She nodded. “Maybe you’re right.” She straightened abruptly. “Nick! I forgot. You should have seen what I did before you and my dad showed up.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was sitting on the cot, afraid, because they were waiting for my dad, or maybe for you, and I knew they were going to hurt you and suddenly I felt this . . . this incredible power flowing through me and I concentrated on the man and the next thing I knew, he was pinned against the wall, unable to move. And then it happened to the woman, too. I had this power and I don’t know where it came from.” The words tumbled out. “Earlier in the day, I tried to turn on the faucet at the barn, you know, with my mind, and nothing happened. But in that shack . . .” She stared up at him. “It was amazing.”
“They didn’t look immobile when I came through the door.”
“I know. As soon as I saw you and my dad, it broke my concentration.” Her gaze searched his. “You believe me, don’t you?”
He nodded. “Sometimes preternatural power lies dormant until you need it. Today you needed it.”
She sagged against him, wondering what it all meant. Had it just been a fluke of some kind, like reading Nick’s mind? Or had she really inherited some kind of witchy power from her biological father?
She closed her eyes and then sat up, frowning. “What happened to the other woman?”
“What do you mean?”
“She’d gone out for food, but she never came back.”
“Maybe she had second thoughts about what they were doing and left town.”
“Maybe.” Determined to put it all behind her, Abbey rested her head on Nick’s shoulder.
His fingers massaged her neck and scalp. “Do you think you can sleep now?”
“Why?” She sent him a sideways glance. “Are you tired?”
He snorted softly. “Me? Are you kidding? It’s not even midnight.”
Lifting his hand, she ran her tongue across his palm. “I want to taste you.”
“Anytime, love.”
Watching Nick bite into his wrist excited her in a way she didn’t quite understand. She didn’t hesitate to lick at the blood that welled from the shallow wound.
His blood hummed through her veins, turning her own blood to fire. She straddled his hips, her arms wrapping around his neck as she fell back on the mattress, drawing him with her.
His eyes glowed hotly as his body covered hers. One quick thrust carried her over the edge, past mortal pleasure into a world of ecstasy beyond anything she had ever known.
Chapter Forty-One
Pearl wasn’t sure how it happened, but almost overnight their little café turned into a vampire hangout. Not that she was complaining. Most vampires had money to burn, whether they had saved it over centuries or stolen it from their prey two days ago.
She and Edna had stocked the bar with nothing but the best, but as mortal customers were few and vampires many, they began stocking a new brand of imitation blood that was popular with younger vampires but rejected by most of the older ones.
“You can’t beat the real thing,” Monroe said one night after he and Pearl had gone hunting together. “That imitation blood has no kick to it.”
Pearl couldn’t argue with that.
Now, she smiled at Monroe as he strutted into the bar. “What are you looking so pleased about?” she asked.
“I made a decision last night,” he said, easing onto the barstool beside hers.
“Is that right?”
He nodded. “Yep. I need to ask you something. Something important. I think I know what your answer will be. If I’m wrong . . . well, hell, I can’t be wrong.” Reaching into his pants pocket, he withdrew a small, square, black velvet box and lifted the lid, revealing a ring with a diamond the size of a golf ball. “Will you marry me, Brittany?”
Pearl stared at Monroe. At the ring. And at Monroe again. “Do you mean it?”
He held up the box. “Darlin’, does this look like I’m joking?”
“Of course I’ll marry you!” She plucked the ring from the box and put it on her finger. “Yes! Yes! Yes!”
Laughing, Monroe lifted her into his arms and swung her round and round until she was dizzy. And then, with her head still spinning, he kissed her. “Name the day, darlin’.”
Pearl blew out a sigh. What would Edna say when she told her the good news?
Edna and James came in later that night. Arm in arm, they joined Pearl and Monroe, who were sitting at one of the booths in the back of the room.
“Hi, you two,” Edna said, grinning from ear to ear.
“Hi,” Pearl said. “You look like the cat that finally caught the canary.”
