Kissing with Fangs

Chapter 10

The following evening at the tea room, Angie seemed a little better. Apparently Nick had found out who owned the van and was hunting him down. Claudia had just been thinking about her accidental meeting with Maynard yesterday when the bell over the door tinkled. She looked up.

Speak of the devil.

“Maynard. I didn’t expect to see you so soon.” She kept her feet firmly planted on the other side of the counter in front of the cash register.

“I couldn’t resist your invitation. I even invited some friends as you suggested.”

Angie peeked up from her order pad as she wrote.

“Sit anywhere you like,” Claudia continued. “How many friends are you expecting? We can push together a couple of tables if you’re a party of seven or more.”

“Oh, no. Nothing like that. Just two others.”

“Okay. Can I get you something while you wait for them?” She handed him a menu.

“Just a glass of water…unless you’re on the menu, of course,” he said, and winked.

Oh, gross. A smooth operator Maynard was not. Claudia chuckled anyway, much like she’d seen her waitresses do when the place was a bar. Must be nice to the customers. “Sorry.” Not in this lifetime.

He shrugged. “Oh, well. I had to try.”

Angie seemed to be glaring at them. Oh, no. She doesn’t think for a minute I’d cheat on Anthony…

Maynard surveyed the room and headed toward the table Sadie used. She had taken a dinner break but would be back to read tea leaves within the hour for her six o’clock appointment.

Angie blocked his path. “Not that table. It’s reserved,” she said a little too abruptly.

“Oh? I think your manager said I could sit anywhere I liked.”

Typical Maynard. He took things literally and seemed to do it on purpose. That was one of the things Claudia remembered she didn’t like about him.

Angie looked to Claudia. “It’s okay, Ange. If he wants that table, we can move one for the party that requested privacy.” She sent a pointed expression Maynard’s way and hoped he’d get the hint. Either he didn’t or didn’t want to. He sat at Sadie’s table and made himself comfortable by stretching out his legs and leaning back in his chair, hands clasped behind his head.

Stubborn ass. Claudia made a mental note to put a “reserved” sign on that table when she knew Sadie would be reading.

The bell tinkled and a young couple entered. They spotted Maynard and joined him at the table. “A tea room, eh?” one of them said. “Since when do you drink tea?”

He smiled at Claudia. “Since I found out the manager is an old friend of mine…and maybe a future friend if all goes well.”

Gack.

The couple turned and looked at Claudia for the first time.

“Oh,” said the male. He lowered his voice and said something to Maynard that made him smile. It made Angie’s eyes widen and she almost stomped off to the kitchen.

Whoa. Claudia didn’t want Angie getting the wrong idea, so she followed her.

“Angie.”

When she turned around, Angie’s lips were so thin that she looked like she was trying to hold back a barrage of words.

“Maynard’s an old boyfriend who makes me uncomfortable. Would you mind waiting on him and his friends? I really don’t want to give him the wrong idea.”

Angie let out a deep breath. “Only if I can dump hot tea in his lap.”

Claudia laughed. “If that was allowed, I’d do it myself.”

Angie smiled for the first time since Maynard walked in. She must have finally realized Anthony’s heart was safe.

As if there were any comparison.

“Okay. I’ll try not to spill it directly on him.” Angie’s evil grin would have given Claudia pause if she didn’t know her so well. Angie would be professional…to their faces.

“I’ll be in my office for a few minutes. Knock if it gets busy, okay?”

“Will do,” Angie said.

Claudia knew she was hiding. So what? Maynard did make her uncomfortable. Her sponsor’s voice was in her head. Gaye would tell her to remove herself from unnecessary stress, and that’s exactly what she was doing.

While she was in there, she pulled out the menu to see if anything they ordered regularly could be adapted for children’s fussy taste buds. Her latest brainchild was having tea parties for kids.

Chris, the cook, was working out well. Not just on time, but often early. She’d felt badly about his waiting on the sidewalk for her to come down and open the door, so she’d given him his own key.

Let’s see…starting with the brunch menu. Kids would probably like quiche, but not the ones with asparagus or broccoli. She tapped her lower lip with the eraser end of her pencil and thought about what would please both kids and their parents. She ruled out hot dogs the minute that idea popped into her head. A. Choking hazard, and B. She wanted to keep the high-end integrity of the… Wait. Mac and cheese? She scribbled it down and planned to talk to Chris later about the feasibility of adding it to the menu.

The office door opened and in walked Maynard, like he belonged there.

“Is something wrong, Maynard?”

“Not at all. I just thought we should visit while I’m waiting for dinner.”

“I’m kind of busy, and I thought you had friends to visit with.”

Maynard plunked himself onto one of the chairs opposite her desk. “I won’t take much of your time. I just wanted to ask if you were busy Saturday night.”

“Yes. I’m afraid I’m quite busy every night now.”

“Oh, come on. I’m sure you can find a hole in your schedule.”

