The Reluctant Vampire Page 0,18

that way, but -

"Christ." He breathed with disgust. Being considered one of the girls was damned lowering.

"That guy over there likes you, Drina."

Harper raised his gaze from the menu he'd been reviewing and followed Stephanie's gesture to a table where three men in jeans and T-shirts sat. One of them, a rugged-looking fellow of twentysomething was looking their way, his eyes sliding over Drina with definite interest.

"He doesn't even know me," Drina said with amusement, not bothering to glance up from her menu.

"Okay, he thinks you're hot," Stephanie amended with exaspera on, and then taunted, "You should hear what he's thinking."

"Oh?" she asked mildly, turning the page of her menu.

"Yeah. He really likes the boots. I told you they were hot."

Harper just managed not to bend to peer under the table and get another look at the thigh-high boots. Stephanie had talked Drina into ge ng them, assuring her they would keep her warm over her jeans and be "hot" too. Drina had replaced her running shoes with them in the car on the way here. She'd lain across the backseat and kicked her legs in the air as she'd pulled them on over her ght-legged jeans in the back while he drove. She'd also switched her light coat for the much warmer long coat she'd bought and tugged on her new red hat and gloves. She was now properly attired for a Canadian winter.

"Oh, man, that's just gross," Stephanie said suddenly, and Harper glanced to the girl to see her wrinkling her nose with distaste.

Frowning, he followed her gaze to the "interested" mortal and slipped into the fellow's mind. His eyes widened incredulously at the guy's imaginings. He certainly did like the thigh-high boots. In fact, the fellow was imagining Drina in the boots and nothing else and doing things to her that . . . well, he wouldn't say they were gross, but they were disturbingly hot images and made him withdraw quickly from the guy's mind and scowl at him irritably.

"What are you going to order?" Drina asked Stephanie, no doubt to change the subject.

"A club sandwich and fries with gravy on the side," Stephanie answered promptly.

"Hmm. I guess I'll get the same," Drina decided, closing her menu.

"You eat?" Harper asked with surprise.

"On occasion," Drina said with a shrug. "Besides, we can't make Stephanie eat alone."

"No," he agreed on a murmur, lowering his gaze to his menu again and looking to see what a club sandwich was before announcing, "I'll have the same."

"So," Stephanie said once their waitress had le with their orders, "if you guys are both so old and both from Europe, how come you've never met before?"

Drina appeared surprised by the ques on and chuckled. "Swee e, Europe is a big place. I'm from Spain. Harper is from Germany." She shrugged. "It's like sugges ng someone from Oklahoma should know someone from Illinois just because they're from the United States, or that someone from BC should know someone from Ontario because they're both in Canada."

"Yeah, but you guys are immortals and as old as the hills. Don't immortals hang out together, or have a secret club, or something? You'd think you'd at least have met each other before this," she said, and then added, "Besides, I thought you guys move around every ten years or something. You haven't always lived in Spain, have you?"

"No," Drina admi ed wryly, and shrugged. "Egypt, Spain, England, and then Spain again. Mostly Spain, though."

"Why?" Stephanie asked curiously.

"My family is there," she said simply. "And un l recently, women didn't exactly wander the world on their own. They were expected to stay with family for protection."

"Even immortals?" Stephanie asked with a frown.

"Especially immortals," Drina assured her dryly. "You have to realize that we have it drilled into our head from birth not to draw a en on to ourselves or our people, and an una ached female on her own would definitely have drawn attention through most of history."

"Oh, right," Stephanie murmured, and then her gaze shi ed to Harper. "What about you? You aren't a girl."

The words brought a wry smile to his lips. A er a day of being considered "one of the girls," it seemed that, at least Stephanie, was finally acknowledging he wasn't . . . if only for this conversation.

"I traveled more than Drina appears to have. I was born in what is now Germany, but have lived in many European countries, not England and Spain though. I've also lived in America and