The words had been a bare whisper, and Greg couldn't possibly have heard, but Lissianna felt herself blush as her cousins turned to eye her with amusement. Their hearing was as good as hers and they had, of course, heard the teasing comment.
"Are you sure we should do this? 1 don't think Mother and Aunt Marguerite are going to be too happy about our taking him out," Elspeth suggested.
"Then they should have thought to pick up some food for him," Lissianna said grimly. "Besides, they'll never know we went. We'll be back long before they're awake."
Chapter 11
"She's up!"
Everyone in the van jumped as Vicki screeched those words, including Thomas, who was startled into slamming on the brakes, sending them all jerking in their seats.
"Geez," Lissianna muttered, grateful for the seat belt she wore.
"Vicki, love," Thomas called out with false cheer as lie finished parking. "If you ever do that again while I'm driving, I'll ring your scrawny little neck."
"Sorry, Thomas." The girl didn't sound very apologetic. "I was just startled to see Aunt Marguerite waiting for us. I mean, Lissianna figured we'd be back before everyone else was awake, but Aunt Marguerite's up."
"And boy does she look mad," Juli commented.
Lissianna had to agree. Her mother did indeed look mad, standing in the open door between the house and garage. In fact, she looked just as mad today as she had yesterday, despite the fact that she must see Greg was there in the van with them.
He was in the front passenger seat again at Thomas's instruction. The boys, he insisted, should ride up front. A totally sexist decision as Juli had complained, but Lissianna hadn't minded, it told her that Thomas liked the other man. For some reason that pleased her.
"Okay." Thomas turned off the van engine and unbuckled his seat belt. "Act casual. There's no reason for Aunt Marguerite to be angry. Just wave at her and smile, then we unload the groceries and go in together. Got it?"
"Got it," everyone answered, and began to move. The van was immediately tilled with sound as the doors opened and everyone scrambled out.
"Thank you," Lissianna murmured, as Greg took her hand to help her disembark. He gave her fingers a light squeeze, then turned to help the next person as she followed Mirabeau to the back of the van. She cast a hopeful sideways glance toward the door between the garage and house as she walked, only to find that her mother was still there. Lissianna sighed, sorry they'd had to return. The last couple of hours had been so relaxed and fun with everyone joking and laughing. Greg had proven himself to be very much a gentleman when he wasn't tied down to a bed. At the family-run restaurant where Thomas had taken them for their meal, Greg had held doors and pulled out chairs with an old-world charm Lissianna found missing in most of today's men.
Juli. Vicki, and Greg were the only ones who had eaten. The others had merely sipped coffee or juice and watched with amusement as the three gobbled down full breakfasts as if they'd been fasting for days.
Afterward they'd hit the grocery store. The moment they were inside, the twins had begun to argue over who should get to push the shopping cart. Greg had settled the dispute by suggesting he should manage it, leaving them both free to choose what to put in. Not that he hadn't thrown in several choices himself; the man had as bad a sweet tooth as the twins. In the end, the shopping cart had been full of little more than junk food. There were sweets, salty options, frozen and ready-made foods like hot dogs and pizza, and three different kinds of pop. From the looks of it Greg and the girls thought they were going to be holding a monthlong pajama party.
"Geez," Lissianna murmured, as she and Mirabeau reached the back of the van just as Thomas opened the double doors to reveal the groceries inside. "I can't believe we bought so many groceries. Who's going to eat all this?"
"You'd think we were staying a month, wouldn't you?" Elspeth asked with amusement, as she and the others straggled up.
"It isn't that much," Vicki protested.
"There is enough food here to feed a family of ten," Mirabeau said.
"Or two growing girls and one big strong mortal with a hearty appetite," Juli countered.
"Two growing girls and one big strong mortal with a hearty appetite for junk food," Jeanne Louise said dubiously, then glanced at Greg. "I can understand the girls eating this way, they're teenagers, but surely you don't eat like this at home?"
"No," he admitted with a grin. "I eat healthy stuff: fruit, veggies, rice, and grilled chicken." He leaned into the van to grab two of the three cases of pop, waiting for Thomas to grab the last one before using an elbow to push one of the back doors closed as he added, "But I'm on vacation this week, so I thought I'd be bad. Next week I'll go back to healthy food and exercise."
"You mortals." Thomas chuckled as he nudged the second door closed. "You spend one or two weeks a year on vacation eating everything you like, then fifty weeks of the year repenting. It must be a drag."
"Hmm." Greg's mouth twisted as the group reluctantly started toward the door, where Marguerite waited. "I suppose you guys don't have to worry about weight with a diet of blood, but I think I'll stick with Fritos and pizza."
Lissianna was still smiling at his comment as they reached her mother. Her smile quickly faded, and she shifted uncomfortably as she noted her grim expression.
"Mom," she greeted her with a nod. "You're up early."
"Shopping?" Marguerite asked archly, then gestured for Lissianna to follow and moved halfway back across the garage, passing two cars and reaching her sports car before turning to face her.
"I know," Lissianna said quickly. "You're upset that we took Greg shopping, but there was no food in the house, and he and the twins were starved. And," she added, "he behaved perfectly the whole time. He didn't try to escape or convince us to take him home again or anything." Lissianna paused to take a breath, then added, "Really, Mom, you can't just keep the man tied up in bed all the time. This is kidnapping. You were supposed to wipe his memory, not bring him back here."