“Well,” she said quietly as they neared the hall’s covered entrance, where a few limousines had parked on either side. “Thanks.”
“So I’m guessing Philippa’s your go-to stylist.”
She gave a short laugh, and the motion jogged his arm, which suddenly felt electrified. “That’s actually how we met, how the whole friend group got started. Then Pippa brought Mackey, who brought Ryker, who of course brought Leslie. I brought Nova, who brought Logan.”
“And how long did those connections take?”
“Other than Leslie, it took three years to build out the group.”
At the double doors, Tai gave both their names to the hostess, who led them to their assigned seats at one of the tables. He knew a few of their table mates through work, and when he pulled out Claire’s chair for her, everyone’s interest homed in on her with obvious energy. Claire situated her gown around her as she sat, with the ease of a princess who lived in crepe and taffeta. Tai smiled down at her, and she returned it as if she really meant it.
They were seated with mostly humans, but the woman who most closely watched Claire sip from her water glass was a long-time acquaintance who never failed to seek him out at these events. Darlene was also the only other vampire at their table.
“Nice to see you, Tai,” she said with a look so pointed even a few of the humans noticed. “And Tai’s date, about whom I know absolutely nothing for some strange reason.”
Claire set her glass aside. “I’m Claire Vanderlaan, a friend of Tai’s. We’re not dating, so there’s not much to tell.”
“Claire and I met a few years ago,” Tai said, not wanting to leave her to an interrogation alone. “Recently decided to get reacquainted.”
True to form, Darlene eyed him with something like a challenge before she refocused on Claire. “It’s great to meet you, Claire. I’m Darlene Gable. I work PR for the biggest real estate agency in Virginia, and my boss is really passionate about philanthropy to non-profits, so Tai and I run into each other fairly often.”
“What sort of things are you looking for at one of these events?”
“We’ve been donating to the Josie Strong Foundation for about a year now, so tonight I’m here for updates on their research.”
They talked a mix of statistics and science, personal stories, and even a smattering of politics—unavoidable in Tai’s work, though he’d always hated that even money spent for medical research held a political element. Claire asked solid questions and contributed thoughtful opinions, despite her unfamiliarity with the depth of the issues. Tai found himself talking less than usual so he could listen to her.
But he was also in work mode. If he had the power to “charm,” work was where he used it. He shared and informed and encouraged the interest of everyone at the table until dinner was served. More than once, he caught Claire watching him with something close to fascination.
Then the conversation waned for a few minutes as everyone dug into delicious sirloin, baked potatoes, and asparagus.
“Hey, I’ve got a question for y’all vampires,” announced Dylan Clarke, one of the humans at the table whom Tai hadn’t met before. He was representing one of their smaller donors, but Tai had made sure to introduce himself regardless. Everyone got the same attention and respect from the director of fundraising.
Claire’s left eyebrow tipped upward in a clear prologue to a side-eye, maybe due to the man’s grin, which bordered on a leer.
The man poked his fork at his steak. “If you didn’t have to be civilized for the humans, would you eat your sirloin raw?” He bared his teeth at them in what was probably supposed to look like a fanged grin.
Darlene rolled her eyes, and Claire gave an exaggerated, human-sounding sigh.
“Oh, come on, it was funny,” Dylan said.
“Why doyouget to decide a joke aboutmeis funny?” Claire said. “Shouldn’t I be the one to decide that?”
He spluttered like a cartoon character. “You don’t have to get all bent out of shape over a joke.”
“Actually,” Darlene said, “youdidn’t have to say it, but you chose to. Now we get to choose our response. See how that works?”
Dylan rolled his eyes in Tai’s direction. “Women, am I right?”
“No,” Tai said, “you’re completely wrong.”
The man’s mouth fell open. He cast his gaze around the table to his fellow humans as a last-ditch bid for support, but not a single one of them smiled.
“Dude, it was a jerk thing to say,” one of the other men said. “Just own it.”
Dylan huffed and stared down at his plate.
The silence around the table was stiff, and Tai sought some way to dispel it. Claire might have overstated his “super-socializing” skill, but it was part of his job to ensure people feltseen and comfortable. He had to smooth what Dylan’s stupidity had ruffled. At last he decided on the direct approach.
