Page 37 of Twisted
“We are meeting a photographer at Romare Bearden Park.”
“Right,” I say, remembering Nina telling me about it.“We can’t do that before dinner?I plan to eat my weight in whatever they’re serving and I don’t want to have a food baby in the pictures.”
“A what?”He tips his head, looking genuinely confused.
“Food baby.”My lips turn up into a smile.“You don’t eat, so you wouldn’t know.It’s when you eat a lot and your stomach is so full you can kinda look pregnant.It’s actually awful we mere mortals worry about what we look like so much.”
“You’re very thin.”
“I’m athletic,” I correct.“And I have killer abs, I know.But it’s basic physiology, especially for women.”
“Interesting.”He slows down to turn.“Do you want to have photos first?”he asks slowly, as if he’s still trying to figure out how a human can eat so much that their stomach is distended.
“No, I’m starving.”
“Okay.”He nods and we both fall silent for a few moments.I pull my hand out from under his and smooth my hair back while mentally telling myself I need to channel my inner demon-hunter assassin, keeping my cool and not letting emotions get the best of me.Because as much as Xavier is treating me like an equal right now, there’s no way he sees me as such.
We get to the restaurant, have the car valet parked, and get escorted to our table right away.People stare as we walk in, but it’s not because they know Xavier is a vampire.Even after we’re seated, there’s no way of knowing.He orders an expensive bottle of wine and a glass is poured for him.He doesn’t correct the sommelier, but instead leaves it in front of him, appearing human.
“I’ve lived in this area my whole life but have only been to Charlotte a handful of times,” I say, taking a sip of wine.“How did you end up here?The area doesn’t exactly scream—” I lean in—“vampire mobsters.”
His lips twitch up into a smile.“Is that what the rumor is?”
“It’s not wrong.”
“No, it’s not.”His fingertips touch the stem of the wineglass.“We’ve been here for only a few decades, pursuing a business opportunity.”
I roll my eyes.“You’re not going to give me much, are you?”
He cocks one eyebrow and looks at me for several seconds before smirking.“I can give you more than you can handle.”
“Ew,” I say and try to act offended.But there’s a playfulness about him and I hate how much we click.We’re married, but this is like the world’s weirdest first date yet there isn’t any awkwardness between us…even though he knows I could shove a stake through his heart and I know he could rip out my throat without warning.
“This was the first area we settled in when we first came to America.”
“We meaning you, Theo, and Ezekiel?”
“Yes.We arrived here not long after the war ended and humans have no idea how much vampires shaped this city.”
“Which war?”
“Revolutionary.In the late 1700s.”
“I know,” I quickly say, though I have no idea the exact dates of said war.“And you’ve been here ever since?”
“No.We spent a century or so building the vampire community and then went back to Europe for a decade or so and came back.”
“To the East Coast?”
“Yes,” he says, looking a bit surprised.
“That’s where you guys met, or uh, acquired maybe is the better word, Mabel.”
“Correct.Her family resided in New York City.”
I slowly shake my head.“Demon hunting in NYC is no joke.”
His eyes narrow, but it’s out of curiosity.“You weren’t born to be a hunter.”
