Cursed (The Brookehaven Vampires #4) (43 page)

We picked out colored lights, a silver star for the top of the tree, and some multi-colored
, glass bulbs to hang on the branches.

After
paying, we went straight home and set about decorating our little tree.

Oliver strung the lights, and he had me put the star on the top. It was easy considering the tree was no higher than my chest. Then we opened the box of bulbs and realized that we had forgotten to get hooks. It was kind of funny, and kind of sad at the same time.

I suggested we use dental floss to hang the bulbs. Oliver looked at me like I was crazy.

When he was finished looking at me like I’d lost my mind, h
e offered to run out for the hooks. I was happy not to have to leave the apartment again. I didn’t feel like going back out into that cold, dreary weather.

So, while Oliver was gone, I enjoyed the warmth of my running heater. I put on warm jammies and pulled my hair up into a ponytail. I sat on the floor in front of the tree and waited for Oliver to return.

I stared at the colored lights as they blinked, and I wondered how Felicia’s baby was doing. I was saddened yet again as I thought about how that baby girl would never experience a Christmas with her real parents. At least I had gotten two, even though I could not recall them. And I had all those years with my aunt, most of which I remembered too clearly at this very moment.

I scooted back and rested my back against the side of the couch while I continued to gaze at the tree. I wiped away fallen tears as memories of my aunt filled my mind.

After some time, I wondered what was taking Oliver so long. He was only going just down the street. I was beginning to worry. Plus, it was weird to be alone in the apartment, especially with the fear of creepers around every corner. However, it was also somewhat nice to have a moment to myself.

I was just about ready to grab my phone and call him when Oliver finally returned. He had a surprise for me. Not only had he
run out for the hooks, he had also stopped by Shakes. He returned with a Styrofoam cup full of happiness.

As I sucked down my chocolaty goodness, and we were hanging the bulbs on the tree, Oliver said, “You know, we’ll probably go out to Julz’s on Christmas, right?”

“Yeah, I figured.” I flashed him a smile with my straw bitten between my teeth.

He chuckled at me.

I’d already figured he would want to see Hayden on Christmas, especially since he had spent every Christmas of her life with her.

Ugh!
The thought of gift buying caused me some anxiety. I was not the greatest when it came to picking out gifts, and adding all the new people in my life was a lot to deal with.
Maybe I’ll attempt cookies…

“I have something else for you,” Oliver said, his voice softening.

I turned my attention away from the tree, and my thoughts of cookie making, to face him.

He pulled a small paper bag from his back pocket and handed it to me.

I set my half-empty milkshake on the kitchen bar, then I unfolded the paper bag. Inside was a silver heart ornament that hung from a red ribbon. On one side of the heart, it read “Our First Christmas,” and in the hollow center hung another heart that had the year on it.

Speechless, I looked up at him.

He flashed me a bashful smile. “I figured we could start our own ornament collection, and our own memories,” he said, looking slightly uneasy. He shoved his hands into his front pockets.

Damn, I love him.

Tears stung my eyes as I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down to me so his lips were on mine.

Needless to say, Oliver got lucky that afternoon.

The rest of the bulbs would have to wait until morning before they would find their place on our tree—before they would find a place with our very first ornament that was hanging right at the top center of our short, perfect, first Christmas tree.

*****

Once it was close to when Carter would be getting home from work, we put on our pajamas and snuggled in bed together. Oliver’s laptop was sitting on his nightstand, and I figured that as soon as my eyes were closed, he would be on that sucker, all night, as he usually was.

With my head rest
ing against his chest and my arm draped over him, Oliver kissed the top of my head and twisted a chunk of my hair while he held me against him with his other arm.

“I know this might not be the best time to bring this up, but I wanted to let you know that Felix and I made an offer on Professor Stuart’s house.”

Slowly, I pushed myself up so that I was sitting on my knees and looking down at him. I was surprised, to say the least. “Really?” I questioned.

He pushed himself up and gave me more details, gently holding my fingers in his while he did.

I knew I shouldn’t be excited since the poor man had just been lowered into the ground earlier in the day, but the prospect of moving from the apartment complex to a place of our own, even if we did have to take Carter along, well, it was hard to hold back that kind of excitement.

Oliver scooted back and rested his back against the headboard. I scooted closer and leaned against his shoulder while he pulled his laptop onto his lap. But he did not open it just yet.

“Once Kiera and Carter are married, she will be living with us, too. So, it will be crowded for a little while, until you and I move.”

“Wait, what do you mean?” I questioned. “Why would you buy this house if we’re not going to stay?”

He didn’t answer my question, but rather, he asked me another. “Are you serious about not going back to school next year?”

“I am…” I said very slowly, curious where he was going with this. “I might take a night class or two, or maybe just take some classes online…”

He smiled. “Then we’ve got some planning to do!” He opened his laptop and turned it on.

“For what?” I questioned, eyeing him suspiciously.

He then proceeded to show me the plans for the community. It was the area where Julz and her family lived, but it expanded beyond that, or at least it would, eventually.

Oliver showed me where all of the main buildings would go, the streets, parks, and everything else the town would have. He was excited to share this with me, and I was growing very excited too.

“And our house, it will be right here,” he said and he placed the cursor over an empty lot. He smiled crookedly at me, and I could not resist planting my lips on his.

My heart felt
like it was bubbling over with happiness—a feeling that had long been missing since we’d returned to “Treeville.”

“Why wouldn’t you just show this to me the other day?” I questioned, finally parting my lips from his.

