Page 10 of The Vampire and the Case of the Cozy Christmas

‘Enough.’ Sigrid clapped her hands. ‘Eat the pies before they get cold!’

That was my kind of order! I gorged myself – and I wasn’t the only one. I discovered that I adored pecan pie, something I’d never had before, but then everything Sig made was divine.

Liv had been mostly quiet during the sing-along and the exchange of gifts. While everyone was eating slices of pie, she sat down at the table with Gunnar. He looked at her, grunted and looked away.

‘Thanks for giving me a day of truce,’ she said quietly. ‘I am truly sorry. I owe you for my bad behaviour, besides the whole curse thing. I just want you to know I’m sorry, and it won’t happen again. I’m turning over a new leaf.’

He didn’t reply, but I thought I saw the tiniest softening in his expression. Then Sigrid placed a plate of three different kindsof pie in front of him. He looked up at his wife and his gaze hardened on Liv again; the memory of her cursing Sig was still fresh in his mind.

To Liv’s credit, she simply nodded and moved to the couch where she daintily ate one slice of apple pie. She was a wise woman and she was giving him space. It was definitely a start, and I was pretty sure I’d just witnessed the smallest chink in Gunnar’s armour.

Across the room, she met my eyes and smiled.

Chapter 8

At midnight I was officially off shift so I allowed myself a glass of red wine. Everyone had been stuffed with leftovers, pie and enough alcohol to sink a ship; it was definitely time for Stan to stagger home. Since Thomas hadn’t been drinking, he offered to give everyone a lift.

As they pulled on their coats, I hugged Sigrid tightly. ‘Thank you for doing so much to make my first Portlockian Christmas so special. It was perfect,’ I murmured.

She hugged me back. ‘Thankyou, dear. It was great fun.’ She turned to Connor. ‘And thank you for the gift of your home. May it be blessed with many years of joy.’ She brushed her hands along the doors as she left and they glowed for a moment.

Connor wrapped his arms around me as we watched everyone leave. When we were alone, he said, ‘She blessed my house.’ He sounded bemused. ‘I don’t think a vampire has ever had a witch bless their house before.’

‘She doesn’t see you as a vampire,’ I said quietly. ‘She sees you as Connor. Thank you, for letting me do this here.’

‘I loved having a full house,’ he confessed. ‘I usually spend my Christmases alone with a glass of expensive Scotch and old Christmas movies on TV, so this was incredibly special. I should be thanking you.’ His eyes warmed. ‘And I will. Come on, I have another gift for you. Two, actually.’

I honestly expected him to strip off his clothes but, to my surprise, he sat me down on the sofa. ‘Wait here,’ he instructed.

He disappeared into his bedroom and came out with a small box. My heart thundered hard for once. Was he going to propose? I wasn’t ready for that and he knew that, right? But he didn’t get down on one knee; instead he opened the lid for me. It was jewellery all right – but instead of the feared engagement ring, it was a flawless emerald.

‘It seems we both had the same idea,’ he said with amusement.

‘It’s a daylight charm?’

‘Yes, but not a generic one like the council gave you. This is from me. That emerald has been in my family for centuries. My mother gave it to me when I came of age and told me to give it to the woman I wanted to spend my life with.’

My eyes filled with tears and my heart ached with happiness as I fumbled with the clasp of my necklace with shaking hands. ‘Help me.’ I turned around so he could unfasten it, then put the emerald on the chain next to Nana’s triskele charm and removed the other daylight charm; I’d return it to the council so they’d have it for the next vamp hire.

I stood up and admired the beautiful gemstone in the mirror as it hung on my chest; it was almost the same shade as my eyes. Connor stood behind me and snaked his arms around me. I turned and kissed him in thanks.

‘One more present,’ he breathed. ‘And this one is shit. I debated not giving it to you, but…’

‘Connor,’ I laughed, ‘I’ll love it whatever it is. I promise.’ I grinned at him mischievously, ‘Now gimme!’

He laughed and led me into the kitchen. Okay, I hadn’t been expecting that. He shot me a nervous glance. ‘I didn’t do that many in case they were awful. But… Well, you’ll see.’

He reached into a cupboard and pulled out a cake tin. He pulled off the tin lid with effort. ‘Ircenrraat proof,’ he explained. When the lid popped open, I saw several wonky and misshapen mince pies. ‘You made them for me?’ I gasped.

He shrugged awkwardly. ‘I wanted to do something for you, so Sigrid agreed to let me make them as a surprise. You’d said how much you like them so I—’

I threw myself into his arms and kissed him soundly. ‘That is the most brilliant gift ever!’ To show him my appreciation, I popped one of the wonky pies into my mouth and ate it. It tasted exactly as it should, maybe even a bit better because it had been made with love.

‘Thank you!’ I beamed.

‘I’m glad you like them.’ He looked quietly chuffed.

‘I love them. And I love that you made them for me.’ I paused a beat. ‘So when Sigrid said she couldn’t get the mincemeat in time…?’

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