"The problem is finding someone to travel with." Olivia shook her head. "I hate travelling on my own, but I also can't stand most people for any length of time."
"I know what you mean. But I've gotten used to being on my own," Peter replied, and I could also almost feel him avoiding my gaze.
Olivia downed the rest of her glass, then held it up and shook it, causing the droplets at the bottom to swirl around it. "My glass appears to be unreasonably low, so I better remedy that before I sober up."
She stalked off to the bar, where vampire bartenders worked diligently to ensure that they served only the blood to the immortal guests and wine to the human ones.
Jack and Bobby had given up on their dance off and went over to talk to with Milo. Jack looked back over at where I stood with Peter, and his eyes lacked the jealousy they would've had a few years ago. He'd learned to trust me - and Peter - so he just smiled at us, then sat down with Milo.
"So you're doing well then?" I asked, looking up at Peter.
"Yes." He glanced over at me, then sighed heavily. "Alice, will you stop."
"What?
"You have that look in your eyes. Like I'm an injured puppy or something." He finally met my gaze, grimacing as he did. "I'm a grown man, and I've been on my own for quite a while now. It's really not that horrible for me."
"Okay, okay." I stared out at the dancefloor and rubbed my arms, bare from the sleeveless dress. "I just worry about you."
"You don't need to," he replied.
"I can't help it when you gallivant all around the world with hardly a word to anybody back home, and you show up late to important events, or miss holidays entirely," I countered, letting the irritation seep into my words.
"Just because I'm not talking to you all the time doesn't mean I'm avoiding everyone. I talk to my brothers, you know," he corrected me, then asked, "Do you want to see what I've been doing?"
I looked up at him in surprise. Peter had always been a man of secrets, and I was stunned that he might want to share any part of his journey with me. "Yes, of course."
He took his cell phone and opened his pictures before handing it to me. "Here."
The first picture showed him standing in front of a temple, with several smiling humans beside him. The next few pictures showed happy children with a new school, and then it showed Peter - along with many humans - working on the school.
As I scrolled through the pictures, I found more and more of similar ones. Different places, different children and humans, but all of them looking like they were in dire need of help. And in each place, there were photos of Peter, handing out food and medicine, setting up machines to get clean water, building schools and housing, giving away books.
"You've been helping people?" I asked, feeling both amazed and humbled.
Peter nodded and took the phone back from me. "I spent a huge portion of my life fighting - fighting myself, fighting my past, and literally fighting in wars alongside the humans. But that's not what I want anymore. That's not who I want to be. It doesn't do me any good to be angry or bitter about the love that I've lost."
He continued, "So I've been learning to be grateful for the time that I had, for the love that I felt, and to give back." He looked down at me solemnly. "I don't want to define myself by my sadness anymore, and it's hard for me to be around you all because you still only see me as this miserable, lonely guy."
"I'm sorry," I said simply, because I didn't know what else to say.
"Don't be sorry. Just... trust me when I say that I'm happy."
"Okay." I smiled. "I'm happy that you're happy."
He smiled back at me, a warm genuine one that lit up his eyes. "And I'm happy that you're happy."
"Hey, man," Jack grinned as he approached us. "Nice of you to show up - fashionably late, as always."
"I'm nothing if not fashionable," Peter replied as Jack hugged him. "How have you been?"
"Great. And I'd ask you how you're doing, but the travelling seems to be sitting well with you," Jack said.
Peter patted his stomach. "It helps when you can't get catch malaria or get sick from drinking the water."
They began exchanging an inside joke that I didn't understand, so I left them alone to catch up and laugh while I went to spend time with the grooms.
AS I SAT TALKING WITH Bobby, the band began playing a slow cover of the Beatles' "All My Loving." Then Jack suddenly appeared at my side. I don't know where he came from or where he'd been, but he took my hand, and without saying a word, he pulled me out to the dance floor.
"What's this about?" I asked with a delighted laugh as he pulled me into his arms.
"Can't a guy dance with his girlfriend?" he asked, flashing me his most swoon-worthy smile.
