How to Rattle an Undead Couple - Hailey Edwards Page 0,7
real bra and wiggle into actual pants to make it happen.
Two
A boy.
A son.
The party blurred in Linus’s mind, all except for the moment when Grier sliced into the cake to discover their child’s gender. The news had tasted bittersweet. He’d had his heart set on a daughter, an heiress for the Woolworth line, but…a boy. A bigger surprise than the simple cake had promised for certain. Not good or bad, but different from what he had expected given the probabilities and his own expectations.
A son.
His mother would be thrilled. She had always preferred boys.
The pang that struck him glanced off his heart. He couldn’t afford to show his worry, not when these moments were being documented for some magazine or another, and not when Woolworth House teemed with guests invited by his mother to witness this auspicious occasion, and who might begin to press harder about why she herself wasn’t present if they noticed his distraction.
Closing his eyes, he gave himself a moment alone to gather his thoughts in the quiet parlor Maud had fashioned into an office before returning to the party. The door opened and then shut, but he guessed the intruder before he saw him.
“Congratulations.” Hood clasped him on the back. “Boys are fun.”
“You have two daughters,” Linus reminded him. “You love girls.”
“I do.” He beamed then released him. “I’m trying to ease the sting here.”
Worry lanced through him that Grier might have noticed his confliction too. “Am I that transparent?”
“Eva idolizes you, and you’re Kaleigh’s favorite barf rag.” He leaned against the desk. “They’re your only experience with kids, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then there you go.” He smiled again, softer this time. “You prefer logic and order. You were hoping for the known versus the unknown. In your shoes, I would have felt the same.” He rubbed his jaw. “There are Society expectations too. Girls inherit the title, the money, the family holdings.”
Only rich and influential families could afford to let their sons inherit. Their boy was secure in his place in the world, regardless of whether they had a daughter later or not. And that had been the point Hood was making.
“Thank you,” he told his friend. “Ours is a dangerous world, and children aren’t spared from it.”
“Believe me.” Hood set his jaw. “I’m aware.”
Eva’s accelerated growth rate had made her a pariah in some circles. There were those in the pack who shunned her, even with her mother as the alpha.
“Oscar will be thrilled,” Linus said to distract Hood from his worries for Eva. “We’ll have to build a new range, maybe expand the obstacle course, once our son is old enough to appreciate the finer points of settling his differences with foam darts.”
“The old one was getting stale anyway.” He chuckled. “That reminds me— Where is Corbin?”
Corbin Theroux was a Deathless vampire. As Grier’s only progeny, he was welcome at Woolworth House any time he visited Savannah. A sentinel by trade, he was often deployed on high-risk missions due to his unparalleled healing abilities giving him a slightly inaccurate reputation for indestructability.
He was also Oscar’s honorary big brother and responsible for introducing them all to the world of pump-action foam dart guns.
“We sent him an invitation via Boaz a month ago. We assumed he would have better contacts to get it where it needed to go.” Linus cast another glance at the door. “He didn’t RSVP, and he’s not here tonight, but he’s got time.”
The party for family and friends wasn’t until next week, but Corbin often made use of his room when he was in town to recharge between missions. Usually, he would have reached out to confirm by now.
“Pity.” Hood’s lips pulled to one side. “I planned on having a chat with him.”
“Oh?”
“Did Lethe tell you she found a picture of a boy in Eva’s room?” He gave up on trying to hide a full-on grimace. “It was Corbin.”
“He’s not a boy,” Linus pointed out. “He died in his early twenties.”
“That makes it worse.” Hood exhaled through his nose. “He won’t age, and he won’t change. That’s appealing to a girl who’s in a constant state of flux.”
“I see.” Linus raked his fingers through his hair. “I’ll talk to him, let him know to be gentle with Eva.”
“I would appreciate it.” Hood held up his hands. “I like Corbin, I do, but finding out my little diva has a crush on him makes me want to disembowel him.”
“Grier would take exception to that,” Linus warned him. “I would recommend you restrain those urges.”
The vampire