She was about to protest that “no,” she really couldn’t, when a knock sounded on the door and someone peeked his head around the corner. It was Maynard’s male friend.

“The indicators just went off like crazy out here,” he said.

Maynard jumped up and strode to his friend who showed him some kind of handheld equipment.

Claudia rose and was about to ask what the device was when the pair returned abruptly to the tea room. Curious what sort of “indicators” they had been looking for, she followed.

As soon as she exited the office, Anthony and Nick spotted her and waved her over.

“Hey, guys. How are things going?” Just for good measure, she stood on tiptoe and gave Anthony a peck on the lips.

He smiled…and so did Nick. The PI didn’t look surprised, so either Anthony had told him they were a couple or he’d figured it out for himself.

Claudia glanced over at the trio of geeks and all of them were frowning. Surely they couldn’t all be upset that she had a man in her life. Something wasn’t adding up.

Angie exited the kitchen, carrying a tray with a large teapot and three plates of salad. She grinned in their direction and called out, “Hey, Nick. Hey, Anthony.”

“Hey, yourself,” Nick called back.

Claudia lowered her voice and asked Nick if he’d located the van.

“Not yet. But they’ve got an APB out for it. I expect someone will spot it soon.”

She focused on Anthony. “Can I talk to you in the office?”

“Of course. Is anything wrong?”

She worried her lip as she glanced over at the party of three, all of whom were still staring in her direction. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Do you need my help?” Nick asked.

“No. It would be better if you could hang out here and talk to Angie. I’m sure she’d appreciate knowing what you just told me.”

“Sure,” he said and took a table near the front door.

“Angie, I’ll be in the office if you need me. Get Nick whatever he wants…on the house.”

Anthony smiled but didn’t say anything as he followed Claudia into the office.

As soon as she closed the door, he swept her into a strong embrace and angled his lips over hers. After a long, breathless kiss—even though most of his kisses were nearly breathless—he tucked her head under his chin and stroked her hair.

“Is everything all right?”

“I don’t know.” She took a step back and looked him in the eyes. “One of those guys at Sadie’s table is an old boyfriend of mine. Not that I’m still interested or anything,” she was quick to add.

Anthony’s eyebrows lifted before he could stop his surprised expression. Of course she has old boyfriends. She’s a beautiful girl and could have several. Still, a twinge of jealousy stabbed his heart, and for a split second he wanted to rip the guy’s throat out.

“I’m just telling you this because he asked me out, and I want you to know that will never happen. Even if he was the last man on earth, I’d want nothing to do with him.”

Anthony chuckled. I’m far more apt to be the last man on earth.

“What’s so funny? You don’t think I’m attractive to other men?”

“No! Not for a minute.” He cupped her face. “I know how beautiful you are, believe me. The thing is…I trust you.”

She smiled and her posture relaxed. After a brief hesitation she said, “I trust you too.”

Was it time to say, I love you? It seemed like a golden opportunity. But would she say it back?

As he was pondering, she moved on to another subject. He didn’t hear her at first and had to drag his attention back to what she was saying.

“His friend handed him some kind of metal instrument and they’ve been frowning over it ever since. What do you think it could be? Some kind of air-quality thingy? Maybe they’re measuring our dust mites? I try to keep the place clean…”

“Whoa. What did you say?”

“Dust mites?”

“No, before that. The first thing you said.”

“I said his friend was upset that his ‘indicators were going crazy.’ At least that’s what I think I heard. Now they’re all acting pissed off.”

“Is he a health inspector?”

“No. He’s a research biologist.”

Anthony scratched his chin. “Hmmm… Let me go talk to them.”

Claudia nodded. “Thanks. I’ll wait here, if you don’t mind.”

“I think that’s a good idea. They might not want to say anything if you’re right there.” He grinned. “Especially if he’s trying to charm his way into your pants.”

Claudia rolled her eyes. “So not possible.”

“Good.” He winked and left the office, closing the door behind him.

The three people sitting at Sadie’s table were crowded around some kind of instrument. It must have been the item Claudia had mentioned. It was about the size and shape of a brick, but made of metal. He saw a light and a dial, and the device did seem to be reacting to something. One of the guys muttered, “Off the charts,” under his breath.

“Is everything all right here?” he asked the trio.

One of the men smirked, while the other guy and the woman looked uncomfortable. “Depends on what you call ‘all right.’ The food is edible, if that’s what you mean.”

“Just edible?”

“I assume it’s great. I haven’t eaten yet. I’ve been…distracted.”

“Oh? Does your distraction have to do with that little box you’re studying?”

He grinned. “You could say that.”

“May I ask what it is?”

The other guy gave him a head shake, but the cocky one kept on talking.

“It measures paranormal activity, and this place is a hotbed of it.”

Anthony straightened. “I don’t know what you mean. Are you saying our building is haunted?” He leaned over the object, and it made a ping sound.

“Oh really? You really don’t know what I mean?” He moved toward him and lowered his voice. “Does Claudia know?”