“So do you,” Edna said. “Why are you so happy?”
Pearl smiled at Monroe. “We’re getting married!”
“So are we!” Edna looked at James. “Did you two plan this?”
James nodded. “It seems like you two do everything else together. So we thought you ought to get engaged on the same night.”
“You darling man!” Edna exclaimed, throwing her arms around him. And then she glanced at Pearl. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“A double wedding,” Pearl said, clapping her hands.
“I told you so,” Monroe crowed, looking at James. “Pay up, old buddy.”
Grinning good-naturedly, James pulled a fifty out of his pocket and slapped it on the table. “I never should have doubted you.”
Pearl sighed as she sat on the edge of the bed and kicked off her shoes. “Edna, I’ve been thinking. . . .”
“Well, don’t. It’s always bad news when you start thinking and I don’t want anything to ruin this night.”
“This is important,” Pearl insisted. “We’ve got to tell Monroe and James the truth.”
Edna’s eyes widened. “Are you insane?”
“I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to start my marriage on a lie.”
“But . . . if word gets out about who we really are . . .” Edna shook her head. “Are you sure it’s a good idea? We’re safe here. Besides, how do you know Monroe will keep our secret?”
“Because I trust him,” Pearl said.
“With your life?”
“Of course. Don’t you trust James?”
“Yes, but . . .” Edna stared at the ring on her finger. “I just hope we’re making the right decision.”
Pearl decided to tell Monroe the truth the following night. With that in mind, she went shopping in Albuquerque, deciding that if she was going to confess all, she might as well do it with style. She bought a long green skirt and shoes to match, and a flowered silk shirt. Back home, she washed the brown dye out of her hair and when that was done, she felt like her old self again.
When Monroe came into the bar that night, he walked right past her. After a few steps, he backed up, his brow furrowed, his eyes narrowed with disbelief. “Anita? Is that you?”
“It’s Pearl, actually,” she said, annoyed by the nervous tremor in her voice. “Pearl Jackson.”
“Well, I’ll be damned. I guess I owe you a pat on the back and a drink!”
Pearl laughed, all her fears allayed when he took her into his arms.
“Don’t worry, darlin’,” he said, waggling his brows like the villain in a stage play. “Your guilty secret is safe with me.” And then he frowned. “If you’re Pearl, that means . . .”
She nodded. “Brittany is Edna.”
“Son of a gun. Does James know?”
“She’s telling him right now. Are you angry because I lied to you? I didn’t want to, but . . .”
“Hell, no, I’m not angry. And for the record, I like you a whole lot better as Pearl than as Anita. So,” he said, his tone brisk, “name the day and let’s get married!”
Pearl sipped her wine. “How’d it go? What did James say when you told him?”
“He was shocked at first.” Edna sat on the sofa and removed her shoes. “But then he was okay with it. Where did you get those clothes? You
look great!”
“I went shopping earlier. I decided Monroe needed to see the real me before we got married. And you know what? He said he likes Pearl better than Anita.”
“I hope James feels the same way.” Edna looked down at her drab gray skirt and white shirt. “I’m sick of these frumpy clothes and clunky shoes,” she said irritably, and then she grinned. “Although I have to say, blondes really do have more fun!”
Chapter Forty-Two
“Logan, you’re not going to believe this.”
About to place a red ten on a blackjack, Logan muttered, “Believe what?”
“Edna and Pearl are getting married in Las Vegas next Saturday night, and we’re invited.”
He snorted as he placed a black eight on a red nine. “Who the hell would marry either one of those old bats?”
Moving up behind him, Mara reached over his shoulder and placed a red seven on the black eight. “You know what they say?” she murmured in his ear. “There’s a man for every woman.”
“Or a weirdo for every dingbat,” he said, pulling her down into his lap. “You’re not seriously thinking about going, are you?”
“Of course.”
