Don't Bite the Bridesmaid (2 page)

“Where exactly can I go where they won’t find me?”

“I know a boat departing day after tomorrow,” a clear voice said from behind them.

Charles jumped from his chair and Noah spun to face the intruder. When the bright dress—pink this time—came into view from around the corner of his house, he held up a hand to stop Charles from accosting her.

“What are you doing creeping around in my back yard, Miss Shepard?” He didn’t bother to keep the anger from his tone. She’d invaded his space without being invited. Listened in to his conversation. The things she could have heard—well, it wasn’t worth worrying about. They hadn’t said anything important.

Even worse, she was just as beautiful as always. Her long blonde hair was pulled back in a casual design, begging to be released. A minimal amount of make-up adorned her sun-touched skin. And her body curved in all the right places.

“Alice,” she corrected, voice perky. A large smile lit up her face as if she hadn’t heard the warning in his tone. “Hi there.” She gave Charles a small wave.

Charles stepped forward and took one of Alice’s delicate hands into his, flashing her an appreciative grin. Charles’s flirtatious personality and easy confidence had never bothered Noah before, but he couldn’t keep the frown from his face when Alice smiled at his friend.

Few women resisted Charles. He looked like he should be on a surfboard with his dark blond hair, which appeared to have been highlighted by the sun, and his easygoing attitude. Charles knew exactly how attractive he was to the opposite sex. A fact of which he availed himself at every opportunity.

“I’m Charles, as Noah would tell you if he wasn’t—”

“Rude?” Alice asked with a teasing smile, and Charles let out a loud roar of a laugh.

Noah stepped next to them, slightly in Alice’s personal space. As he intended, she released Charles’s hand and stepped back.

“I can see she knows you well, Noah.”

“She doesn’t know me at all,” he said, never moving his gaze from Alice’s dark eyes. “Why are you here, Miss Shepard?”

“Alice. Why can’t you call me Alice?” She waved her hand in the air, dismissing any attempt at an answer he might make. “You didn’t answer your door, and I could see you were probably home.”

“Peering through windows now?”

“Hardly.” Her voice remained calm, but a bit of pink crept up her neck. She had enough sense to at least be a little embarrassed. “But a BMW was in your driveway—your car, Charles?” she asked, glancing to her side to include Charles in their conversation.

“Yes.” Charles replied, a big grin still engulfing his face.

She nodded to him. “Plus, you never go anywhere during the day. Anyway, I decided to see if you were out back. Pretty sculpture.” Her gaze shifted to the sun he’d painstakingly carved from wood that was set between the house and pool.

Noah lifted an eyebrow at her and grinned, his ire lifting a bit at the thought of her watching him and at her admiration of his work. “Do you monitor my back yard a lot, Alice?” He couldn’t help the flirtation in his tone. It wasn’t the right thing to do, but he’d be damned if she didn’t bring it out in him. She’d been spying on him. Somehow, that made his occasional—and that’s all they were, occasional—glances at her balcony while she read more acceptable. She was as guilty as he was.

“I do not,” she said primly, but the red that had started up her neck flushed her cheeks, and if he wasn’t mistaken, her pulse had kicked up a notch or five. “I—well, never mind.”

“And you’re here because?”

“Look, I know we don’t know each other very well. Or, at all, really. I mean, we’ve lived right next door to one another for what is it…five years now? But you’re not exactly the sociable type so—” Her words stopped abruptly and her cheeks reddened even more.

Charles coughed, stifling the laugh for Alice’s benefit, no doubt.

Noah’s mouth twitched, but he forced away the grin. “I’m aware of my anti-social nature, Miss—Alice. Please continue.”

She swallowed hard and plowed ahead. “Well, social or not, I could use your help. And there’s a free cruise in it for you. All you have to do is agree to…a little game of pretend.”

“A game of pretend,” he repeated.

“Yes. A game where you pretend to be my new boyfriend.”

He stared at her for a long, awkward moment. She wanted him to do what?

“You see,” she continued, “it’s not like we have to really do anything. I just need you to pretend to be with me during the few social events of the cruise where we’d have to show up together. Like the wedding. The rehearsal dinner. Maybe a few other events. And the rest of the time is yours.”

He blinked.

Charles gave up his fight, and collapsed into a chair laughing. “I’m sorry, Alice.” He managed. “It’s just…the look on Noah’s—”

Alice shot a quick, nervous glance at Charles, but trudged on with her sales pitch. “Not that you look like you need a free vacation. But it would really help me out and—”

He raised his hand, and she faltered.

