Page 69 of Bound By Blood

“Thanks. I’ll wait for you in the library.”

“Right.”

Kaitlyn collapsed on the bed. How could she have been so foolish as to spend the day here? How could she have forgotten that whenever she was home, her mother expected them to dine together.

“Relax, darlin’,” Zack said. He pulled on his pants, then peered out the door. “The coast is clear. You’d better go while the going is good.”

With a nod, she hurried out the door and ran to her room, wondering all the while what she could possibly say to her mother. She had never lied to her parents before, but she needed a good fib now.

In her room, she quickly changed into a pair of jeans and a sweater, ran a brush through her hair, then hurried to the library. Pausing outside the door, she took several deep breaths, pasted a smile on her face, and stepped into the room.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Kaitlyn! Where have you been?”

“I … was upstairs. In the ballroom.”

“Whatever were you doing up there?”

Kaitlyn tucked her hands into the pockets of her jeans to keep from fidgeting. “Doing? I …” She cleared her throat. “Nothing. I was just … you know, just looking at the view. It’s really pretty this time of year.” She bit down on her lower lip to stop the flow of words.

Her mother didn’t say anything, merely sat there, watching her.

“Don’t you believe me?”

“Should I?”

“No.” Kaitlyn’s shoulders sagged. She had never been any good at lying. What had made her think she could get away with it now? “I’ll tell you the truth, but only if you promise not to tell Dad.”

“I can’t promise you that.”

Kaitlyn sank down on the sofa beside her mother. “I was with Zack.”

Elena folded her hands in her lap. “You mean just now?”

“Yes. We didn’t do anything, honest,” she said quickly. “He just woke up a few minutes before you knocked on the door.”

“How long were you in there?”

“All day, except for when I had lunch with you.”

“I see.”

“I … I just wanted to be near him.”

“Oh, dear,” Elena said, sighing. “You’ve got it bad, don’t you?”

“I love him, Mom. More than anything.”

Elena smiled wistfully. “Yes, I guess you do.” She took Kaitlyn’s hands in hers. “Don’t do anything you’ll regret later, sweetheart. Don’t hurry into anything. Zack is very handsome. And vampires have an allure that’s hard to resist. But you know that. Just be sure that what you’re feeling for him is real, and not … lustful attraction.”

“So, how did you know what you felt for Dad was the real thing and not just infatuation, or some kind of vampire glamour?”

“That’s a good question,” Elena said, smiling. “I wish I had a good answer.”

“What made you love him?”

“I guess it was his goodness, his kindness.” She squeezed Kaitlyn’s hand. “And even though he could read my mind, he never took advantage of it. Well,” she added, grinning, “not often. But the most important thing was, he let me be me. That’s important in a relationship, because you can’t change him, and he shouldn’t try to change you.”

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