Page 23 of Hunters and Hydrangeas

“Don’t worry about it—I’ll cover it.”

I set my hands on my hips. “I am a grown woman, capable of paying my own way.”

“That’s cool.” He grins, adorably wicked. “You want to pay my way, too?”

“Never mind. I’ll own my damsel in distress status. When you book, I would like a room with an ocean view, okay? Don’t go cheap on me.”

Noah crosses his arms as he leans against the kitchen island. His amber eyes become slightly hooded as he asks, “Do we want two rooms…or one?”

He’s joking. But my heart, scandalous thing that it is, skips a beat.

“Two.” I swallow. “Obviously.”

Noah offers me a lazy grin. “Obviously.”

“You said no biting until we’re married,” I remind him.

“Maybe we should get married.” He raises his eyebrows, teasing me.

“That’s a foolish thing to say to a woman.”

“Is it?” He heads for the living room. “I’m going to look for flights. Why don’t you start packing?”

“Noah,” I protest. “You can’t walk away now.”

“Don’t forget to bring your swimsuit,” he calls.

And…he walks away.

I stand here, an edgy vampire, tempted to look up nighttime beach weddings on Pinterest.

My life has gotten so weird.

5

The sun has almost set,and we’re supposed to leave for the airport in two hours. Thanks to Olivia, I’m all packed.

“I’m so jealous,” she sighs, sitting on my carry-on so we can get it zipped. “I want to go to Florida.”

I eye the small suitcase, nervous. Hopefully, we didn’t exceed the weight limit for the flight. I’m also a little worried about the prescription blood I’ve packed with ice packs in the bag I plan to check. Noah assured me TSA agents won’t get fussy over a prescription, but it’s not exactly amoxicillin.

“Why don’t you come with us?” I say to Olivia. “You’ve been saving for a vacation, haven’t you?”

“Yeah, no. I’m not crashing your romantic getaway.”

“It’s not a romantic getaway. Noah and Cassian are going to be tied up with vampire hunting stuff. You and I could hang out while they’re busy.”

“But someone needs to keep your business running.”

“We’ve already shut down the subscription orders,” I remind her. “And you did the business deliveries for me yesterday. We’ll miss one farmer’s market. Not a big deal.”

My best friend nibbles her bottom lip, thinking about it. “How long are you going to be there?”

“Our return flight is on Saturday.”

“I don’t want to get in the way…”

“Just think about it. If you change your mind and can get a plane ticket for a decent price, join me.”

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