Yes, one-on-one was definitely the wrongchoice, but a roomful of Byrnes wasn’t going to be any easier.Running a hand through his hair, he reminded himself that he had tosee his family. He couldn’t run away again. If he didn’t saygoodbye to them now, he might not have another chance.
He didn’t know how to explain his leaving,and he certainly couldn’t explain his return, so he shrugged andshoved his hands back into his pockets. “I wanted to see theworld.”
“And you did.”
“Most of it. I’ve even been toAntarctica.”
Her eyes widened, and some of her irritationeased as excitement replaced it. “Did you see penguins?”
The question and hopefulness in her gaze werethat of the girl he left behind. That girl had watched a movieabout a dancing penguin five thousand times like it was the firsttimeeverytime. The girl who was so adventurous she’d doanything her brothers dared her to do. The one who would sing themost beautiful songs while Doug played the piano.
Thinking of Doug caused his chest toconstrict, and for a minute, he couldn’t breathe. Losing one of hisadopted uncles to the same island that nearly claimed Aida’s lifewas still a knife to his chest. The hole that knife created wouldnever fully heal.
Unwilling to focus on the past, he shiftedhis attention back to Cassidy. “I saw penguins. I held one of theirbabies.”
“That’s awesome!” she exclaimed. “Now, I’mjealous.”
“How are things going in the city?” heasked.
“I like it here, and I get to sing to a lotmore people than I ever could in Maine. I won’t ever be achart-topper or on Broadway, but I love the audience and thepeople. Everything is so much more exciting here.”
The exhilaration in her voice made himrealize their mom’s hope of having the twins return home in acouple of years was probably not going to happen. Cassidy had flownthe nest, and this baby bird showed no signs of returning any timesoon.
“I’m not so sure you won’t be in the topforty.”
Her wistful gaze went to the door behind him.“We both know why that could never happen.”
Yes, they did. They could blend in withhumans and avoid drawing attention to themselves in the humanworld, but a vampire becoming a star would be an entirely differentball game. The media alone would be a nightmare to navigate.
If she were human, Cassidy would already beon Broadway or touring the world; instead, she sang in a bar.
“Besides,” she said as she rose from thetable, “there’s alotof talent out there.”
“None as talented as you, I’m sure.”
“I’m staying mad at you for a little while,so you can quit kissing my ass.”
He laughed as he leaned against the doorframeand pulled his hands from his pockets.
CHAPTER 3
“How’s Kyle?” he asked.
“He’s Kyle,” she said with a smile. “But helikes it here too.”
Julian was sure he did; the city provided alot of opportunities to meet new women, and before Julian left,Kyle was making his way through the girls in their school. Some ofthose girls were a few years older than him.
“Have you two had any problems here?” heasked.
“You mean like what you encountered lastnight?”
“Yes.”
“No.” She tilted her head to the side andstared out the door as if she were listening before looking to himagain. “The occasional vamp wanders in, but no Savages.”
“Hmm,” Julian said as he rubbed at hisbeard.
“It seems you were the lucky one,” she saidwith a smile. “You know about Willow, right?”