"You can dance with me anytime you want. You know that."
My body pressed against his as we swayed, and the sound of his heart pounding slowly in his chest kept time with the music. His hand was on the small of my back, and his usual temperate skin slowly began warming up, feeling wonderfully hot through the thin fabric of my dress.
"Do you remember when we first met?" Jack asked.
I laughed again. "Of course. How could I forget? You rescued me from a band of hooligans on a chilly Minnesota night."
"I'd been getting into my car, and I heard your heart, pounding fast and strong." His expression softened, and his blue eyes lightened as he lost himself in the memory. "Like a butterfly, beating its wings in a jar, desperate to escape, to live. And you looked like you were frozen in the darkness, ready to give up and die, but your heart told me otherwise."
"Well, I'm glad you listened to my heart," I said.
"It was the most beautiful sound I'd ever heard. How could I ignore it?" Jack mused. "I just wanted to get a good look at you and find out what was so special about you and your powerful heart, but then before I knew it, I was in love with you."
I laughed. "You make it sound like you tripped, and then just fell into it."
Jack twirled me around the dancing floor as the music rose to a subtle crescendo. My skirt swirled around me, and thanks to my training, I nimbly kept up with his quick steps. We moved so quickly that a flower that had been pinned in my hair came loose, floating away behind us.
"Isn't that how it was?" he asked as we slowed back down, his arm strong and sure around my waist. "I wasn't in love with you, and then we started hanging out, and suddenly, you were all I could think about it."
"For me, it was much slower," I admitted. "It was this gradual thing that grew inside me, like a sunburn. I didn't feel it as it was happening, exactly, but the heat only intensified until I was burnt. And I was in love."
"A sun burn?" He arched his eyebrow. "How romantic, Alice."
I smirked. "Next time I'll be sure to write you a sonnet."
The song ended, switching to something far more up-tempo, so Jack took my hand and we walked off the dancefloor. I expected us to go back over to join the other guests at the wedding, but instead, he led me down the darkened paths into the rose garden.
His skin had cooled considerably, and he chewed his lip as we walked. Behind us, the sounds of the music and people talking grew more faint.
"What are you thinking?" I asked finally.
He stopped and took a deep breath. "I wanna marry you."
"Jack. We've talked about this. A piece of paper is totally meaningless. Who you are on paper doesn't even really exist - you're not twenty-four, and your name isn't even really Townsend."
"Just because I was born Jack Hobbs is no reason for us not to get married. But I'm not talking about the paper anyway." He waved his hands dramatically. "I'm talking about me and you, and getting up in front of all our friends and family and pledging to spend all of eternity together."
"But don't we do that every day?" I asked. "We fought so hard to be together, and we had to prove to everyone how much we loved each other. And now us just being together, being good together. Isn't that enough?"
"Yes, I get what yo
u're saying, and in a lot of ways, you're right, which is why I've agreed with you for so long but..." He trailed off. "Maybe I'm just old school, Alice. I've been on this earth for almost forty-four years. And as cheesy as it sounds, I always wanted to fall in love and get married. I did the first part, and now I'm asking you to do the second half with me."
"It really means that much to you?" I asked, but the longing in his eyes already told me the answer.
"Yes. You mean everything to me, and I want to marry you."
"Okay." I smiled. "For you, I'll do anything."
"Really?" Jack asked, his eyes, lighting up and a deep smile spreading across his face. I nodded. "I want to hear you say it."
"Yes, Jack, I will marry you."
And then I felt happiness like I'd never felt before. His mixing with mine, like an explosion. A thousand points of white light dazzled through me, sending tingles and ecstasy all over my body.
He wrapped his arms around me, lifting me off the ground, and twirled me around as I laughed. Still holding me in his arms, I leaned down to kiss him. His lips tasted just as wonderful as they had the first time I kissed him, and I felt the heat of his pulse pounding against his skin.
"Should we go back and tell everyone?" Jack asked once he'd set me back on the ground.
I shook my head. "Not today. I don't want to steal Milo and Bobby's thunder. We can wait a few days."