“What are you talking about?” He waved at her. “Explain. Slowly.”

She took a deep breath and let it out in a big whoosh. “I have to go on a weeklong cruise for my sister’s wedding. The problem is, her fiancé’s best man happens to be my ex. And I don’t want to show up alone like some giant goober who couldn’t get a date.”

His amusement vanished, and Charles’s laughter faded.

“What? You want to use me to get the schmuck back?” Noah asked.

“Oh no. No.” She glanced down at her hands and stared at her shiny pink polish. “That’s not what this is about,” she said firmly, and he wasn’t sure if she was saying it to herself or to him.

“Isn’t it too late to add a traveler?” he asked, buying himself time before making a decision.

“No my sister already booked a spot for my plus-one. We’ll just need to add a name. It’ll be a quick phone call, and maybe a nominal fee. I’ll cover it, of course, and—”

“I can’t help you.”

Her gaze flew back to his, and he crossed his arms.

“I know this is short notice, but—”

“I think this is a perfect opportunity, Noah. Go with your pretty neighbor.” Charles got up from the chair and stepped to the side so Noah wasn’t blocking his view of Alice so effectively. “Help her make this rogue rue the day—” Charles paused and turned to Alice. “He is a rogue, I assume.”

She started. “Uh…yes. That’s a good word for him.”

“Good.” Charles slapped Noah on the back, hard enough for it to leave sting behind. “This is perfect, then.”

“No, it isn’t,” Noah insisted. He couldn’t go on a cruise with the woman; he could barely stand to be this close to her. She didn’t smell of apples today, but some sort of fruity scent still clung to her. Maybe from her shampoo? Whatever it was, it made his mouth water and his teeth ache.

“Where are you going, exactly?” Charles asked.

“It’s a one-week cruise down the Pacific coastline to Mexico. Nice and relaxing.”

Noah ran his fingers through his hair and glared at her. Women. They just oozed difficulty. Especially this one.

“Well that does sound perfect. When does he need to be ready to go?” Charles, was as close to giddy as was possible for a vampire who’d been around for decades longer than he appeared.

“Day after tomorrow. I’ll come by at noon to get him.”

“Wonderful!”

“Now wait a damn minute,” Noah said, finally finding his voice. “I’m not going on any cruise. And I’m definitely not going to play your boyfriend so you can get your idiot ex back.”

Alice grimaced and hurt flashed behind her eyes, but she didn’t look any less determined. “Look, I get it, okay? I’m not your type. But you obviously need to get out of town for a week for some probably nefarious reason, and I need a date.” Her determined expression faltered for a second. “It’s not anything illegal, is it? Why you need to get out of town?”

“It’s girl trouble,” Charles provided, most unhelpfully.

Her smile came back full force. “Perfect!”

Noah opened his mouth to argue and then snapped it shut. What was the use? Charles was right. He needed to get out of town or he’d have to put up with far more than a single week of discomfort. And when he got back, things would be settled.

And then he’d have to move.

His chest tightened at the thought, but there was no way around it. Alice had become too comfortable just dropping in. She’d become too observant of his habits. If she saw too much, she’d be in far more trouble than she could imagine.

And if she figured out he was a vampire, he wasn’t sure there would be anything he could do to save her.

“It’ll be perfect,” she said, and she reached out and patted his arm, making his chest constrict tighter as he met her bright eyes. “Two birds, one cruise ship.”

Alice waved goodbye after confirming he’d be ready to go the day after next, and then disappeared back around the side of his house.

Noah turned to Charles, and pushed down the urge to punch his good friend in the nose. “Inside. Now.”

Charles grinned at his tone, but followed him into the kitchen.

“What were you thinking?”

“Why is this a problem?”

Because she smells too damn good? Her particularly intoxicating blend of apples and alcohol last night had almost forced his fangs out in front of her. But he couldn’t tell Charles that. He was a friend, but there were limits. Self-control was the most important thing to vampires, and if Charles thought his hung by a thread—no matter how good she smelled—he might decide he shouldn’t fight the ruling.

“Look, I get you don’t want to be trapped on a cruise ship for a week. That’s a lot of sun to avoid. But this is perfect, really. And they won’t be able to track you easily. Pull out some cash before you go, and you won’t even need to use a credit card. I’ll get you an untraceable cell phone.”

Charles thought the sun was his biggest concern about the trip. Good. The sun was a worry—it didn’t cause him to burst into flames like in the movies, it could just sicken him a great deal—but it definitely wasn’t number one on his list of potential complications.

