Page 19 of An Acquired Taste

Everything moves quickly after I agree. It only takes a couple of days for Benjamin to file paperwork with the vampire courts to make sure I’m protected. He’s kind enough to encourage me to stay with him during the waiting period—and I’m starting to think he knows I don’t have anywhere else to go, even though I haven’t admitted it. I ask him if I should text or call my new patron before I head to see him again, but to my stupefaction, Benjamin says that Sebastian doesn’t have a cell phone.

I pass one day working a final shift at the diner because I feel guilty leaving them stranded, and then hand in my resignation. On another, Lissa insists on taking me shopping for a few new outfits.

“You’re officially a valentine now,” she says when I wince at the price tags. “You should look the part.”

But even when I’m draped in silk and diamonds, I feel like an impostor. I swear that any second now, Sebastian is going to retract the offer and declare it was a cruel prank.

Yet all of a sudden, I’m on a plane, and then in a limo with tinted windows, being transported to Lord Sebastian’s mountain home as his official valentine.

When Benjamin warned me about how remote Sebastian’s estate is, I thought it sounded luxurious and romantic. Yet acouple hours into the ride, with nothing but classical music playing over the speakers for company and the city lights far behind us, I find myself wondering if it’s more of a gothic horror story that I’m waltzing into.

But oh well. I’m here now, and the extensive paperwork is signed. There’s little to do except lean back in my absurdly plush seat and sip from the bottle of champagne that was waiting for me in a little ice bucket.

“Fancy as heck,” I mutter, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand and putting my bright yellow sneakers up on the seat next to me.

But then I remember: there is stillonemore thing to do. I take another sip of champagne to fortify myself and call my sister.

“Amelia! How was your writing retreat?”

“Good. Great, actually.” And as impromptu as that lie was, it set the stage for my next one. “Matter of fact, it led to an even better opportunity for me. I’m not allowed to talk about the details quite yet, very hush-hush, but… I’m traveling up to the Bay Area for six months for a contract job I’m excited about.”

There’s a brief pause on the other end. “Oh,” she says. “That’s really great! I’m happy for you, but…”

“You’re worried about where you’re going to stay for school,” I say, before she has to say it. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you. Matter of fact… the money from this new job means that I’m able to rent you an apartment of your own.”

“What? Seriously?” Maisy’s tone teeters between concerned and excited. “That sounds expensive. I really don’t need— I mean, I’m grateful, but—”

“Seriously, don’t worry about it. I want to help you.” I pull the phone away from my ear and text her the information about the apartment I’m arranging. It’s a cute two-bedroom spot near the university. Itisexpensive, but the rent is doable with mygenerous valentine salary. And it works out perfectly, really—my six-month contract with Sebastian will be done in August, the same month that Maisy starts school.

In addition to securing a safe place for my sister to live, I’ll have somewhere I can travel to if things don’t work out with my mysterious patron. After what Declan did to me, I never want to end up stranded again.

“The one condition is that if things don’t work out between me and Declan, you’ll let me move in,” I say, disguised in a joking tone, but testing the waters.

“Oh my God, don’t even joke!” Maisy says. “We all know you two are destined to be together forever.”

I swallow a lump in my throat. “Right.” I guess that’s what I get for keeping the worst parts of my relationship from her. I never wanted Maisy to worry about me. Which is maybe why I want to keep the breakup and this valentine gig a secret for just a little while longer. She has her upcoming move and the start of the school year to worry about.

“But seriously,” she says, catching a hint from my tone, “you’re welcome whenever you want. Though I can’t promise I won’t try to pry details about this mysterious new job out of you.”

I smile to myself. If only she knew… and one day she will. But not today. I excuse myself soon after that and finish off the rest of the bottle of champagne as a reward for the conversation going well.

After that, I’m feeling pleasantly hazy. With nothing else to do, I doze off.

* * *

When I wake again, there is a castle outside the window.

At least, that’s what it looks like. I expected someplace fancy the moment I heardvampire, and even fancier when I heardestate, but I didn’t expect it to be so close to my gothic daydreams. With the redwoods towering around us and mist draping the grounds, there is a dreamlike quality to the whole thing. We traveled only a handful of hours away from busy, sunny Los Angeles, but Northern California might as well be another world. I sit up in my seat and press my nose to the window, impatiently wiping at the glass when my breath fogs it.

The three-story house is painted dark gray, with deep crimson windows and doors. A porch wraps around the outside, supported by stark white pillars. Towers form sharp silhouettes against the sky, and the windows are huge and ornate and plentiful.

It’s beautiful and old-fashioned and… rather spooky. My heart beats faster and faster as it looms closer through the gloom.

Then the car stops, and the driver—a stooped, achingly polite old man who introduces himself as Vincent—opens the door and takes my hand. I step out of the limo and start shivering, unprepared for the cool, damp mountain air. Vincent leads me onto the winding stone path up to the front porch, and I feel as though I’ve been whisked away from my normal life and into a fairy tale.

Vincent opens the front door before heading back to grab the single suitcase I brought. I step into the foyer. A candelabra-style chandelier hangs overhead, and the floor is made of real, polished wood. The ceiling is at least a dozen feet tall and arched like a cathedral. A curving staircase on the left leads up to the second floor.

And straight ahead, a blur of white and black fur is barreling toward me. I have barely a second to react before impact. Ipinwheel my arms, stumbling back, and barely manage to keep my footing.

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