Page 23 of My Vampire Plus-One

I shrugged. “You seem the type.”

He snorted. “Fair. But Reginald is my actual name.”

“And your last name?”

He sighed. “My last name is Cleaves. My full name is Reginald Cleaves. So. Now that you know who I am, will you explain to me why you need me to pretend to be your boyfriend?”

Right. That. “Reginald,” I began. “Actually, is it all right if I call you Reggie?”

“Why?”

“It’s less of a mouthful thanReginald.”

He shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

“Okay. Reggie,” I tried again. How could I explain the situation to him in a way that didn’t make me sound like a petulantteenager? Maybe that was impossible. “So, my family gives me a lot of passive-aggressive grief about being single. It kicks up several notches every time another cousin gets married. And I just found out my cousin Gretchen is getting married soon. I just thought…” I trailed off, racking my brain for a way to put what I was intending into words. “I thought that if I showed up to the wedding with a person I present as a boyfriend, they’ll back off.”

Reggie’s smirk was back. Honestly, I couldn’t blame him. I’d be smirking too if our positions were reversed. “And when you saw me here, minding my own business, you thought I’d be good in this role.”

“Yes.”

“Why?” He folded his arms on the table and leaned towards me. “We don’t know each other, but I think I’ve already demonstrated that I’m not exactly a good, reliable person. Not only do I run into innocent accountants on sidewalks, I also read magazines upside down.On purpose.”

He gestured to his discarded magazine with such a self-deprecating twinkle in his eye that I couldn’t help the small smile that twitched at the corners of my lips.

“I don’t care about that.”

“No?”

“No.” I looked him right in the eye. “Are you a serial killer?”

His smile slipped. The hand resting on the table clenched into a fist. “I beg your pardon?”

“All I need from my plus-one is for them to not be a violent felon or a murderer or whatever.” I shrugged. “My standards aren’t high. I’m just asking for a few hours of your time, not for your hand in marriage. After the wedding, you’ll never see me again. As for why I’m asking you specifically—”

“You’re asking me because you find me devastatingly handsome and irresistibly charming,” he deadpanned. “Right?”

I flushed at his words. “Uh…no.” I floundered, trying to work out how to say,Aunt Sue’s dinner is Sunday and I don’t have time to find anyone else, and you seem just bizarre enough to agree to this plan,andif I show up to these events with somebody who is a little bit terrible, it might remind my parents that there are worse things than me staying single—and yes, I do find you unfairly handsome and weirdly charming, but that hasnothingto do with itin a way that wouldn’t be offensive to him or make me sound any more pathetic than I felt.

“It’s because I’m in the right place at the right time, isn’t it,” he said, as though he’d read my mind, not even bothering to phrase it as a question. We might have been discussing the weather.

I hesitated. Might as well admit it. “I’m out of time. I need to find someone tonight, basically. And like you said before, you’d said you owed me one.”

To my surprise, Reggie leaned back in his chair and laughed, loudly enough to make the teenagers ordering their drinks at the counter turn their heads and stare at us.

“This is the best practical joke ever,” he said, still laughing. “Families have needed to mind their own business about things like this for centuries. I’m in.”

I gaped at him. “You don’t think this plan is ludicrous?”

“Oh, I think it’s beyond ludicrous,” he said. “But that’s why I want in. If I can help you out of this particular jamanddo something hilarious at the same time it would be my pleasure.” He sighed, fiddling with the handle of his coffee mug. And then, in a much softer tone, he added, “And I probably do owe you one.”

If his voice was sexy when he was being a cocky jerk, his voice when he was trying to be conciliatory was…

I didn’t want to think about what it was.

Fortunately for me, the next time he spoke, he was all business. “Okay, so if we’re doing this—what do I need to know?”

I considered that for a moment. Whatdidhe need to know before we got started?

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