Logan shrugged. “Last time I was in Vegas, I was dealing for the house at one of the casinos. I remember there was this pretty little blond dancer . . . Nanette . . . Ow!”
“You get that little blond right out of your head, Mr. Blackwood.”
“Well, I’ll try, but she was something else. Legs that wouldn’t quit. Big blue eyes . . . Damn, woman!” he exclaimed when she pinched his arm. “That hurt.”
She glared at him. “It was supposed to,” she said, and then her expression softened. “I’ll bet I can make you forget all about that little blond tart.”
“You think so?”
Mara batted her eyelashes at him as she slipped one hand under his shirt. “I’ll make you forget she ever existed,” she promised, her voice low and sultry. “And if you ever mention her name again, I’ll rip out your heart and feed it to you.”
“Married! Pearl and Edna are getting married!”
Sheree looked up from her book. “To each other?”
Derek shook his head. “Of course not, silly. They found true love in some little town in New Mexico.”
“My dad always said anything is possible,” Sheree said with a grin. “I guess this proves he was right.”
“Go buy yourself a new dress, sweetheart. This is bound to be the wedding of the century. We don’t want to miss it!”
Rafe laughed as he read the invitation a second time. “You know, Kath, when I turned those two, I never expected them to survive this long, much less find true love in Dune, New Mexico!”
Abbey grinned in spite of herself when she opened the wedding invitation. Most invitations were printed on white or ivory card stock. Leave it to Pearl and Edna to come up with something unique—the invitation was in the shape of a large, sparkly red heart. The text was in bright pink. She couldn’t wait to see what they considered appropriate bridal wear.
Nick shook his head when she showed him the gaudy invitation and matching envelope. “Vegas,” he muttered. “Why am I not surprised? What do you want to bet the minister will be an Elvis impersonator!”
Chapter Forty-Three
Abbey had never been to Las Vegas. She knew she was acting like a small-town tourist but who could blame her? She had never seen anything like it, not even in New York. The casinos were lit up like Christmas trees. Never in her life had she seen so much neon. Or so many people—some in fancy clothes and expensive shoes, others in torn jeans and T-shirts. Men and women thronged the sidewalks, laughing and talking as they moved from one hotel to another, or stood at the curb, waiting to cross the street. Taxis, cars, air buses, and motor homes waited in queues on the aprons leading up to the casinos.
Logan had used his pull as a well-known movie producer to get suites for everyone in the family at the MGM Grand, which certainly lived up to its name.
The wedding was set for midnight and the family had agreed to meet at the chapel at eleven-thirty.
“So,” Nick said, after they had checked into the hotel and dropped off their luggage, “we’ve got a couple of hours to kill. What would you like to do?”
“Gamble, of course!”
“Feeling lucky, are you?” he asked with awry grin.
Abbey batted her eyelashes at him. “Always, since I met you.”
Nick reached for her, but she slipped out of his grasp with a murmured “Later.”
Grumbling about the honeymoon being over, he followed her into the elevator and down to the floor of the casino.
The first thing Abbey noticed when they entered the gaming area was the noise. Bells and whistles, hoots and hollers from the players, the rattle of dice from the craps table, the whir of the Wheel of Fortune. If it was loud for her, how much worse was it for Nick, with his preternatural hearing?
“What’s your pleasure?” he asked. “Blackjack? Craps? Roulette? The slots?”
“The slot machines, I think. I don’t know how to play any of the other games.”
“Slots, it is.”
He led her to a bank of machines, stopped in front of a dollar slot, and pulled up a stool for her to sit on.
Abbey tapped her foot in anticipation as she watched the wheels spin, held her breath as they slowed. One seven. Two sevens. She let out a squeal when the third seven stopped on the line. “I won!”
She played for another half an hour, winning more than she lost, and then she was ready to try something else.
Nick headed for the nearest blackjack table, where he bought six hundred dollars worth of chips, stacked half in front of her, and quickly explained the rules. It was a quick game, won or lost on the turn of a card. She didn’t know if there was any skill involved. It seemed to be a matter of luck, as far as she could tell. And yet Nick won consistently. When she asked what his secret was, he whispered something about counting cards, but it didn’t mean anything to her.
