Page 65 of Blood and Buttercups

“No, not really,” I scoff, laughing.

Her eyes are still the size of an owl’s. “Do you…eat people? Like…donors? You know, like you see in movies and books?”

“No, that’s very illegal.” I cringe. “And disturbing.”

“So, you’re not gonna sample Noah? He looks like a B negative to me. Do you have a blood type preference?”

I laugh at that ridiculous statement. “The sugar fast is affecting your brain.”

“Oh, come on—tell me you haven’t thought about taking a little nibble.”

“Well,yeah. But not because I’m hungry.”

She snorts, and then her expression becomes solemn. “You’re okay, right?”

“Yeah. My doctor said it’s easy to manage in this first stage.”

“What if it progresses to a later stage?”

“It can’t on its own—I’d need to be bitten again.”

“No wonder Noah is stuck to you like glue.” She pauses, looking thoughtful. “It was Ethan, wasn’t it? Ethan bit you on that awful date?”

“Yeah,” I answer softly.

“Ethan is a vampire.” She shakes her head. “Who would have thought?”

“A massively rich vampire. He not only owns the restaurant we went to, but the entire building.”

“And he wants you to become one of the undead with him?” she whispers.

“Well, technically, that undead thing is a myth. They’re alive. Just…really physically healthy. Mentally, though…not so stable.”

“I wonder how old he is?”

“Who?”

“Ethan.”

“I have no idea.”

Nor do I have any desire to ask him.

“And I know he’s stalking you and all, but do you feel intense loyalty to him?” She leans forward, lowering her voice. “Because hesiredyou?”

“First of all—that’s super creepy, so let’s not use that term again. And no, I feel no loyalty toward him whatsoever. All I feel is fear and a little bit of guilt.”

“Why guilt?”

“Part of me wonders if it’s my fault. Did I lead him on? Did I make him genuinely think I wanted to be with him for life?”

“Piper,” Olivia says sharply. “You know better than that. Did you say, ‘Ethan, I’m simply mad about you, and I want you to bite me so we can live together in perfect vampire bliss?’”

“No, I definitely didn’t say that.”

“Then this isn’t on you.”

“I mean, technically, I didn’t know he was a vampire, so I couldn’t have said that even if I wanted to.”

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