He looked away, unable to make eye contact with her in that moment.
She continued, “Her death broke all our hearts, but that woman loved you and she loved life. She would not want you living this way.”
The muscles in his jaw felt like they might pop if they tightened further.
“You will at least give this woman a chance.”
He turned to look at her. “Or what?”
She returned his gaze, letting the moment lengthen almost to the point of discomfort. “Or I will revoke your amulet.”
His hand went to the pendant and chain that hung from his neck. “You wouldn’t.”
She broke eye contact to stare at her handkerchief. “I would. I am very serious about this, Hugh.”
“Apparently.” The amulets were sacred. Necessary. They all wore them. The stone at the center held an ancient magic that protected vampires from the sun. Without it, he would never see daylight again. “Does Alice know about this?”
“I do.” Alice Bishop walked into the room. The slight woman had aged a little more than his grandmother, but nothing that belied her almost three hundred years upon the earth. At best she looked to be in her late fifties. But then, keeping the years at bay was nothing for a witch powerful enough to create an amulet capable of shielding a vampire from the sun. She was also powerful enough that Didi had had no need to turn the woman into a rook to save her life.
Alice stopped at the back of his grandmother’s chair. “Your grandmother only wants what’s best for you, Hugh.”
He had a thousand arguments to that, but held his tongue until he could find a calmer answer. “I appreciate that, but I know what’s best for me.”
Elenora sighed deeply. “I’m only asking that you give this a chance.”
“Demanding would be a better description.” The only chance he wanted was to leave. “How long?”
“One month.”
He closed his eyes. One month was a torturous amount of time to spend with a marriage-minded woman in his home, but there were ways around that. He could lock himself in his laboratory, for example. He opened his eyes and nodded. “One month. And then this…game of yours is over.”
She sighed in frustration. “As Alice said, I only have your best interests and your happiness at heart, my darling.”
“I am happy.”
“Yes, you positively glow with joie de vivre. Is that why you and Piper called it quits? Because you were happy?”
Alice smirked as she went to sit on the other side of the room.
Hugh sighed. “You know why we broke up.”
“I do. For the same reason you broke up with Suzanna, Heather and Kim. They weren’t the one or some such nonsense.”
He lowered his lids in boredom. This was another old conversation he was tired of having. “Putting aside the fact that Juliette died during her transition, do you know why I haven’t found another woman to spend my life with yet?”
His grandmother leaned in. “No, but I’d like to hear this.”
“Because I have yet to meet a woman who’s made me think about marriage or children the way Juliette did, one who’s had that kind of chemistry with me. Do you think I should settle for less than what I had with Juliette?” And wasn’t that what love was about? Feeling something so deeply you were willing to risk everything for it?
A little half smile lifted her mouth. “If you expect the same feelings from a different woman, no one’s ever going to be the one, Hugh. You’ve got to give someone a chance.”
“I give them plenty of chances.”
“Yes, you’re good at the relationship part. You can hang on to a woman for…how long did you and Veronica last?”
“Ten months.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “Impressive. More on her behalf than yours, but still you can hang on to them, can’t you? You just can’t close.”
“Now you’re deliberately trying to rile me up.”
“I’ve hit a nerve because I’m right, aren’t I?” She waggled a finger at him. “You can’t commit.”
“Won’t and can’t are two different things.” He sighed. “And I’m upfront with all of them. I tell them I am never getting married again. And I won’t, because none of them has been the right one.” And none of them ever would be.
She nodded, clearly enjoying herself. “Well, then this woman I’ve arranged for should be perfect. She’s been handpicked to meet every specification you could have.”
“How would you know what those specifications are?”
She smirked. “I’ve known you your entire life. I changed your diapers more than three and a half centuries ago.”
“No, you didn’t. The nursemaid did that.”
“Pfft. The point is, I know you, and I knew Juliette, and I know what you like in a woman.”
She probably did. He frowned. “Does this woman know I’m a vampire?”
“Yes.”
“That’s a rather sensitive piece of information to share.”
“Pish posh. The agency I used specializes in finding matches for all kinds of supernaturals. It’s all on the up and up. Very confidential. They don’t even use computers or share pictures of the prospective mates.”
He’d had no idea such a place even existed. He crossed his arms. “Is she one of those romance-novel-reading, tween-movie-watching vampire lovers? Because if I have to share my home with one of those sorts for any length of—”