“Who’s Gio?” Her voice sounded numb. “Why don’t they get along?”

“Do you ever stop asking questions? It’s a long story. And Gio is Beatrice’s husband. They met back when she was in Houston, but then he left when she came out here for school. And… a bunch of stuff happened. They were married a few years ago.”

“And Gio is a vampire.”

“Uh huh.”

“And so is B.”

“They both are now.”

Natalie let her head fall to the table and the tears come to her eyes. “I give up. Logic has no place in this world anymore. I’m falling down the rabbit hole. Taking the blue pill. Or the red one. Whatever.”

Dez started rubbing small circles on her back. “You’ll get used to it. I remember being pretty freaked out when Beatrice first told me. Want some wine?”

Wine sounded… like a pretty good idea, actually. “How many bottles do you have?”

As it turned out, just one bottle and Natalie was feeling significantly better.

“Wait, wait, wait…” She and Dez were sitting in the guest room on the second floor in their pajamas. Matt had already put the baby to bed and made a couple of phone calls before he gave Dez a kiss and retired for the night. “So, Beatrice De Novo is a water vampire now—”

“Uh huh.”

“And she’s married to a fire vampire?”

“He’s kind of a badass.”

“Fire and water.” Natalie wiggled her eyebrows. “Steamy.”

Dez burst into laughter. “And you’re a little drunk.”

“Not nearly enough, trust me.” She c s me oflosed her eyes and the pleasant buzz made her sigh. Wine made everything better. “He’s a really good kisser.”

“That’s what I hear,” Dez said, pouring another glass. “Oh, wait. You’re not talking about Gio, are you?”

“Who’s Gio?” She frowned. “Oh, right. Fire dude. No, not him.”

“Baojia?”

She sighed and fell back into the pile of pillows. “Yes. I hate that he’s so sexy.”

“Why not just enjoy it? A good kisser, huh?”

“Very good. Very… thorough. I mean, when he kisses you, you feel kissed.”

“That makes…” Dez laughed. “…complete sense.”

“Hush. It does to me.” Her head was spinning now, but she wasn’t sure if it was from the wine or the memory of a very skilled mouth. With fangs.

“He has fangs. Am I going to cut my lips every time I kiss him? I’m not sure that’s a good idea…”

Dez ignored her. “I saw him sparring with Beatrice once. No shirt. The view was very nice.”

“Uh huh.” She nodded. Maybe she needed to stop; it was getting a bit swirly up there. “That’s right, B always did the martial arts, didn’t she? I wonder if I should take some.”

“Probably. It’s good self-defense. And you might be able to convince someone to give you some one-on-one lessons.” Dez grinned.

“Don’t encourage me. You know this can’t be healthy.” She groaned and sat up again. “I should drink some water and go to bed. It’s been a very long few days.”

“You should.” Dez stood up and collected the glasses while Natalie pulled back the covers and slipped into bed. “Sleep as long as you can. Trust me, with this bunch, sometimes sleep is hard to come by.”

“Thanks for everything, Dez.”

“No problem. You’ll feel better in the morning.”

“Yeah?” She shook her head. “Probably not. Because… he’s still going to be a vampire, and I’m still going to be a human.”

Dez walked to the door and opened it. “Hey, Nat?”

“Hmm?”

“I have no idea how he feels. He doesn’t seem like the kind to wear his heart on his sleeve or anything. But… don’t rule anything out, okay?”

Natalie had to fight back the urge to cry. Stupid wine. “He’s not like us.”

“No, he’s definitely not.” Dez’s eyes suddenly took on a depth that the friendly blond woman rarely revealed. “But I’ve seen some pretty amazing things the past few years. And I know we’re more alike than we’re different.”

More alike than different? Maybe.

Natalie nodded. “I’ll try to keep that in mind.”

When she dreamed that night, she was sitting in the sunlight next to him, and he was laughing.

“You’re ridiculous,” he said.

“You love it.”

The smile made the corners of his eyes crease and his teeth flashed in the sun. “I do.”

He leaned forward, brushing her mouth with his. Her arms opened to welcome him and he embraced her. His skin was warm from the hot summer sun. Brown and smooth under her fingers. He kissed her again and again, teasing her lips apart as he played with a lock of hair at her temple. They were on the beach; she could hear water in t sar “Probahe background and the sand was warm under her legs.

He pulled away, put his hand on her shoulder and shook her. “We have to go.”

She frowned. He wasn’t laughing. He looked deadly serious, and he said it again.

“We have to go.”

Natalie blinked awake. The moon was still visible from the corner of her eye and the room was dark. Baojia was standing over her, a hand on her shoulder, shaking her awake.