Brendan chuckled.
She explained how she saw him and, when he lied about where he was, she guessed he might be shopping for Valentine’s. ‘I didn’t want to be caught out as a neglectful girlfriend if you bought me a present,’ she said.
‘I know you’re not into the cheesy pink hearts stuff, but I wanted to get you something,’ Brendan said, looking embarrassed. ‘Especially because you’re gone the whole week of Valentine’s.’
Ivy felt her heart warm up. ‘Even though I made a complete bunny of myself in there, is the offer still open?’
Brendan nodded.
‘Because that lapis lazuli necklace was killer.’
Brendan grinned and let a bunch of daisy-shaped beads clatter into their slot. ‘Just promise me you’ll give up on the spy game,’ he said, smiling. ‘You’re not very good at it.’
Ivy nodded gratefully. ‘I promise.’
Maybe Valentine’s isn’t so cheesy after all, Ivy thought.
Olivia was packing. Six casual outfits for the trip to Transylvania lay spread out on her four-poster bed, with her more formal outfits hanging from the antique full-length mirror in the corner.
‘Is that enough?’ she asked herself. ‘Or one more skirt?’
Something small and white flew through her bedroom door and landed on her baby-blue pea coat. Olivia picked up the papery globe. It was a clove of garlic.
Mrs Abbott poked her head through the doorway with a silly grin on her face. ‘You’ll need that to fight off all the vampires in Transylvania,’ she said.
Olivia forced herself to smile. ‘Ha ha!’ she replied weakly. Her adoptive mom and dad had no idea about her biological family’s unusual eating habits and preference for sleeping in coffins. That was the First Law of the Night: no one could find out vampires really existed. Olivia was a rare human exception, and she was certain her mother wouldn’t let her get within a mile of Transylvania if she knew the truth.
‘Can I come in, honey?’ Mrs Abbott asked.
‘Sure,’ Olivia said, tossing back the clove of garlic and sorting through her accessories. ‘If you promise not to comment on the state of my room.’
‘I just wanted to say again that we’re so glad you’ve found your biological family.’ Olivia heard her mom’s voice crack. She glanced up and noticed that her mom had tears in her eyes. ‘Your dad and I are completely supportive of this trip you’re taking.’
Olivia gave her mom a big hug. ‘You and Dad are my parents, and Grammy and Pops are the best grandparents a girl could have.’ She didn’t want anyone in her family thinking she was trying to replace them. She’d already figured out how to avoid the confusion of having two dads. Her dad, the one who’d raised her from a baby was ‘Dad’, while her biological dad was ‘Bio-dad’. ‘I just want to find out more about where I came from.’
‘I know, sweetie.’ Olivia’s mom sat on the bed. ‘Now, close your eyes.’
‘Um, OK.’ She closed her eyes and a moment later felt cool metal on her palm.
Olivia squinted from behind her eyelashes and squealed. It was a slim-line pink cell phone. Super pink.
‘You’re the best, Mom.’ Olivia hugged her again.
When they finally broke apart, Mrs Abbott said, ‘We bought international texting, so you can text us anytime you want to.’
‘I will every night,’ Olivia promised.
There was the sudden ring of an incoming call. Olivia jumped with fright and the mobile phone flew up into the air. She only just managed to catch it before it hit the side of her vanity table.
Cheerleading agility 1, over-active imagination 0, Olivia thought.
Olivia looked down at her shiny new present, amazed that anyone could have the new number already. But it was her bedroom phone that was ringing.
‘Hello?’ Olivia said, as her mom gave a little wave and left her to her privacy.
‘T-minus twelve hours,’ Ivy said.
‘I know,’ Olivia replied. ‘I’m almost done packing. How’s your, um, backside?’