Page 88 of Vampires and Violas

Everything about it screams Dylan.

“Hillary, this is my sister, Piper,” Max says when I reach them. “Piper, this is Hillary.”

“It’s nice to meet you.”

The woman sits on the couch, with Max in a dining room chair beside her. Her blonde hair is pulled back in a clip, and she’s wearing black athletic leggings, a sporty tank top, and a smartwatch. She’s brought her knitting, and she’s currently working on…a head.

“It’s a doll for my granddaughter,” she explains, holding it up so I can see it better. “Or it will be, after I join all the pieces and stuff it.”

“Oh…cool.” I smile even though it’s actually creepy.

“It will be cute once I add the eyes,” she assures me.

Sure.

Hillary bundles the project into her purse. “So, Piper, Max tells me you grow and sell cut flowers?”

I’m about to answer, but my phone vibrates…and so does Max’s. He slips his out of his pocket first.

“It’s the family app.” He frowns. “Why does it say Mom and Dad are almost at your house?”

My heart stops beating, and cold dread washes over me like a rogue wave.

“What are they doing back already?” I say frantically, zooming in to make sure it’s not a glitch. But no, their circles are moving down the street toward my house.

Where Noah is right now.

Never mind figuring out how to tell them I’m a pre-vamp. How am I going to explain Noah? I’m not prepared.

“I gotta go.” I whirl around, looking for Cassian. I spot him in the kitchen with his cupcakes, talking to Marilyn and Brooke. “Cassian, something came up. We need to go.”

“What’s wrong?”

I don’t want to get into this in front of the support group leader because she’ll want to bring it up at the next meetingthe annoying vampire drags me to, so I stare him down, silently telling him to stop asking questions andmove.

Thankfully, he gets the point.

“Okay.” He turns his attention back to Marilyn. “I’ll send you that recipe tomorrow.”

“And me, too.” Brooke swipes some of the frosting off the top of her cupcake and licks it off her finger. “These aresogood.”

I’m two-point-seven seconds away from dragging him out by the arm.

“I’m glad you like them,” he says graciously, and finally, he’s moving.

Unfortunately, we reach the door when Ashlyn and Colin arrive. She and I pause awkwardly when we see each other, uncomfortable smiles pasted on our faces.

“Are you leaving?” she asks, glancing toward the hall.

“Yeah, something came up.” I loop my arm through Cassian’s when I sense he’s going to stop and chat. “Cassian made cupcakes, though—be sure you grab one.”

And—success!—I have him out the door. As soon as we hit the hall, I drop his arm and take off at a jog.

Cassian easily matches me, annoyingly agile even with his long legs. “What’s gotten into you?”

But I can’t answer because I’m in the middle of calling Noah, who has the audacity not to answer.

“Pick up!” I growl.

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