Reign of Night (Thorne Hill #7) - Emily Goodwin Page 0,39

fact that he’s nearly two thousand years old is alluring, drawing you in before you realize why.

I order sparkling cranberry juice instead of wine and look at the appetizer menu, needing Lucas to translate it for me. He leans in, taking both my hands in his.

“Order for me,” I tell him, lacing our fingers together. “I’ll butcher whatever I try to say.”

“What do you want?”

“Surprise me again. But if it has a lot of carbs and cheese, I’m sure I’ll love it.”

“Carbs,” Lucas echoes and looks at the menu. It hits me that he has no idea what food are high in carbs, and the last time he ate human food, people probably didn’t know about carbs and proteins and eating specific amounts of either.

“Pasta,” I say with a laugh. “And bread. Those are carbs.”

“So you’ll like the croque monsieur, then. It’s a pastry with cheese.”

“Heck yes. I want that. And please tell me it serves two so I can eat both my share and yours. And don’t tell me how eating for two isn’t really eating for two. I know, but I really want cheesy bread now.”

Lucas’s lips curve into a smile, and he leans over the table, going in for a kiss. Then he suddenly stops, jerking his head to the side. Nostrils flaring, he smells them the moment before I see them, but fuck, there they are: Nancy and William Martin.

Chapter 11

My fingers tighten around Lucas’s hand, and I shift my eyes from him to the Martins and back again. It’s then I know I have a decision to make, one that will change the course of the evening. Lucas and I are out together, having a good time and excitedly talking about the future and not demons. Lucas put thought into our date tonight, and I need a fucking night off.

The last time I saw Nancy was at Thorne Hill’s trick-or-treating event, when she tagged along with Abby and Penny saying she didn’t want to miss her granddaughter’s first time trick-or-treating. I’m sure that was true, but I’m also sure another part was her wanting to come and creep on me. And I know that’s the only reason my asshole former brother showed up. I completely ignored Nancy that night, and it felt good. I didn’t waste my time engaging with her or Scott. I focused on the night and had a nice time.

Well, until a scrapper demon ran into the road and dented my poor Jeep.

And William…I haven’t seen him since I accidentally transfigured Scott into a cat, and I still regret not taking him to the vet to get neutered. Seeing him used to make me crippled with anxiety. I’d feel like that little girl once again, scared and helpless, crying in the waiting room of what I was told was a doctor’s office. I knew it then, even though I was young, and didn’t want to believe it.

Because parents are supposed to love their children.

The hostess, who was leading Nancy and William to their table, slows and looks over her shoulder to see why they stopped following her. It’s then I realize they’re with another couple, and I vaguely recognize the man as one of William’s politician friends. By the way he’s staring at me, he remembers exactly who I am. What story did William tell him? I had to be locked away because I was crazy and dangerous? I was so overcome with guilt I begged—at eight years old—to be allowed to go on mission trips, helping the helpless?

I’m still squeezing Lucas’s hands, and I know he’s waiting for me to lead how this encounter is going to go. If left up to him, he’d spring up, grab William by the throat, and gnash his fangs in his face, telling him that the only reason he’s not bleeding to death on the floor is because I don’t want to deal with having to hide another body.

“Callie,” Nancy says, eyes nervously shifting from me to Lucas and back again, as she comes to a stop. William reaches for her hand to pull her along, but she snatches it back. I can feel Lucas’s eyes on me now, waiting for me to give him the slightest hint at how I want this to play out, and my petty and impulsive side is begging to come out.

“You look nice,” Nancy goes on.

“Oh, you know each other? Would you like to see if we can find a table nearby?” the hostess asks, trying hard to keep