Page 4 of Smolder (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter 29)

“No, I’m coming for the fitting so that I have the option to be in the wedding. I need to meet this... your fiancé. I can’t believe you’re going to marry him, but I want to meet him before you do. I want to try and have a more open mind about it.”

I just stood there holding the phone, not sure what to say. My face must have looked more shocked than I felt, because Peter stood up and hovered near me as if he wasn’t sure how I’d take a hug, but he was thinking about risking it.

“I’m sorry that my beliefs are making your wedding difficult, Anita. I want to walk you down the aisle, I just don’t know if I can hand you over to a... vampire.”

“I know, Dad. You raised me to believe they were monsters, inhuman, so it wasn’t murder to kill them. If you had raised me differently I would never have become a vampire executioner and never met Jean-Claude.”

“The irony is not lost on me, Anita.”

“Good, when are you coming into town?”

“I’m working on arranging for someone to cover my practice here, so next week, if it’s not too late. We’ll stay at a hotel since I know you already have guests at your house who are going to be in the wedding.”

“Okay, wow, that’s quick, you surprised me, Dad.”

“In a good way, I hope.”

“Yeah, good, but I honestly had given up on you even meeting Jean-Claude, let alone entertaining the idea of giving me away.”

“I still haven’t decided on that, but Judith showed me that article you sent about vampires not going brain-dead, which means that they don’t technically die. If medical technology can prove that vampires aren’t the walking dead, then the Church needs to know about the new studies.”

“That’s great, Dad, thank Judith for me.”

“You can thank her yourself when we get there.”

“Great, I’ll do that. Text me your flight details and I’ll have someone meet you at the airport.”

“Someone, not you?”

I took a deep breath and let it out while I counted slowly. The guilt-tripping had already begun, and he wasn’t even here yet. “Dad, I’m in the middle of planning a wedding bigger than the last royal one, or that’s how it feels, plus I’m still working, and I’ve got friends here from out of town for the wedding. My schedule is a little smashed, but I or someone will meet your plane.”

“Fine, is there a hotel that you’d recommend for us?”

“We’ve got some hotel rooms reserved for out-of-town guests; when you know your exact dates let me know and I’m sure we can arrange rooms since it’s this far ahead of the wedding. I’ll text you with the information.”

“Text Judith or Josh, I’m not a big one for texting.”

“Will do. Wait, is Josh coming, too? I need to know how many rooms we’ll need.”

“Four rooms, but I’ll pay for our rooms. I don’t want to take hospitality from... your fiancé.”

“Wait, four rooms? You and Judith get one, Josh is two, is Andria coming?”

“Yes.”

“You aren’t going to make her and Kevin sleep in separate rooms at the hotel while they’re here, are you? They’ve been living together for years, Dad.”

“No, I’m not going to make Andria and her fiancé sleep separately on the trip.”

“So, Andria and Kevin are the third room; who needs a fourth room, Dad?”

“We’ll see you next week.”

“If you hang up on me without telling me who the fourth room is for, then don’t bother coming.”

“You don’t mean that, Anita.”

“The fuck I don’t.”

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