"If we must." He took my hand again as we started walking back toward the reception.
A tall rose bush with long branches covered in dark viridian leaves and inky blue flowers blocked our path. Jack let go of my hand to lift a branch so we could pass by, and a few petals and raindrops pooled in the flowers fell on us.
I walked ahead, brushing the petals from my hair, and asked, "So, when should I be expecting a ring to go along with my proposal?"
I'd gone a few steps, but I realized Jack wasn't with me, so I turned back to see him standing, frozen in place. He still held the branch above his head, oblivious to the rainwater that dampened his hair, and he stared off with the strangest expression on his face.
"I was only teasing. I'm not mad," I said, hurrying to erase his unease, but he didn't respond. "Jack?"
"Sorry." He shook his head, trying to clear it, but I felt his apprehension - tight and cold, suffocating the earlier joy.
"What's wrong?" I asked as he joined me.
He pursed his lips. "I don't know exactly. It was just something familiar and ... unpleasant."
"What does that mean?"
"Let's just head back to the party, okay?" He forced a smile and put his arm around my waist.
We walked back to the dance much faster than we had left it, and though Jack tried to regain his earlier happiness, I couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't quite here. At least not completely.
As soon as we stepped off the path, back into the clearing where the parquet wood lay beneath strings of lights, Peter made a beeline for us. The dancefloor was rather crowded, with everyone dancing and having a good time, but Peter's eyes were anything but cheerful as he approached us.
Already, Jack's arm was tightening protectively around me, which was rather silly since I was a far better fighter than him.
"What is it?" Jack asked as soon as Peter reached us.
"Well, there's been a development," he replied cagily.
But Jack had already stopped listening. His attention had turned to a woman walking toward us, with long deliberate strides. Her form fitting dress clung to her voluptuous curves, and her dark brown hair lay in loose curls just above her shoulders. She was beautiful, with rich olive skin and a sultry smile playing on her full lips.
"Aisha's here," Peter said, saying her name with a long i, so it sounded like hi-shuh.
My eyes bounced between the two of them. "Who is Aisha?"
Jack swallowed. "She's my ex-girlfriend."
I'D ALWAYS KNOWN THAT I wasn't Jack's first. He'd had a couple serious relationships back when he'd been human, and after he turned, he'd gone on a bit of a dating spree. There had been one mention of a semi-serious relationship with a vampire, but they had broken up sometime before me. We'd never gone into it too much, because it never seemed that important.
But now, with his ex-girlfriend standing right in front of us, with dark eyes - so dark, they were almost black - locked on Jack, I wish I had asked a lot more questions. She inhaled deeply through her nose, and a strange wistful appreciation flashed across her eyes, causing her eyelids to flutter.
"Hello, Jack," she said, and Jack hurried to smile instead of gaping at her.
"Hi. Hello." He cleared his throat. "What are you, um, what are you doing here? Do you know Bobby or something?"
"Bobby? Is that the human?" she asked with a condescending laugh. "Really, Jack, you know me better than that. I haven't been friends with humans since I turned."
Jack ran a hand through his hair, growing increasingly agitated. "Well, you know, I haven't talked to you in like six or seven years or more."
I glanced up at Jack. He and I had met six years ago this past spring, which meant that they must've ended things shortly before then.
"And whose fault is that?" she asked, casting me a look from under her long lashes before turning her full attention on me. "Sorry, we haven't been properly introduced. I'm Aisha Moore."
"Alice Bonham," I replied with a thin smile, and when she extended her hand - delicate and dainty, like a Queen waiting to have her rings kissed - I shook it politely.
"She's my girlfriend," Jack said, pulling me closer to him. "Fiancee, actually."
Peter, who lingered beside us, sipped his blood cocktail as the tension unfolded, but now he regarded Jack and I with surprised approval.
Aisha clicked her tongue as her gaze returned to Jack. "You told me that you weren't sure about a serious relationship."
"No, I said I wasn't sure about a serious relationship with you," Jack corrected her icily.
