Page 48 of Vampire's Vixen

“I don’t know. If they let him continue to teach, I’ll be contacting the media.” I yawned. I was tired and emotional and feeling all sorts of confused. “I think I need to go home and go to bed. I’m exhausted.”

“I’ll drive behind you to make sure you get home all right, if you like.” He opened my car door for me after I pressed the key fob.

“That’s all right, but thank you for caring enough to offer.” As I slid into the driver’s seat, it occurred to me that I was a lucky woman. Not many men would be patient enough to wait for a widow to be ready for a kiss.

Kyle winked at me, then watched as I pulled out of the parking lot. All the way home, my thoughts were on the feel of his lips, the feel of his arms around me, and though I still felt guilty, I had to admit to myself that I’d liked it, and I hoped I’d be ready for another kiss sooner than later.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

That night, my dreams were disturbingly normal. I’d expected a lot of turmoil, but I woke up refreshed, feeling like—for once—I’d slept without worry, without grief, and without tension. I yawned, then got a chestful of fluff when Miss P. pounced on me, purring and licking my face.

“Hey, I’m getting up, all right? Okay! Okay, floofbutt,” I said, laughing as she frantically began grooming me, licking my face and snuffling near my ear.

I pushed myself up, surprised to see the sun shining through the window. It was early light, pale and ethereal, but it was sunshine, nevertheless. I’d taken a shower the night before, so I dressed in a pair of dark blue leggings, a warm mint-green jersey tank dress, and slid on a navy denim bolero jacket. I brushed my hair into a ponytail, put on my makeup, and then slipped into a pair of ankle boots with chunky heels. As I headed downstairs, I thought about the date with Kyle, and a warm fuzzy feeling spread through me.

Astra had made oatmeal and sausage links, and she was checking her email on her tablet while she ate. She looked up as I entered the kitchen, humming.

“You certainly sound like you woke up on the right side of the bed,” she said. “Oatmeal is in the pan, and it’s still hot.”

I flipped on the espresso machine and pulled three shots. I frothed the milk and added vanilla and caramel syrup, and mixed everything into my butterfly travel mug. Next, I scooped some oatmeal into a bowl, added some evaporated milk, brown sugar, raisins, and a pat of butter, then joined Astra at the table.

“How did the evening go?” she asked, pushing her tablet back.

I stirred my cereal. “Well, we’re going on a second date. I did have a slight meltdown when he kissed me.”

“Was he a bad kisser?” Astra asked, grinning. But she quickly sobered as tears welled in my eyes.

“Not at all. I enjoyed it…that’s the problem. I thought about it last night before I went to sleep. At first I thought it was just that I missed Dan, but I realized that I felt guilty. I feel guilty because I’m moving on.” I spooned some of the oatmeal into my mouth. “Last month Dan told me that he’s moved ahead, that I’m not leaving him behind. It’s easy to see that analytically, but my heart…my heart still feels like I’m betraying him.”

I dropped my spoon in my bowl as tears began to trickle down my cheeks. “I want to be happy. I want to move on. I know Dan wants me to. I just don’t know how to let my last cords to the past go, and to step into the future.”

Astra reached across the table and took my hands. “My chickadee…what would it take for you to move ahead? Do you know?” She handed me a tissue.

I wiped my eyes, then took a drink of my latte. What would it take for me to let go? I frowned, stirring my oatmeal again. “I’m not sure,” I said, but in the back of my mind, I heard a whisper—it sounded like Aphrodite—saying, You need to really start over. You need to reinvent your path into something you really love.

Startled, I looked over at Astra. “I’m not sure what this means, but Aphrodite just told me that I need to reinvent my path into something I really love. But I love matchmaking.”

“Do you? Truly?” Astra asked.

I stopped short. “What do you mean?”

“Let me put it this way: what do you love about it?” Astra got up to serve herself some more oatmeal. “Do you love the actual matchmaking, or the elements that go into it? I know you haven’t been satisfied with how your business is doing.”

I sighed. “I never thought about it that way. Right now, I have to admit, I enjoyed my job in Seattle better than having my own business here. I’m trying to be positive but I’m not feeling like I’m achieving enough.”

“Okay, there’s that. So, what do you love about matchmaking?”

“I love bringing people together. I love seeing that spark when they click. I love…” I paused, thinking for a moment. “I love bringing harmony into the world. I love making people happy, and taking away their loneliness and fear.”

“What about marriage? Are you focused on helping them find their life-partners? Where does that figure into it? I sense you’re on the edge of a breakthrough.”

“Let me think.” I finished my oatmeal, trying to process the questions she asked me. After a moment, I said, “It’s not so much the marriages. It’s bringing people together. It’s taking away their pain or their loneliness or their fear.”

“Then how can you shift your business to focus on those things?” Astra asked. “Forget about what you did in the past. What can you do to turn things around?”

Taking a deep breath, I said, “Well, I suppose…”

All of a sudden, the monthly Midnight Hour meetings flashed through my mind. The town’s social club was fine, but it wasn’t what I’d do if I were running it. And then, I thought about the size of my store. It wasn’t big, but it was too big for just a matchmaking service.

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