For a couple of seconds Emmy genuinely didn’t know what he meant. Then a wave of laughter rolled through her. “For theEaster egg hunt, Karl. Not my period.”
“Oh, thank God.” Her mate collapsed backward into bed with a huge sigh of relief, then sat up again, his eyes as wide as before. “Oh no! Quick! Shower! I’ll…find you clean underwear?”
“Oh my God. You’re going to have to go to our house. Please don’t let my brothers terrorize you. Go out the B&B’s back door, our house is straight across the—no, wait, ask Mom. That’d be better. No, wait, I’ll call her.” Emmy fumbled her phone, trying to get her hands to stop shaking with adrenaline long enough to press the couple buttons it took to phone her mother. “Mom? Can you bring me clean clothes? I overslept!” Then, suddenly indignant, she added, “Why didn’t anybody wake me up to help with breakfast?”
Her mother laughed. “The entire family is home right now, baby. The other eight of us could manage breakfast without you, and believe me, weallknow you were up late.”
Emmy moaned with embarrassment as her mother’s laugh turned to a positive cackle. “I’ll bring you some clothes. Talk about room service.”
“Mooooom!” Emmy hung up and took a moment to hide her face in her hands. “I’m never going to live this down.”
“Do you mind?” Karl sounded like he really hoped she didn’t, and Emmy dropped her hands to smile goofily at him.
“I really don’t, honestly. But I have to shower now. Alone!”
“Alone,” he agreed with a grin. “Or you’ll never get to the egg hunt in time.”
Emmy swept her hair up into a bun as she scurried into his ensuite bathroom, and took the fastest shower known to human or rabbit kind. Her bunny continued to squeal,late late late oh we’re late this is terrible it’s TERRIBLEas she scrubbed down and then dried off, hurrying back into the room wrapped in a towel. “Did Mom—oh she did, thank goodness.”
There were clothes piled neatly at the end of the bed. Karl stole a kiss and went to shower while she got dressed, and somehow, thanks to manliness or something, he was out and getting dressed himself by the time she got to putting her shoes on. “It’s the hair,” he said to her astonished gaze. “It only takes two seconds to wash at this length, so I don’t have to avoid getting it wet, so it’s fast.”
“You don’t even have to be in such a hurry. I’m the dumb bunny, not you.”
“There is absolutely nothing dumb about you or your bunny,” Karl said firmly. “And there’s no way I’m missing my first actual Easter bunny at the town Easter egg hunt. And did your mom pick the mostgorgeousdress you own on purpose, or is this just your run of the mill boring clothes and I’m in for a treat every time I see you?”
Emmy spun around, making the skirt of her pastel yellow sundress whirl out. “This is her favorite dress of mine. She likes the ruffles.”
“I like all of it. You’re gorgeous. Now go, bunny, go! Oh wait, you’re late, so you can’t go over there and shift, can you? And it wouldn’t be subtle to have you just go hopping out of the house, would it?”
“It’s not quite ten, I’m not quitelate…” She was definitely late.
“What if I carried you?”
Her rabbit went from total panic to heart eyes. Emmy felt like Bugs Bunny. “Carry me?”
Carry us!her bunny agreed eagerly.Like a HERO! Then we wouldn’t be LATE!
“It’d distract from the fact that you were coming from the B&B, right? I’d be some rando bringing the Easter bunny to town and nobody would think about where you’d come from.”
Emmy threw her arms around Karl’s neck and kissed him. “That’s perfect. You’re amazing. My bunny is all for it.”
Karl looked solemnly into her eyes. “Does it promise not to kick me in the face again?”
I PROOOOMIIIIIISSSEEEE!!!!! That was an accident anyway,the rabbit added sullenly.There werealiens.
There was a helium balloon,Emmy corrected it wryly.There will bemorehelium balloons and flags and fluttering things at the egg hunt, remember?
The rabbit sniffed, clearly offended.It’s fine if Iexpectthem. I know how Easter works.
Karl was still waiting for an answer. Emmy grinned up at him. “It promises. It’s very sorry, and blames the aliens.”
He just barely managed to cover his laugh with a cough. “Aliens. Yes. They’re a big problem in Virtue?”
“Oh, you have no idea. Come on. I’ll shift downstairs, so you don’t have to carry me down. I’m a big rabbit.”
“I knoooow, and I want to cuddle you and pet you and call you George.”
Our name is notGeorge!