She laughed. "Oh, Jack, don't worry. That was forever ago. When we'd dated, I'd only been turned for a couple years. I didn't know a thing about life, and there was no way I was ready for anything serious."
"Yeah, we were both young," Jack said with an uneasy laugh.
Aisha appeared to be in her mid-twenties, and if she hadn't been turned long before dating Jack, she was still fairly young. At least in vampire terms.
"So, Aisha, what is that you're doing here?" Peter asked, sounding bored and annoyed in a way that only he could.
"I've been travelling around Europe as of late, and I happened to hear that a Townsend vampire was getting married," she explained with a shrug. "I thought it might be Jack, and I couldn't pass up a chance to say goodbye to my first love."
Jack rubbed the back of his neck. "I wasn't your first... anything."
"You were my first real vampire boyfriend." Aisha made a sexy pout, like a cheap imitation of Marilyn Monroe. "A girl just doesn't forget a thing like that."
"Were you planning to try to steal Jack away?" Peter asked pointedly.
Jealousy momentarily flared up inside me. A primal possessiveness that burned through my veins, but I pushed it down and forced a smile. Jack loved me, he'd chosen me as much as I'd chosen him, and some ex-girlfriend from the past wouldn't change that.
"No, no, of course not." Aisha laughed loudly. "I told you. I'm over all of that. I only wanted to see how you were doing and make sure you're happy with how your life turned out."
"I am," Jack said. His arm around my waist relaxed, not so it was loose, but more comfortable. He stood up straighter, with his usual bravado returning and smiled down at me. "I'm very happy, actually." Then he looked back up at Aisha. "How about you?"
"Can't complain," she replied with a coy smile. "My life after death has been good to me."
"I'm really glad to hear that," Jack said, and he sounded like he meant it.
"I'm doing swell, too," Peter chimed in dryly. "If anyone was wondering."
She gave him a sardonic smil
e. "You always were so much fun, Peter."
"And you always were...." He trailed off and took another long sip of his drink. "So, what have you been up to in all these years since last we saw you, Aisha? Still glomming onto wealthy, lonely vampires?"
Her smile tightened, and her eyes flashed daggers at him. "That wasn't what I was doing." She took a deep breath and shook her head. "No. I don't need to defend myself to you anymore. I may have had to the whole time I was with Jack, but now I'm not with him."
"No, you're not, and you haven't been for a long time," Peter countered. "Which begs the question why you wanted to show up here."
"I already told you," she snapped. "I've been travelling in the area. For work, actually, not that it's any of your business, and I just wanted to say hello."
"What is it that you're doing now? For work?" Jack asked, presumably to defuse the growing tension.
"I'm working with a vampire organization, helping the newly turned acclimate and live peacefully," Aisha said, still glaring at Peter.
"That sounds really nice," I said, and she looked over at me as if she'd forgotten I was there, which I suspect she probably had.
"I always wanted to give back," she said, causing Peter to scoff loudly.
The conversation lapsed into an uncomfortable silence, so Jack said finally, "Yeah, that's great."
"So if I understand correctly, this is a wedding for a vampire with a human?" Aisha asked, raising an eyebrow dubiously.
"Yeah," Jack said. "They've been together for a while now."
"Hmm." She turned back, eyeing up one of Milo's coworkers as they walked by. "In my experience, humans are only good for one thing." Aisha looked back at us with a predatory smile. "And it's not love or marriage."
I stiffened up, and Jack tightened his arm around me again - this time for Aisha's protection.
"It's been lovely catching up with you all, it really has," Aisha said, smiling broadly at us like we were old friends. "But I should be on my way soon, and I'd like to say a quick 'hello' to Mae first."
"Take care," Jack replied coolly.
As she walked away, she looked back over her shoulder with her gaze lingering on Jack, then she turned and sauntered across the dancefloor. She just went straight across, expecting everyone to move out of the way for her, and to her credit, they did.
"Okay, I honestly have no idea what the hell that was about," Jack said once she was out of earshot. "That was really weird."