“Yes, the one and only.”
“Is this a date?” I leaned against the counter, grinning around the apple. “Go Mom.”
My mother blushed—actually blushed. “It’s just coffee. Not a date.”
That explained why she kept picking out dresses today, going as far as making me choose at least two of the pretty things from her closet. “Well, I hope you have fun on your not a date, but sounds like a date.” Smiling, she chattered on about her evening plans and then about a patient she had yesterday. Before she left to get ready, she brought me a couple of dresses she’d found in the back of her closet. “Well, if you go out tonight, why don’t you wear one of these? You’ll look pretty in them. They always looked too young for me to wear.” My nose scrunched. “Mom, I’m not the one who has a date tonight.”
She scoffed. “I don’t either.”
“Whatever!” I yelled as she raced up the stairs.
It didn’t take her long to get ready and leave. Since it wasn’t technically a date, she was meeting him at a little diner in town. I hoped she had a good time; she deserved to have fun. Since Dad had passed away, I don’t think she had even looked twice at a guy. Which meant Mr. Michaels must be special.
Other than Dee mentioning that we should get together, there hadn’t been any plans for the night. I knew Daemon was keeping an eye on me from next door all day, but I’d refused to let him hover at my house. They’d told me the Arum were stronger at night and preferred to attack then. I felt pretty safe during the day. I’d wanted to spend a normal day of reading and blogging and hanging out with my mom.
But it was strange going about normal stuff after such a huge secret. I felt like they should be out stopping accidents, curing world hunger, and saving kittens caught in trees.
Tossing the apple core in the garbage, I fiddled with the ring on my finger as I looked over the dresses on the table. I wouldn’t be wearing them on a date anytime soon.
A sharp knock on the back door jarred me out of my thoughts. I went to the door and Daemon stood there. Even dressed in casual jeans and a plain white shirt that strained against his upper body, he looked utterly magnificent. It was unsettling. And what was even more unnerving was the way he stood there and stared at me. His brilliant jade gaze was intense and consuming.
“Hey?” I said.
He nodded, giving me no clue what kind of mood he was in.
Oh b oy. “Um, do you want to come in?”
He shook his head. “No, I thought maybe we could go do something.”
“Do something?”
Amusement flashed in his eyes. “Yeah. Unless you have a review to post or a garden that needs tending.”
“Ha. Ha.” I started to shut the door in his face.
He threw his hand out, easily stopping it without touching it. “Okay. Let me try that again. Would you like to do something with me?”
Not really, but I was curious. And a part of me was beginning to understand why Daemon was so standoffish. Maybe—just maybe—we could do this without wanting to kill one another. “Where did you have in mind?” Daemon pushed away from the house and shrugged. “Let’s go to the lake.”
“I’ll check the road before I cross this time.” I followed him, avoiding his amused look. I shoved my hands in the pockets of my shorts and decided to not beat around the bush. “You’re not taking me out in the woods because you changed your mind and decided your secret is not safe with me, are you?” Daemon busted out laughing. “You’re very paranoid.”
I snorted. “Okay, that is coming from an alien who apparently can toss me into the sky without touching me.”
“You haven’t locked yourself in any rooms or rocked in any corners, right?”
I rolled my eyes and began walking again. “No Daemon, but thanks for making sure I’m mentally sound and all.”
“Hey.” He threw up his hands. “I need to make sure you aren’t going to lose it and potentially tell the entire town what we are.”
“I don’t think you need to worry about that for several reasons,” I replied dryly.
Daemon gave me a pointed look. “You know how many people we’ve been close to? I mean, really close to?”
I made a face. It wasn’t hard to imagine what he meant. Oddly, I found myself not liking those images.
His chuckle was deep and throaty. “Then one little girl goes and exposes us. Can you see how hard that is for me to…trust?”
“I’m not a little girl, but if I could go back in time and do it all over I wouldn’t have stepped out in front of that truck.”
“Well that is good to know,” he responded.
“But I don’t regret finding out the truth. It explains so much. Wait, can you go back in time?” I asked seriously. The possibility hadn’t crossed my mind before but now I honestly wondered.
Daemon sighed and shook his head. “We can manipulate time, yes. But it’s not something we’d do, and only going forward. At least I’ve never heard of anyone being able to bend time to the past.” My eyes felt like they were going to pop out. “Jesus, you guys make Superman look lame.”
He smiled as he dipped his head down to avoid a low-hanging branch. “Well, I’m not telling you what our kryptonite is.”
“Can I ask you a question?” I asked after a couple of moments of us walking along the leaf-covered trail. When he nodded, I took a deep breath. “The Bethany girl that disappeared—she was involved with Dawson, right?” He cut me a sharp sidelong glance. “Yes.”