From the blackjack table they went to try their hand at roulette, which really was a game of luck, she thought, since no one could predict whether the little white ball would land on red or white or on the number chosen.
She checked the time on her phone, then tugged at Nick’s arm. “We need to go.”
“Too bad,” he muttered. “I’m on a hot streak.”
The Elvis chapel proved to be a dazzling white building surrounded by a white wall and flanked by a pair of trees glittering with tiny white lights. The inside was lovely, with a dark blue carpet and a white stage with four pillars.
Abbey and Nick were the last to arrive. After exchanging hugs and hellos with everyone else, Abbey took the chair next to her mother’s. “Has anyone seen the brides?”
“Not yet,” Savanah said. “I can’t wait to see what they’re wearing.”
Abbey grinned.
A moment later, a recording of Elvis singing “As Long as I Have You” came over the speakers. Monroe and James entered through a side door and stood in front of the stage. Monroe wore a gaudy pink, orange, and yellow Hawaiian shirt à la Blue Hawaii. Going for the Viva Las Vegas look, James sported a yellow jacket over black slacks. Both wore colorful leis.
Abbey glanced over her shoulder to see a dead-on Elvis look-alike escorting Pearl and Edna down the center aisle. She bit back a grin when she saw the brides. Carrying out the Blue Hawaii theme, Pearl wore a long Hawaiian dress with a short train. A red hibiscus adorned her white hair, a red and white lei circled her neck.
Edna wore a bright yellow dress reminiscent of the one Ann-Margret had worn in Viva Las Vegas. Her lei was pink and white.
The Elvis impersonator wore a skin-tight white jumpsuit similar to the outfit the real Elvis had worn during his Aloha from Hawaii concert. He was, Abbey thought, the most remarkable look-alike she had ever seen.
When the trio reached the stage, Monroe and James stepped forward to claim their brides.
Elvis took his place o
nstage.
Abbey couldn’t stop staring at him. If she hadn’t known that the King had died decades years before she was born, she would have sworn he was standing in front of her. His pompadour was perfect. He had the same sexy bedroom eyes, the same curl to his lips.
“Welcome to Las Vegas,” he said in the best impersonator voice Abbey had ever heard. “We are here to celebrate the most important day any lovin’ couple can have. That day when a man and a woman pledge their undying devotion to their favorite teddy bear.
“James, please take Edna Mae’s hand in yours and repeat after me, I, James Harkness, take you, Edna Mae Turner, to be my lawfully wedded wife, to love you tender and always treat you nice, to have and to hold from this day forward.”
Abbey smiled as she listened to the two couples repeat their vows.
Elvis twitched his hips. At Monroe’s nod, Elvis said, “Monroe, I want you to gaze deeply into the eyes of your beloved—yes, just like that. Now, repeat after me, I give you this ring as a symbol and token of my undying love. I promise I will never, ever, treat you like a hound dog, but will always treat you nice. And that I will love only you for as long as I live.”
Abbey glanced at Nick as the couples exchanged rings. She didn’t have to read his mind to know he found the whole thing terribly amusing.
After both couples had exchanged rings and vows, Elvis sang “Can’t Help Falling in Love” while the newlyweds danced.
When the song ended, Elvis winked at Monroe and James. “Gentlemen, you may kiss your brides.”
Amidst a burst of applause, the couples kissed.
Abbey looked over at Nick, who leaned toward her and said, in a fair impression of the King, “Darlin’, you’ll always be my hunka-hunka burnin’ love.”
Abbey was laughing as they left the chapel. Vampires being what they were, there was no reception, no cake, only hugs for the brides and congratulations for the grooms. And a not-so-subtle warning from Rafe, reminding Monroe and James that Edna and Pearl were part of the Cordova family and under their protection.