Page 39 of My Blind Date is a Demon

“Now, that sounds like progress,” Beverly says. “You’ll have to bring it up with your doctor at your next appointment.”

“I will,” I say as Mr. Darcy gets into my lap and purrs. I run my hands over his fluffy fur and scratch his chin.

“Well, I should get home and give these old bones a rest.”

I walk her to the door, where she slips her shoes on. “Thanks, Beverly. For…well, everything.”

“Of course, dear,” she says, pulling me in for a hug and kiss on the cheek. “Goodnight. And don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“I won’t.” I watch as Beverly gets into her purple mini-coop and drives away. I close and lock the door, setting the alarm and putting Mr. Darcy on the floor.

When I get upstairs, I start to go into Bella’s room to kiss her goodnight, but I see that Damon is in there, sitting by her bed and telling her a story.

“That’s not true!” Bella says.

“How do you know?” Damon asks. “Were you there?”

“No.”

“Well, I was.”

“How old are you?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Damon says. “Now, where was I? Oh, yes. So, Scheherazade says to me, ‘My Lord, the king has given me another night to continue telling him stories. What should I tell him?’ And that was when I told her the amazing tale of Aladdin’s Wonderful Lamp.”

“You did not!” Bella says with a screeching laugh.

“I did!” Damon laughs too.

I stifle a laugh of my own so as not to interrupt them. I wonder if Scheherazade was one of Damon’s many paramours. Wasn’t she supposed to be a legendary beauty? Not that I’m jealous; I just find it interesting. I bet Damon does have endless stories he could tell. And seeing the smile on Bella’s face stirs something in me that I haven’t felt in a long time. It would be wonderful if Bella could have a father again. She herself said that she wanted me to start dating. Did she know I was out with Damon tonight? I hope Beverly didn’t give her any false hope.

I still don’t know if I should give Damon a chance. The idea of dating a demon is a frightening prospect. But maybe I should start dating again. If not for me, then for Bella.

CHAPTER 14

DAMON

Ican’t believe Bella falls asleep in the middle of my story, and it is my most exciting telling since I first told it to Scheherazade. Oh well. Much like my long-lost Princess Scheherazade, I will continue the story tomorrow night. I tuck Bella in and turn off the light to her room. As I close the door, I notice that the light to the bathroom is still on. I am surprised to see Tamzin still in there, washing her face and applying night creams.

“Oh, hey,” Tamzin says when she sees me. “Is she asleep?”

“Yes,” I say with a sigh. “She has the attention span of a ferret.”

“I think that’s a pretty average attention span for a kid her age. Thanks for putting her to bed. I had a long talk with Beverly.”

“How long do you think it will take her to recover from the smarting you gave her?” I ask, leaning on the door frame. Tamzin laughs and removes the hair band she was wearing to keep her hair out of her face. I honestly don’t know why she even bothers with makeup. She’s a natural beauty.

“Oh, you know Beverly. No one gets a one-up on her. I think I was the one that got the smarting.”

“Oh?”

“Well, what can I say. Tonight was certainly far from terrible.”

“You aren’t admitting Beverly was right, are you?” I ask. Though, I’m not sure if I want her to say yes or no. I mean, Beverly can’t really think that my soulmate is a human, can she? I’ve had human lovers before, naturally, but a demon and a human can’t actually be soulmates, can they? I don’t think that’s really possible. I don’t think I even have a soul, at least not the human version of whatever they think a soul is. Maybe soulmate isn’t even the right word I’m looking for. True love? Life partner? Who knows. I don’t think even Beverly really knows the nature of the power she’s managed to tap into.

Tamzin barks a laugh. “No, I’m certainly not saying that.”

Hmm. Why am I feeling a twinge of disappointment?

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