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I wasn’t ready. But now, I realize just how much we both need something good to look forward to. Something permanent.” That crooked grin appeared again.

I leaned over and gently pressed my lips to his for a moment.

His eyes held mine as I pulled away. “Thank you,” I said, softly, and the most gorgeous little smile touched his lips.

“Thank you, Laney, for my life with you.”

I sighed happily as blissful tears began to surface. I kissed him again, gently pressing my lips to his—the coolness of his mouth warming against mine as I pulled myself closer to him.

If Carter hadn’t come home right then, I was fairly certain Oliver
would’ve gotten lucky, again.

Hookers at the Bridal Expo

Oliver went back to work early that next morning, and I had the pleasure of joining Kiera and Zoey at the bridal expo out at the fairgrounds that afternoon.

Kiera wasn’t quite over her stupid and ridiculous issues with…well crap, I didn’t even know what it was over, but clearly, planning her wedding outweighed whatever it was. However, she did have a bit of an attitude with me.

First she complained that I was late when picking her and Zoey up from Zoey’s apartment. I was maybe five minutes late. Then she launched into a rant about how I was not doing my duties as her maid of honor. Under her breath, she muttered something about me not deserving the title.

I pretended not hear her while
I
continued driving us to the fairgrounds.

I’ll admit, I
hadn’t been much of a best friend lately, and I definitely wasn’t into the wedding planning like she was, or even Zoey, but I didn’t think anyone was into wedding planning like Kiera. That being said, there we were, heading out to a Wedding Expo. If there were expos for this kind of thing, I think it was safe to assume Kiera was not alone. And, if the jam-packed parking lot had anything to say about it, she was
FAR
from alone.

We parked way the hell out and had to trudge across the dirt parking lot for quite a ways to get to the front entrance.

Kiera did not hesitate to inform me that, had I been on time to pick them up, we would have gotten a better spot. I was pretty sure an extra five minutes would’ve done us little good. But, I said nothing in return. I just rolled my eyes as she picked up the pace to walk in front of me. Zoey stayed behind with me and flashed me a quick smile in response to my eye-rollage.

I could hear the happiness in Kiera’s voice as we entered the building
where the expo was being held. She had her notebook out and a pen in her hand as we stepped through the doors, and she was already jotting down ideas as we started making our way through the crowded, tulle-covered aisles.

Kiera was like a mad rabbit. Wait…let me rephrase that… Apparently, mad and rabbits were my thing. Anyway, perhaps she was more of a rabid squirrel. She bounced back-and-forth from booth to booth, talking to every
vendor and taking notes while doing so as if she were some sort of wedding journalist. Perhaps she was working toward the wrong profession. I imagined Kiera might make a great, if not very intense wedding planner. However, her dream was to teach kindergarteners.

Zoey and I tried to keep up with Kiera as she darted from booth to booth, entering every giveaway available and trying or taking samples of anything she could get her hands on, stuffing any free item into her wedding expo goodie bag that each of us
were given upon entry.

Zoey and I had handed our bags over to Kiera. Or rather, Kiera had snatched them from us. It didn’t matter; it wasn’t like we needed them.

Eventually, Zoey and I hung back, finding a spot to sit and rest, while Kiera flipped through page after page of hairstyles at one of the hair salon booths. Zoey and I were beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed.

Then, as if we
hadn’t been tortured enough, Kiera made us sit through two, yes
two
, separate fashion shows.

So many dresses, so much froufrou, and so much pink!
Aaargh!

Kiera had yet to settle on a final color for the bridesmaid’s dresses, and even Zoey was getting nervous with the amount of pink being pushed on the crowd. I guess Valentine’s Day was a very popular day to get married, considering there was talk of it being the “next big wedding rush.” This too explained the amount of pink being
shoved at us.

Zoey quietly expressed to me that we might soon look like giant pieces of bubblegum.

While Kiera stared wide-eyed at the stage, Zoey and I agreed to do what we could to sway Kiera toward another Valentiney color. However, it might be difficult considering Kiera’s eyes were beginning to gloss over, and this creepy smile was appearing every time a pink dress crossed our path.

Yeah, pink was okay, but not to the extent Kiera and the evil wedding expo people were taking it. Personally, I would prefer red.

Next, we headed over to where the dresses from the show could be tried on. Kiera had a long list of dresses for herself, thankfully she only had a few for Zoey and me. Sadly, each one was…pink.

While Kiera was in the dressing room trying on her first dress, I sifted through the plastic covered bridesmaid dresses that were hanging on some nearby racks.

Zoey helped me sort, but she was preoccupied keeping an eye out for Kiera to exit her dressing room.

Since Kiera was getting married on Valentine’s Day, she was going with a pink, red, and silver as the color scheme. So I searched for dresses in red and silver.

I found a couple of dress options. One was red, and the other was a silvery-gray color. I preferred the silvery dress; the fabric was nicer, silkier, and it was just a prettier dress. The red dress had a fuller skirt than the silver, but it almost seemed too prom-like to me—more fun than formal. The silvery one was more of an A-line style, but it tapered down longer in the back. I wasn’t a huge fan of either dress, but they were both better than anything I’d seen so far. However, I wasn’t the one choosing; Kiera would have to approve… This little fact made me nervous.

When Kiera emerged from the fitting room, she was wearing an elaborate wedding dress that did not suit her. It was enormous, with lots of ruffles and sparkles. And it was so big, the dress looked like it was devouring her.

After a good look in the mirror, thankfully Kiera noticed it was not “the dress.” She voiced her distaste and turned for the dressing room.