House of Royals(52)

And most nights one of us sneaks to the other’s house.

It’s a weird, disjointed relationship. We both know our expiration date is approaching, but it doesn’t make it any less delicious before that day.





“ALIVIA, WAKE UP.”

My eyes squint open to find Ian lying right in front of me, his nose only an inch from mine. A smile is already splitting his face. The little wrinkles he gets around his mouth and eyes when he does so sends a wave of happiness through my soul.

“I’ve got a surprise for you.”

“What is it?” I ask, sleepily rubbing an eye.

“Don’t ask questions, just get dressed.”

So I do. It’s cold, even in the house, the last Sunday in November. I pull on a sweater and jeans. Barely able to contain his excitement, Ian takes my hand the second I’m done and drags me down the stairs and out the door. We pile into his van, and he heads down the driveway.

“Ian, where are we going?” I ask with a laugh. His excitement is contagious.

“I realized that in this town, I’m never going to be able to take you on a proper date,” he says as he takes one of my hands in his. He raises it to his lips and presses a kiss to the back of my hand. “So I thought we’d get out of town for the day. I wanted to go overnight, but I know you have to work tomorrow morning.”

“You’re making me think I should call Fred and tell him I’m sick,” I say as I raise an eyebrow at Ian.

“I’m thinking maybe you should,” he responds, a hungry look in his eyes.

We drive two hours north to Jackson. I flew into the city when I arrived, but immediately left it. It’s a city, much like any other. A mix of old and new buildings. Rolling greenery.

Ian pulls his van into a parking spot outside a restaurant and takes me inside. It smells like potatoes and eggs and bacon and every other amazing breakfast food.

“Table for two?” the hostess says. Ian nods and she takes us to a table toward the back, right next to a window.

After we order, Ian takes both of my hands in his, pressing my knuckles to his lips. He stares at me, studying me in the deepest sense of the word.

“What?” I say with a happy smile. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

A small smile pulls at his lips and he shakes his head. “I just… I just wish that we could do this, all the time. Without hiding and being on our toes every second of the day.”

My eyes soften and his words melt all the female parts inside of me. “I know.”

And I imagine it for a moment. The two of us running away, leaving Mississippi. Going to…Nebraska. Surely there aren’t any vampires in Nebraska. We could live a normal life without kissing in the shadows or behind closed doors. We could just be…together.

But I can’t say any of those things. Because I made Ian make me a promise, and I have to keep it, too. And I will only do that by not daydreaming too hard.

“What do you want to do today?” he asks as the waitress brings us our brunch. “What could we never do in Silent Bend?”

“Um,” I take a moment to mull it over as I take a bite of the French toast. “All of those cliché first date things normal people get to do. A movie. A walk in the park. Ice cream.”

“It’s only like forty-five degrees outside, Liv,” Ian chuckles as he bites into a piece of toast. “You want ice cream?”

“I want ice cream,” I laugh at myself and him. I pucker out my lower lip in a pout for effect.

“Alright,” he says. “The woman wants ice cream, so she’ll get ice cream.”

I want to say that I only want to go out for ice cream with him, but that’s just too much for our very few weeks we have left. So instead, I simply lean over the table, and Ian meets me halfway. Slowly, softly, our lips linger.

As people walk by on the street outside that window right next to us. Here we are, kissing, being together, for everyone in Jackson to see. And for this moment, I don’t care who sees.





“I’M REALLY SORRY TO LEAVE you hanging last minute,” I say into my cell phone that night. I cough for effect. “I just don’t want to bring the plague into the shop.”

“Don’ worry about nothin,’” Fred says on the other end. “I’ll get things takin’ care of. You rest up.”

“Thanks, Fred,” I say. I feel bad for lying to him since he’s being so kind and understanding. “I’m sure I’ll be fine by Wednesday.”

We say our goodbyes and I hang up.

The city of Jackson is laid out before me. Our hotel room is on the seventh floor, which isn’t very high, but it isn’t the most vertical city. City lights twinkle in the dark and it’s just beautiful. Made all the more beautiful by the perfect beautiful day I’ve just had.