The Reluctant Vampire Page 0,19

now Canada."

"So, if it weren't for Drina's having to help look out for me, you two might never have met."

"Perhaps not," Harper acknowledged, and found himself thinking that would have been a great pity. Drina was an interesting woman.

The food came then, and Harper turned his a en on to the sandwich and fries placed before him. The brown sandwich, pale s cks, and brown gela nous liquid in the small bowl on the side didn't look par cularly appe zing. Harper had been a chef when he was much younger and felt presenta on was important, but the food smelled surprisingly delicious.

Curious, he picked up his fork, stabbed one of the fries, and raised it to his lips, but paused when he saw Stephanie dipping hers in the small bowl of thick liquid on the side of her plate. Emula ng her, he dipped his own fry in what he supposed was the "gravy on the side," and popped it in his mouth. His eyes widened as his taste buds burst to life. It was surprisingly good, he decided, and stabbed, dipped, and ate another before picking up half his sandwich and taking a bite of that as well.

"Aren't you going to finish your fries?" Stephanie asked.

Seeing the way the teenager was greedily eyeing her plate, Drina grinned and pushed it toward her, saying, "Go ahead. I'm done."

Stephanie immediately fell on the remaining fries.

Drina watched enviously as the girl gobbled them, almost sorry she'd given them up. But it had been a long me since she'd eaten, and she simply couldn't fit another bite in her belly. She'd been pushing it to manage half the sandwich and fries.

Her gaze slid to Harper and she noted that while he'd managed perhaps three quarters of his meal, he was slowing. His stomach wasn't big enough either.

"You should go out tonight."

Drina glanced to Stephanie with surprise to see her pointing a fry at her as she spoke.

"Seriously. It's been decades since you've gone out socially. You work and visit your family and that's it. You really need to get out and have some fun."

"I have fun," she assured her defensively.

"No you don't. I can read your mind, remember? You used to love to dance, but you haven't been dancing since those Gone-With-the-Wind-gowns were all the rage."

Drina bit her lip, wondering what the girl was up to now. She actually had been out since then. She had a couple of good female hunter friends back in Spain, and they o en went to an immortal club called Noche and danced the night away to relieve some of the stress of the job. She didn't doubt for a minute that Stephanie had read that from her mind, so she was up to something. Again.

"You should drive into London tonight and hit a bar and just let your hair down. Dance your feet off. It would be good for you."

"I can't drive," Drina reminded her dryly.

"Then Harper should take you," she shot back with sa sfac on. "He needs to get out as much as you do. He hasn't gone anywhere in more than a year and a half except a couple of mes when Elvi and Victor pretty much dragged him out."

Harper stilled, midchew, his expression becoming alarmed. "Oh, I don't know - "

"Yeah, I know, you'd rather hide in the house and go back to nursing your wounds," Stephanie interrupted. "But look how much better getting out today has made you feel."

Harper blinked.

"I really think it would do you both a lot of good. It's certainly better than acting like a couple of turtles."

"Turtles?" Harper asked with a frown.

"Yeah, you immortals all pull into yourselves and hide out at home rather than even consider a social life." She shook her head. "Seriously, I know you all have this thing about life mates and all, and I know you two aren't life mates, but that doesn't mean you can't have fun, does it?" She glared from one to the other, and then said, "If anything, it should free you up to have more fun. Drina, you're too old for Harper to read, and you're also too polite to read him, so you could both relax around each other. On top of that, because you aren't life mates, you won't be all worried about impressing each other and can just relax and enjoy each other's company and have some fun."

She let that sink in, and then sat back in her seat, and announced militantly, "Maybe