He turns back to the road. “Then what is it?”
“I’m just thinking about all of it. Everything that happened over the last couple of months.”
“It was a lot. But it’s in the past now.”
“Is it?”
“Why do you ask it like that?”
“Because I have this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that something big is about to happen. That our entire world is going to shift.”
“The councils?”
“Probably. I guess I’m just unsettled. Until we know what their next move is, I probably won’t be able to relax.”
“We can handle whatever comes our way, Bronywyn. Dark witches, evil council members…we’ve got this.” He raises our interlinked hands and presses a kiss to mine. “No matter what, we stay together.”
“No matter what,” I repeat—a prayer—a plea for his words to be true. Because try as I might, this feeling is only getting worse.
* * *
“We’re going mini-golfing?”A bright neon sign hangs just overhead, the wordsMonster Mini Golfbrightly illuminated for all to see. I nearly snort at the irony.
Tarnley chuckles and wraps an arm around my waist. “I figured that for our first official date, I should do something I’m good at. You know, to show off my skills.”
I stop, and he releases me. “You have skills with mini golf?”
“Oh yeah. I’m anexpertat mini golf.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Of course not. I never kid about mini golf.” He winks and turns on his heel to keep walking toward the office. Someone to the right cheers loudly, and the others in her group clap as if she’s just won a medal.
Do they give out mini golf medals? I mean, I’ve never actually played before, so maybe she did get one. Tarnley literally could have grown a third arm, and I would have been less surprised than I am right now. Seriously, if you were to ask me what hobbies I thought he had, mini golf wouldn’t have even come close to making the list.
Bird watching? Sure.
Weather chasing? Definitely.
Geocaching? I could see it.
Taxidermy? Absolutely disturbing, but a hell of a lot more likely than hitting a ball with a golf club.
“Tarnley!” a girl squeals as she rushes out from behind the ticket desk. Rainbow-colored hair braided over her shoulder, she practically sprints toward us, wrapping her arms around Tarnley’s waist as soon as she reaches him. I watch, completely and utterly amused as he hugs her back then looks at me with an embarrassed grin.
The human is probably early twenties and, based on the way she’s clinging to Tarnley, utterly infatuated. The fact that he’s letting her hug him is reason to love him even more. Who would have thought that the terrifying vampire had a human friend and loved to play mini golf?
“How you doing, Deissy?”
“Great.” She holds up a hand and showcases a massive diamond ring. “Got myself a fiancé.”
“Oh?”
Her cheeks flush with excitement as Tarnley takes her hand and studies the ring. “He’s a good man, a cop, actually. Can you believe it? Me! Marrying an officer of the law!” She laughs. “I’m so happy.”
Tarnley releases her hand and smiles. “Good. What’s his name? I have a friend who’s a homicide detective. Two, actually,” he adds, referencing Walker.
“Really? What a small world!” The woman’s bright blue eyes shine radiantly beneath the neon lights. “His name is Felix.” Her attention shifts to me, and her eyes widen as she presses both hands to her chest. “Oh,” she sighs, voice soft and romantic. “You must beher. You look exactly like he described.”