Well, weren't we Mr. Honey Tongue tonight? "Darlin', are you all right?" I asked, the Oklahoma accent that I normally tried to hide thick in my voice. Gavin worked to cover a chuckle when he answered.
"I am very well. At times, I wish you were here with me. The assignment has become a little boring."
"Yeah, maiming and killing always make me feel the same way," I said without thinking. Gavin laughed. He actually laughed. That hadn't happened in a while. Of course, I hadn't felt like cracking jokes lately, either. I couldn't ask him where he was or what his assignment entailed; I wasn't supposed to know. If he died somewhere, would they bother to tell me?
"I purchased something for you," Gavin said.
"What is it?" I asked.
"I will bring it home with me when I am finished here," he teased.
"Are you doing this on purpose?" I asked. "Now I'll spend the rest of the night wondering what it is."
"That is what I hoped for," he said.
"You want to make me crazy?"
"You will not be bored."
"Is it a crossword puzzle book?" I was never good at those. He chuckled softly.
"No, cara. I would not do that to you."
"Good, because I'm hopeless at that."
"I will keep that in mind."
A knock came while Gavin was on the phone. I slid off the bed to open my door, finding Merrill on the other side. "Honey, Merrill just came in," I said.
"Then I will let you go, bella mia."
"Yeah, well, I love you, too," I said. Gavin was laughing again when he hung up.
"That isn't what he said," Merrill informed me.
"I know that, I just didn't know how to reply," I grumbled, hanging my head a little. At times, I felt so inadequate around Merrill and Gavin. I was bilingual if you counted pig Latin as a second language.
"How much Italian do you know?" A smile teased the corners of his mouth.
"Tiepolo," I said. "Giotto. Michelangelo. Caravaggio. Bernini. The list goes on."
"Which of those is your favorite?"
"Bernini. Hell of a sculptor," I said. "Not much to look at, according to his self-portrait. Had a bit of a nose," I tapped mine. "Did you meet him?" Well, he could have.
"No." Merrill was definitely smiling, now. "I was not in that country at the time."
"Dang. And there I was hoping you'd commissioned a piece or something."
"Sorry," Merrill was still smiling.
"Caravaggio is my second favorite of those, although he did manage to get into some trouble," I said. "Died before forty. Kind of a shame, I guess."
"Was he your favorite Baroque artist?"
"No. You're forgetting Vermeer, Rubens and Rembrandt," I reminded him.
"And yet you gave the Rembrandt to me."
"I kept the Vermeer."
"Yes, you did. I have it in a vault," he said.
"Good. Temperature okay in that vault?"
"Yes."
"Did you want something?" I wondered why he'd come in to begin with—he usually didn't knock on my bedroom door first thing.
"If you will get dressed, Charles will take you into London," Merrill said. "He will drop by in about an hour." Merrill looked at his watch and then at me. "I will give your credit card back to you and a few pounds in case you need cash for something," he added.
"Really? You're letting me leave the house?"
"Yes. Greg and Franklin wished to have some time out alone and Charles has requested the night off to see a motion picture. Go and amuse yourself."
I got my credit card and five hundred pounds. Who knew that five hundred was a few pounds? I wore one of my wigs, Merrill seemed to approve and I went out the door when Charles came.
"That looks nice. Almost like your normal hair," Charles gave my wig the once over as he opened the car door for me.
"Uh-huh," I said. "Where are we going?" I settled into the seat and buckled in while Charles closed the door and trotted to the driver's side.
"Let's go to a movie and then have a glass of wine someplace," he said, shutting his door and starting the car. A movie sounded like heaven to me—a promise to take my mind off my troubles. Charles drove us into London in his powerful sports car he calls the Lizard King. It has a gecko logo on it and he drives it like a maniac at times. It was a good thing I was vampire. Him too, actually.
"Do you arrive sometimes before you leave?" I asked, teasing him a little. We were going quite fast down the highway.
"Are you suggesting that I time travel?" Charles gave me a nice smile.
"I think I saw your clock running backward," I pointed to it on the dash.
It was Friday night and there was a line to buy tickets for the movie when we arrived. Wishing I could still eat popcorn, I shot a wistful glance at the concession stand before following Charles to our theatre. The film was a comedy and we laughed in all the right places. Charles is a good companion and I always enjoy his company. He is never judgmental and sometimes it's hard to hold back because I can't ever confide in him. He works for Wlodek after all and is Flavio's child. I could have a good time with him, though, and I did.
We went to a very nice bar afterward. Charles and I sat across from each other in a booth and had a glass of wine. We were discussing the film we'd seen when someone walked up to our table. I knew he was vampire at least three seconds before he arrived, just by the scent. "Hello, Charles, what are you doing in," his head swiveled so fast in my direction it was almost frightening. "Christ," he muttered, staring at me.
"Behave yourself, Bryan," Charles admonished quietly, sipping his wine.
"Aren't you going to introduce us?" Bryan was still staring.
"Sit down, Bryan, I'll order a drink for you," Charles grumbled. Bryan did sit. Right next to me. I scooted over a little. He wanted to come along but thought better of it; he'd spotted Gavin's ring.
"Charles, I never thought you'd," Bryan wasn't finishing his sentences.
"I didn't. That's Gavin's ring." Charles motioned for our waiter. Bryan held off until his drink order was taken before speaking again.
"Yeah. Trust the Aristocracy to have first shot at everything," he grumbled. I was looking from Charles to Bryan as if I were watching a tennis match. Now I stared at Charles with a question on my lips but didn't ask it.
"Lissa, this is Bryan Riley," Charles nodded at Bryan. "He works as an assistant to one of the local television news producers. Night crew, of course. Bryan, this is Lissa Beth Huston, Gavin's fiancé and Merrill's adopted daughter."