“I guess,” he said, stiffly. Being mad at Charles was pointless. His friend was right. But he didn’t have to like it.

“Besides,” Charles whistled softly, “by the looks of your neighbor, I think it could be a fun trip.”

“It’s not like that. I have to live next door to her, she’s not a chew toy.”

“You don’t have to bite her to sleep with her. Could be a fun week, that’s all I’m saying.” Young for a vampire, Charles made full use of his energy to have many fun weeks with many different women. But Noah was older, and he no longer found one night stands as fun as he used to. And he stuck with women who he didn’t have to hide his nature from—fellow vampires. Old friends who were traveling through town. Women who wouldn’t get attached, nor tempt him to become attached. Alice had been the first woman in a long time to even tempt him into thinking about a human.

But she wasn’t the kind of girl he could relieve that itch with. Rage fired from his gut at the idea of anyone—even himself—using Alice for a week of fun, only to say goodbye to her. She wasn’t the type, and he held his fists at his sides to avoid showing Charles how he felt about the suggestion.

“She lives next door. If I slept with her, she’d assume that would give her the right to drop in whenever.” He forced the words out, hoping Charles would believe that’s what worried him.

Charles didn’t look convinced, but he tilted his head in a quick nod. “True. You’re right. Best to keep things friendly. But it’s also best you go on this cruise.”

“Fine. But if I come back here to a wedding, I’m going to be pissed.”

Chapter Two

A
lice still wore her optimistic smile—and yet another sundress—when she knocked on his door the morning of the cruise. His chest lightened at the sight of her. What was it about her that did that to him every time? The constant positive energy radiating from her? Maybe. He didn’t get out much anymore. He needed to fix that, leave the house more once he got back from this cruise. A little time around other women and she wouldn’t affect him so damn much.

“Hi, there. Are you ready to go?”

A whiff of something fruity flowed from her, different than the appletinis she’d smelled of the night she’d failed to ask him to go. She smelled good enough to eat.

“I’m ready,” he said, unable to keep a touch of annoyance from his tone. He still wasn’t entirely happy about the situation he’d been forced into.
Damn The Council
.

Her smile widened. “Aren’t we grumpy this afternoon?”

She had no idea. He’d packed quickly, and picked up the cell phone from Charles. Alex and Charles could contact him that way, but he’d be difficult to track by The Council. Of course, they had other ways of finding him, but this might slow them down in case they jumped the gun. “Just need some caffeine.”

“We can pick up some coffee on the way.”

Perky as she was, he didn’t think she really needed the caffeine, but he could definitely use it. Not what he’d like to be drinking—nor the best beverage from which to get his energy—but he’d have to deal with it. Besides, he’d fed well with Charles the night before. Although Charles, like usual, had been annoyed Noah insisted on bagged blood. He’d be okay for a while yet.

He carried his suitcase and followed her out to her car, setting the house alarm along the way.

“That was a long security code,” she said after they were loaded into her Accord.

He shrugged. “You’ve seen the size of my television.”

“True. Not to mention your furniture. And I suspect a lot of the art on your walls is real.”

“Have you been casing my house, Miss Shepard?” He slipped his sunglasses on.

She snorted in a most unladylike way. “Yeah. I’m only taking you on vacation with me so my accomplices can rob you.” Her smile dropped off. “Actually, that’s going to sound super suspicious if someone actually does rob you while we’re gone.”

A laugh escaped him before he realized it was coming. “If there’s one thing I’m sure of about you, Miss—Alice. You’re not a thief.”

“I’m not?” Her smile returned in full force.

“I don’t think you could lie believably if your life depended on it.” Was that what made her so attractive to him? He glanced at her and leaned into the door as they made a hard turn into the Starbucks drive-thru.

“Whatever,” she said good-naturedly, dismissing his observation.

They ordered at the staticy box. A simple black coffee for him, but her order gave him pause.

“Apple cider?”

“Spicy apple cider,” she said, pulling the car around to the window.

“Not coffee.”

“I had coffee earlier. It’s already twelve-thirty.” She put the car into park and then turned to look at him, pushing her sunglasses up. “Do you think I need more caffeine?”

“God, no.”

She laughed and took their order from the gangly Starbucks’ boy at the window and slipped the drinks into the cup holder sandwiched between their seats.

He played with her radio until he found an oldies station. “I still don’t think this is the best idea.”

“What?”

“This whole thing. Why can’t you tell the guy your boyfriend can’t come?”

“Yeah. That’d be convincing.”

