’m supposed to sort of pretend I’m there with him on a date.”
"A date with a vampire?" Beth asked, lifting a brow.
"A pretend date with a vampire detective that appears to follow the rules and doesn't want to just serve me up as dinner," I corrected.
Beth didn't look like she agreed.
But Deva laughed. "Not all witches cook children in cauldrons and not all vampires are mindless monsters. So if Mr. Detective asked for Emma's help, and Daniel says he has a good reputation. I say we take this as a fun opportunity for Emma to go to dinner with some of the elite in Mystic Hollow."
"I like that," I told her. A heck of a lot better than thinking of this as a careful dance to make certain I'm not going to be eaten.
Deva’s face lit up. “Come on, Beth. Let’s pack up shop and take her shopping. She can’t go to Vance Acheron’s house without wearing a new dress.”
A new dress? Oh, yes, that would be lovely, and would take my mind off of the coming ordeal. “Let’s see if Carol can come along.”
It was settled. We were going shopping and hopefully dragging the moon-eyed Carol out with us.
ELEVEN
Emma
The silky materialof the skirt swirled around my legs, almost tickling. I couldn’t help but stare at myself in the mirror, a little awestruck.
The plum colored gown was all gauzy and flowing, but had a silky satin under layer, making me feel super fancy. The material gathered at the waist, but instead of it adding bulk the way it was positioned actually made me look leaner. The deep V-neck made my neck look long and elegant with my short hair.
It had sleeves, if you could call them that, but they were made up of the gauzy material and draped around the shoulder. It covered my upper arms, but after that the material was open and free to fall as it wished. Finally, there was a slit in the skirt which allowed for movement but stopped just above the knee so I didn't look like I was trying to dress as though I was still in my twenties.
“You look amazing,” Beth whispered as she gave my hair a final spritz with the hairspray. At this point I could probably stand in a thunderstorm and my hair wouldn't go anywhere. I appreciated it though. I was so thankful for all of them.
Deva stood to the side with a makeup brush in her hand, giving me a critical once over to make sure she didn't need to add any other touches, and Carol unplugged the curling iron. Even though my hair was short, she'd managed to make it look different from normal and had given it more volume. “I agree wholeheartedly,” Carol said.
“Now.” Deva dropped my brush into the little container on my vanity and clasped her hands together. “We’re getting out of here before Mr. Bloody shows up.” She pointed to the charcoal handbag on my nightstand. “Your purse is loaded for protection.” We’d already been over this, but they were being overly cautious, which I appreciated. “There’s a couple of small stakes. They’re harder to deal with but you’ll appreciate it if things get dicey. There’s three vials of holy water, and a silver dagger.”
Carol looked confused. “I thought silver was for shifters.”
Deva shrugged. “It’s thorough. Besides, what outfit is complete without a hidden dagger?" She shot a wink at me. Believe it or not I was actually thankful for the dagger. I knew the stakes and holy water would hurt the vampires, but the dagger could hurt anyone. "I also put in some cash and your cell phone, which is fully charged.And…” She hurried over and picked up the tiny bag. “There’s several candies labeled for their uses.”
“How’d you fit all that in there?” I gaped at the purse. It was a little fabric thing. No way all that was inside. It looked empty.
Carol chuckled. “I made it. It’s not like the one in Harry Potter or anything, but it won’t look like there’s nearly as much stuff in it.”
Deva pulled out some brightly colored candies. “This one is for confusion.” She held it out to show a big C on the silver wrapper. It was even twisted to look like the fancy ones you get at Christmas. “It’ll make anyone around you a little disoriented.”
Huh. I never would’ve thought of that.
“Healing.” She held out one with a big H on a gold wrapper. “You inspired me this afternoon, so I made this. I tested it on a paper cut and it worked but that’s all I was able to test it on. Use this only if you’re grievously injured.”
