Page 32 of Vampires and Violas

“Because I missed you.” He squeezes my hand before he drops it, his eyes lingering on mine, and then he heads for the living room. “Night.”

“Noah, wait.” Questioning my sanity, I hurry after him.

He turns back just before he reaches the stairs.

“Let’s say we were to start dating,” I say. “Official, exclusive—all that. How would we prevent unwanted…biting?”

He smiles. “You’re really hung up on this, aren’t you?”

“I just think it might be dangerous, especially if we don’t talk about it first.”

“I’m not going to bite you.”

“You say that now, but what if you’re hungry?”

“Even then.”

“Okay, but what if I smellparticularlydelicious one of these days?”

He snorts, shaking his head like he thinks I’m cute. “Goodnight.”

“These are just hypothetical questions,” I remind him as he heads up the stairs.

“I’m aware.”

“I haven’t unlocked the friend-zone gate.”

“I know.”

“I’m not saying I’lleverunlock the gate,” I call up.

“Don’t forget to take your blood, Piper.”

With a sigh, I turn toward the kitchen. “Yeah, okay.”

7

Once again,I pull up to my newest subscriber’s house just before noon. Sam is my last morning stop, and my mind is already on lunch.

Even though it’s partly cloudy, the weather forecast said it’s going to reach the high nineties. It’s also the height of our tourist season, and the traffic has been horrible all day.

I don’t mind it too much, though. It just means more people will be at Friday’s farmer’s market.

After carefully tucking Sam’s bouquet into my arms like a beauty queen, I walk up the drive. There’s a sprinkler set up on the front lawn with an attachment shaped like a surfing shark, and a couple of beach towels hang over the rail next to the front step.

I ring the doorbell, wondering if I’ll meet Sam’s wife this time.

But a boy in swim trunks answers the door. He’s probably about seven, with damp sandy hair and a skinny build. A melting, lime-green ice pop drips down his hand.

“Hey,” I say. “I have a delivery for your mom or dad.”

“Mom’s at work, and Dad’s not here.”

“Okay…well. Whoever is watching you will be fine.”

Surely someone’s home with this kid, right?

Much to my relief, Sam appears behind the boy. He ruffles his hair and says to him, “What did I say about answering the door?”

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