He couldn’t argue, and besides, he’d committed to this course of action. He’d see it through. And Charles was right. He needed to be out of town when The Council came calling. Alex might be able to wrangle him out of the arranged bonding, but it would be more difficult if he were easily accessible. It would take Alex time to change their minds. Vampires—especially ones as old as those who graced The Council—did not easily alter their paths.

And he didn’t mind Alice’s company. Of course, that was the heart of the problem.

They drove most of the way to the cruise ship in companionable silence. He did his best to ignore the smell of apples, and beneath it, the fresh scent of her skin. A short time later, they were making their way through the boarding line.

“How many people are coming to this cruise wedding?” he asked Alice while they waited for an elderly couple in line in front of them to check in.

“Hundred and twenty-five. Something like that.”

“That’s a lot of people to coordinate.”

“Well, not everyone is attending everything. She’s left the activities pretty open. The wedding party has more required things to go to—that’s us, by the way—but for the most part, people are on their own except for the wedding and reception.” She tucked a chunk of hair that had escaped her clip behind her ear. Again the urge to yank the clip and release her long hair to tumble down her back hit him.

“What things do we have to attend?” At least the salty smell this close to the ocean made her scent fade to the background.

She reached out and took his passport from his hand, her fingers brushing his ever so slightly. A spark of heat ran up his arm from her touch. She stepped away to hand their identification to the young woman behind the registration desk.

“The rehearsal dinner, of course. Cindy will have a few other things for us to do, too. I’m sure she has an itinerary mapped out with games, activities, that sort of thing. And the bachelor and bachelorette parties, of course.”

“I have a little bit of a sun allergy, so I’m not sure—”

“Not to worry, I think most of the planned stuff will be indoors. For stuff that’s not, I’m sure I can get you a doctor’s note.” She winked at him and then took back their identification. She paused before handing his back. “Sun allergy, huh? What are you, some kind of vampire?”

He gritted his teeth and forced a small smile onto his face. “Something like that.”

His irritation must have shown, because a frown swept away her good humor. “I’m sorry, Noah. That was thoughtless of me. I shouldn’t have made light of your condition.”

“It’s fine. Not like I haven’t heard that joke before.” He hadn’t, because he’d never used such an excuse before, nor had he needed to. He didn’t spend enough time with humans to require an excuse to avoid the daylight. But he wasn’t about to tell her that. Besides, if she felt guilty, she was less likely to push him for more information about his “condition”.

“Well, let’s go ahead and board. We’re supposed to meet everyone in an hour at,” she consulted a computer printout pulled from her purse, “one of the buffet areas, looks like, for a late lunch. Not sure we’ll have time to stop by the room. Let’s just send all the bags to be delivered.”

Arguing about the bags seemed like a good way to make her suspicious, so he decided against it. He opened his mouth to ask about her family, so he’d know what to expect, but then snapped it shut. Asking about them might give the wrong impression. Like he was interested. Which he wasn’t.

Their bags disappeared with a promise that they’d be delivered, and he resisted shooting a nervous glance after them. He chastised himself for even bothering to worry. If they were scanned or even rifled through, the blood would look like nothing out of the ordinary in what appeared to be old shampoo and conditioner bottles. And they wouldn’t leak, because the bottles—despite their commonplace appearance—were specially designed to carry blood.

He walked with Alice through the windowed walkway and onto the ship. The lines had grown while they checked in, and he was glad she’d thought to arrive early. The idea of an hour in a line like that, surrounded by people, made him itchy.

The cruise ship was exactly what he’d expected: gaudy, brilliant, and fake. Brass colored metal bars ran everywhere, keeping patrons from falling to their deaths off walkways into common areas. Purple and maroon carpets, beaten down by the feet of thousands of travelers, covered the floors.

He loathed it.

But Alice grinned at the false luxury surrounding them, and even laughed at the sight of a garish fountain that sported a lion’s head with a stream of water cascading from its roaring mouth. For a brief moment, he wondered if he’d misjudged her.

No. Bad taste and all, she was still dangerous.

“God, isn’t this terrible?” she asked, pointing out an abstract sculpture of geometric designs crisscrossing, brightly colored to match the decor surrounding it.

“I thought you were enjoying the place.”

“Oh, it’s horrible. I love it.”

The opposing sentiments of her words didn’t seem to bother her, so he didn’t push for clarification. If she could love and hate it, who was he to call her crazy?

They turned the corner into the dining area, and a loud scream sounded from across the room. A tall blonde, at least six inches taller than Alice’s five-foot-three inch frame, flung herself into Alice’s arms. And high-pitched chatter, streaming almost too fast for him follow the actual words, filled the air.

