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be fast," Lucern said soothingly as he opened the front door. "We won't be late. We'll be right on time."

Still irritated that he'd been so quick, Kate merely made a face and led the way outside.

Lucern opened the passenger door of his BMW in a rather courtly manner she appreciated, then commented, "You look lovely." He closed the door before she could respond, but Kate smiled widely as she watched him walk around the car to the driver's side. Her mood was beginning to lift again. Kate generally disliked weddings, and she would definitely be uncomfortable at being called "Luc's date," but maybe tonight wouldn't be so bad.

Chapter Five

It was awful. Well, not entirely, Lucern admitted to himself. The wedding ceremony itself was beautiful. And much to his surprise, his stubborn, pesky editor got all teary-eyed as Etienne and Rachel exchanged their vows. She explained herself when he handed her the handkerchief he'd placed in his breast pocket with such care by saying, "They seem so happy. They're obviously deeply in love."

Lucern merely grunted and hoped the ceremony wouldn't be as long as Lissianna's had been last year. He only had the one hanky.

Fortunately, Rachel's minister wasn't as long-winded as the Hewitt family's minister had been. Still, Lucern practically ran Kate out of the church the moment it was done. Or tried to. Their escape was stalled by the bottleneck that formed at the exit as each and every single guest paused to wish Etienne and Rachel well. The couple had exited the church first, as per the custom, and were now standing atop the church steps, speaking to everyone as they left.

Of course, Kate would insist on congratulating them and wishing them well, too, which Lucern thought was ridiculous. She didn't even know them! But the woman ignored his attempts to urge her down the stairs, and stopped to wish the couple happiness.

Rachel and Etienne weren't surprised Kate was at the wedding, of course. The family grapevine was as healthy as ever. And much to Lucern's irritation, Rachel was one of those social people who liked everyone and liked to talk. Etienne was hampered with the same affliction, so they couldn't just say thank-you and let Kate go. No. They had to actually speak to Kate and ask if she was having a good time in Toronto.

Lucern felt himself tensing as he waited for her answer. He was vaguely surprised when she laughed and said, "Oh, yes."

Etienne seemed equally surprised. He asked, "You mean, my brother is actually entertaining you?" As if Lucern were some sort of heathen, incapable of being a good host.

"Yes." Kate nodded cheerfully. "He and your mother, too. Marguerite took me shopping and to the spa today. And last night, Lucern and I played Blood Lust Two until all hours of the morning."

"Oh!" Rachel exclaimed. "Isn't that a wonderful game? Etienne is so talented. Although I thought he'd drive me crazy with it when he was designing the end sequence. It gave him trouble."

"Etienne?" Kate glanced from Rachel to Etienne uncertainly.

"Yes. It's his game," Rachel explained. Then she glanced at her brother-in-law with surprise. "Didn't you tell her it was Etienne's game?"

"Yes, I'm sure I mentioned"

"No, you didn't!" Kate exclaimed with a light slap at his arm. "Oh, my God! Why didn't you tell me?"

Lucern scowled. His editor didn't notice; she'd already turned back to his brother.

"I can't believe it! I love Blood Lust, both One and Two. They are amazing!"

She rambled on, gushing over Etienne in a way Lucern found annoying, then suddenly stopped with a small gasp, before saying, "Oh! I just realized, the primary characters in Luc's last book were named Rachel and Etienne. And Etienne was a game creator, too. Oh, wow." She gave a laugh and grinned at Rachel. "The next thing you'll tell me is that you're a coroner like the woman in the book."

Lucern, Etienne and Rachel all exchanged glances and shifted uncomfortably.

Kate's eyes widened at their silence. "You aren't, are you?"

"I like to base stories as much in reality as I can," Lucern said to break the silence.

"But you write vampire books." Kate sounded bewildered.

"Well, within reason," he amended, then took her arm firmly. "Come. We're holding up the line."

Lucern hurried Kate to his car, saw her inside, got in himself and immediately turned the radio on. He cranked the volume up high to prevent conversation and drove to the reception hall where the wedding dinner was to be held. In his rush to get there,