Page 47 of Faking it with the Hybrid

Madeline’s father shrugged comically.

“Guilty as charged. I’m not much for surprises. See you two later—I hear that nap calling my name,” he added. And with a little wave, he walked off down the street, leaving Grath and Ethan alone.

“He’s a great father-in-law,” Ethan remarked, looking after the older male fondly. “As long as you treat his daughter right, he’ll be like your own dad.”

The thought gave Grath pause. His own Sire had died when he was younger and he had never thought of having another to take his place—especially not a short, human male. But he liked the older male’s forthrightness and practicality as well as his demand that his daughters be treated with respect.

Come to that, he liked the other members of Madeline’s family too. Her mother was sweet and thoughtful and her sister was clearly supportive of Madeline. Even her ancient grandmother was adorable in her way. Several times she had patted Grath on the arm and remarked on what a “big, strong boy” he was, which was slightly irritating but also amusing.

It would be something to be truly part of this family, not as a pretense but for real, he couldn’t help thinking. If he was, he and Madeline could come and spend every holiday season here with them in the big domicile on the snow-covered hill. They could take walks in the cold air and Madeline could enter the Bake-off contest and her mother would make them delicious meals and they would buy each other gifts and—

“Well, here we are!”

Ethan’s cheerful voice broke his train of thought and Grath realized that while he had been thinking, they had been walking. And now they had come to a stop in front of a small storefront which had jewelry inside. Sparkling jewels were set in gold and silver and displayed on plush black velvet in the front window.

“Why are we here?” Grath asked, confused. Did all of Madeline’s family require jewelry as gifts? He’d been sure that her father wanted some kind of scent spray, which the humans wore. It was much too strong for his sharp Kindred senses, but the humans with their dull senses really seemed to like it.

But Ethan’s next words clarified everything.

“We’re here so you can pick Mattie an engagement ring, of course,” he said, gripping Grath by the shoulder, though he had to reach up to do it. “You’re going to ask her to marry you while the two of you are here, aren’t you?”

“Oh…um…” Grath wasn’t sure what to say. Madeline had specifically told him that theyshouldn’tsay he was her fiancé because she didn’t want to raise her family’s expectations too high. But now it seemed that their expectations were already raised.

“Come on—youaregoing to ask her, aren’t you?” Ethan demanded. “Look, Anna and I only got married this last year but we dated for a while before that and I’ve never seen Mattie so happy and relaxed with anyone as she is with you. And you fit right into the family!”

“I do?” Grath asked, surprised. He had just been thinking how much he liked Madeline’s family, but he hadn’t known how they felt about him.

“Yes, you do!” Ethan said laughing. “Everybody loves you! I heard Dad and Mom Porter talking and they were saying they couldn’t wait until you join the family for good. In fact, I think they’re going to wonder what’s going on if youdon’tpropose.”

Grath frowned. This was an unforeseen development—now it appeared that that if hedidn’tmake a proposal of Joining or marriage to Madeline, her family would be suspicious. And above all, they wanted to avoid that.

“Well…all right,” he said, nodding. “When should I, er, propose? Tonight at dinner? Or afterwards when we hang baubles and lights on the Christmas tree?”

“No, no, no!” Ethan exclaimed, shaking his head. “You have to do it right—propose at the Yule Ball tomorrow night, when you’re both all dressed up and everyone is watching. It’s theonlyway to ask a woman to marry you here in Christmasville.”

“Are you certain about that?” Grath asked. “What if Madeline says no? What if she refuses to Join with me?”

“Are you kidding? I’ve seen the way she looks at you—she’s head-over-heels in love with you, dude!” Ethan exclaimed. “She’s going to say yes—no question. So come on—you’ve got to get the perfect ring before you get down on your knee and propose.”

“But I don’t know her ring size,” Grath protested, trying one last time to get out of this.

“Don’t worry about that—she’s the same size as Anna—a seven. I know because they trade jewelry all the time. Come on!”

And Ethan dragged him into the jewelry store.

TWENTY-FIVE

MATTIE

Dinner was her mom’s special roast chicken with herby mashed potatoes and homemade gravy. It was delicious—one of the meals that Mattie craved when she was missing her parents. As much as she tried, she could never quite make it like her mom did.

Afterwards they trimmed the Christmas tree—a ridiculously tall one that her dad and Ethan had brought home earlier. They set it up in the living room, which had high ceilings and it filled the whole place with the fresh scent of pine.

They all trimmed the tree—placing ornaments according to where Grandma Thelma dictated. She was too old to be bending and stretching to put them on the tree herself, but she delighted in telling other people where to put them.

Grath trimmed the top third of the tree himself—it was the first year they hadn’t had to pull out the step ladder to do it. He patiently placed each ornament where Grandma Thelma told him and at the end, he also put the star on the very top.

Afterwards they plugged in the lights and all stood back to admire their work. Mattie’s mom put one arm around her and the other around Anna and squeezed them both tight.

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