She hadn’t been able to stop smiling or stop thinking about Andrei since last night. Her boss, Mr. Ambrose, had cast several curious glances in her direction. Three of her coworkers had asked if she’d won the lottery.
If what she was feeling wasn’t love, Tessa mused, dropping the denuded stem into the wastebasket beside her desk, it was darn close. Even though she knew it was impossible, she would have sworn she could still feel his lips on hers, his arms around her. Still hear his voice murmuring that she was beautiful, desirable.
That he loved her.
Sighing, she refocused her attention on the file in front of her, but her gaze kept straying to the time in the lower corner of her computer screen.
Barely noon. Hours to go until she would see Andrei again.
* * *
Jileen was even more upset than Tessa had expected.
“I can’t believe you let him take you home last night! What is it with you? Have you got a death wish or something?” Jilly added sugar substitute to her iced tea, then stirred it so vigorously it slopped over onto the table.
“I think having him around is the best thing ever,” Tessa said, helping Jilly mop up the mess. “I haven’t been attacked in days. I think word that he’s protecting me is spreading.”
Jileen shook her head. “You’ve lost it, haven’t you?” Leaning forward, she tapped Tessa on the forehead with the end of her spoon. “Come back to the real world, Tess. And if, as you say, he’s keeping the other vampi . . .” She glanced warily around the cafeteria. “. . . keeping the others away, I’m sure it’s only because he wants you all to himself.”
“Jilly, I appreciate your concern, really I do. But I’ve got to see where this thing with Andrei goes. I think I might be in love with him.”
Jilly’s look of horror would have been comical under other circumstances. “You’re in love with him? A man you’ve known for what? Less than a month? A man who just happens to be a . . . you-know-what?” She sighed dramatically. “I give up.”
“I have to trust my instincts,” Tessa said. “And I know I can trust him.”
“It’s your life,” Jilly said. “I just hope you know what you’re doing.”
* * *
When Tessa told Andrei about Jileen’s reaction at home later that night, he wasn’t the least bit surprised.
“She’s worried about you. It’s only natural. Think about it. She’s dating a hunter. I’m a vampire. The enemy.”
“She thinks you’re driving the other vampires away because you want me all to yourself.”
“Well,” he drawled, pulling her into his arms, “she’s partially right. I definitely want you all to myself.”
* * *
Jileen’s attitude toward Tessa was several degrees cooler at work the next day. She usually popped into Tessa’s office a couple of times before noon, but not today.
As Tessa left her office, she wondered if Jilly would meet her for lunch.
In the cafeteria, she feared she might have lost her best friend when she didn’t see Jilly at their customary table. Sighing, she went through the line, thinking, yet again, how complicated her life had become since she met Andrei. And how much she’d miss Jilly if they couldn’t mend the rift between them.
She was halfway through her sandwich when Jilly slid into the chair across from her. “Sorry I’m late.”
“I was afraid you weren’t coming.”
“I wasn’t.” Jilly picked up her fork and pushed the salad around on her plate. “But then I decided I wasn’t going to let a man come between us. Even if that man is a . . . you know.”
“I’m glad.”
“Well, it’s not just me. Luke thinks you’re crazy to go out with him too.”
Tessa laughed as the tension between them dissolved.
“Would we be tempting fate if we tried another double date?”
“I think maybe you’re crazy,” Tessa said.
Jilly blew out a heavy sigh. “It’s probably not the best idea I’ve ever had, but . . .”
“Have you talked to Luke about it?”
“Not yet, but I will.”
“Okay. I’ll mention it to Andrei and see what he says.”
* * *
Tessa brought up the subject when Andrei was taking his leave from her place later that night.
He lifted one brow in an expression that was becoming familiar. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
Tessa shrugged. “It was just a thought.”
“A surprising one, all things considered. But if it’s what you want, I’m game to try one more time.”
“You mean it?”
“I said it, didn’t I?”