A couple of minutes passed while he stood awkwardly next to Alice and the woman he assumed had to be her sister. Feeling forgotten, and more than a little annoyed with himself for the spike of loneliness that followed, he crossed his arms and did his best to look like he didn’t have a care in the world.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Cindy, this is Noah. Noah, this is my sister, Cindy. The bride.”

Cindy’s smile was vibrant, like her sister’s. But her eyes were serious when she shook his hand and examined him. She looked a lot like Alice. The same blonde hair adorned her face—albeit in a shorter, more modern cut than Alice wore—and she had the same brown eyes. But he didn’t feel the same energy in her, the same vibrancy.

Cindy Shepard was a more cautious soul than her sister.

“Nice to meet you, Noah.”

“Likewise,” he replied, “and congratulations.”

“Thank you.” Cindy turned to Alice and added conspiratorially, “Wait until you see the young hunk Mom brought.”

“Lucinda!” A high-pitched voice called from only a few feet away.

Cindy winced. Noah stepped back to avoid being trampled by the slight woman that rushed past him. An older version of Cindy pulled the bride into her arms, then Alice.

Alice made the introductions after extracting herself from what turned out to be her mother’s arms, introducing Noah as a friend. The woman gave him a big hug that forced his breath from his lungs. He stiffened in her embrace and patted her awkwardly on the back. A soft yearning touched his chest, and he wrestled with the temptation to relax into the hug.

When was the last time someone had hugged him?

He stepped away from Edna Shepard and shook himself mentally. He needed to keep his shit together. This wasn’t his family. It was an acting gig.

“It’s so nice to meet a
friend
of Alice’s,” Edna said. Her words dripped with speculation, and she reached out and squeezed his shoulder. “She’s been hinting around about bringing you for weeks, of course, but getting details out of this girl is impossible. She’s so tight-lipped.”

Noah stifled a laugh. Alice and tight-lipped didn’t belong in the same sentence, so she must have blurted her intention to bring a friend, and then spent weeks finding someone to fill the position. He shot Alice a glance and there was a warning in her eyes. Didn’t her mother know his presence was a farce?

“Now that I see you though, I can see why.” She eyed him up and down, and he felt an inexplicable blush crawl up his neck. “You are a prince, aren’t you? If I were a couple of decades younger—”

“Mother!” Alice and Cindy said simultaneously.

“Don’t fret, he knows I’m teasing,” Edna said, but the glint in her eye belied her words, and he couldn’t help the real smile that forced itself onto his face. He took her hand and kissed the back of it, and she laughed and made her way to the next group of family members.

Alice tugged on his shirt and led him to a buffet that seemed to be for their party alone, if the chatter amongst the guests was any indication. He selected a couple of things he particularly enjoyed: fresh fruit and a turkey sandwich. He didn’t have to eat normal food to survive, and it didn’t do much for him, but keeping up appearances was important. And he still loved the taste of strawberries.

He glanced at Alice’s plate when they sat down at a table full of her cousins. A large hamburger and French fries. And a giant slice of chocolate cake.

“What’s so funny?”

“You don’t believe in healthy eating, do you?” he asked, but when her smile faltered, he regretted the words. “I’m not saying you need to,” he found himself clarifying, “you’re in great shape.” His eyes flashed over her sundress-adorned body, now mostly blocked from his view by the table between them. But every delicious curve was burned into his memory. He felt himself start to harden in his jeans and whipped his focus back to her face.

“Thanks,” she muttered, her attention on her food.

“I’m not saying—”

“Drop it, okay?” Yep. She definitely thought he’d been critiquing her appearance. Dammit. He should clear the air, but that could be misconstrued. And he couldn’t afford for her to think he cared. She might get it in her head to pursue him.

And he wasn’t sure he’d be able to resist her.

They ate in silence, then Cindy came by to tell them it was almost time for miniature golf. Alice emptied her plate, despite his comment, which brought a smile to his face. The woman wasn’t going to change her lunch because of what she thought was a critical statement about her figure. Good for her.

“Lucinda!” A loud voice called, hitting an octave that made Noah cringe. Edna waved from across the room, and Alice’s sister waved back.

“One sec, Mom,” Cindy called back. Then to Noah, “She’s the only one who ever calls me by my full name.” He wasn’t sure if she was just making conversation, or if he was being very specifically warned not to call her Lucinda.

Alice turned to him and Cindy went to tend to her mother.

“So I guess I’ll catch up with you later?” he asked.

A quizzical expression touched her face. “But we have miniature golf.”