“Know what?”

The guy folded his arms. “You can drop the innocent act.”

But Anthony couldn’t. His only defense was denial, or blaming his abilities on something else. “I’m not acting. I really don’t know what—”

“Let me spell it out for you. You and your friend over there”—he nodded toward Nick—“set off our EMF device the minute you walked in.”

“Hmmm.” Anthony tipped his head and tried to look confused. “I’m sorry. I think your machine that goes ‘ping’ must be broken.”

The guy snorted.

Anthony rejoined Claudia in the office, and as soon as he’d shut the door, he leaned against it.

“What’s wrong? You look like…well, like you’re nervous. I’ve never seen you nervous before. Ever. What did he say?”

Anthony held up one finger. How the hell am I going to explain this? I need to talk to Nick, but not while Claudia’s in here. On the other hand, how can I let her go out there, knowing the “researchers” might tell her something that will scare the daylights out of her? Shit. I knew I’d have to tell her someday, but they’ve just forced my hand.

“Claudia, honey. There’s something I need to tell you, but this isn’t the place. Maybe we can close early tonight.”

“Close early? But Sadie has a client scheduled. Not to mention it’s bad for business—”

“I don’t give a shit about the business!” Anthony paced and raked his fingers through his hair. At last he took a deep breath and dropped into one of the chairs. If only we hadn’t given up the extra office space for the kitchen. I’d still have the couch and maybe I could get her naked on it. At least it would keep her from leaving the office.

Claudia didn’t look ready to leave the office, though. She sat in the chair next to him and laid a hand on his arm. “What’s wrong, babe? Whatever it is, I’m here for you.”

Yeah, but would you stay here if I told you I was a vampire? He wished he could revel in the fact that she’d just used an endearment for the first time. Instead he was so pissed off and worried that he had to put his mental energy toward damage control.

She angled her body toward him, reached out, and took both of his hands in hers. The gesture nearly did him in. She wasn’t the least bit afraid of him. Not yet, but he couldn’t kid himself anymore. The beautiful little bubble he’d been living in was about to burst.

“Claudia. I—”

The door opened and the weasel poked his head in. “Uh, Claudia. We should speak.”

“Get out, Maynard,” she said.

Wow. That’s not how Claudia would have acted toward a customer in the past. Even a troublesome ex. Brava, darling.

Maynard’s jaw dropped. When she glared at him, he retreated but left the door ajar. “I’ll be right here if you need me.”

“I don’t need you—for anything. Please, leave.”

Anthony rose and shut the door. For good measure, he turned the lock. When it clicked into place, Claudia looked even more concerned, if that were possible.

“What’s going on, Anthony? I want to hear it from you.” She rose and strolled over to him. Her arms slipped around his waist, and she held him while searching his face for answers.

If only I could mesmerize her…

He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair. Inhaling her minty shampoo, hoping it wouldn’t be the last time.

A loud knock sounded on the door again.

“Oh, for the love of…” Claudia marched over to it. “This crap is not good for my serenity.” She closed her eyes for a moment and took a few deep breaths before unlocking and opening the door.

“If you don’t leave me al—Oh! Hi, Nick.”

Nick tipped his head in confusion. “Bad timing?”

“Sorry. I was being pestered, but not by you. What’s up?”

“Three of your customers just walked out without paying. Angie wanted to run after them, but I stopped her.”

“Good,” Anthony said.

Angie’s voice from behind the door said, “Can you put me down now?”

Claudia swung the door open wide, revealing the six-foot-three ex-cop holding the diminutive waitress under his arm like a football.

Claudia covered her mouth as she tried not to chuckle.

“Yeah, yeah,” Nick said and set Angie on her feet.

Angie set a hand on her hip and addressed both of her bosses. “Are you just going to let customers leave without paying? Because word will get around that we’re serving free food.”

“I doubt it,” Claudia said. She faced Nick and continued, “Maynard is an old boyfriend of mine, and when he kept bothering me, I practically tossed him out on his ass.”

“Oh.” Nick’s eyes narrowed. “Did you say, ‘Maynard’?”

“Yes. May-nerd. Emphasis on the ‘nerd.’ Why?”

“What’s his last name?”

“Wisenheimer. Oh, wait. That’s just what we called him. It’s really Oppenheimer.”

“Shit. That’s the guy I’m looking for!” Nick took off and almost mowed Sadie down as she was coming in. He mumbled, “Sorry, Sadie,” and charged out the door.

Angie’s eyes were wide. “That’s the guy who kidnapped Tory?”

“Anthony, why on earth would a Cambridge researcher kidnap an ex-NFL player?”

Anthony shrugged. Should I make up something stupid like he might be studying the effects of steroids on head injuries? In the end, he opted for silence.

“Maybe the nerd wanted a muscle transplant.” Angie shook her head. “I can’t believe I waited on him…and was nice to him despite what an ass—Oh sorry, Claudia. I didn’t mean to call your old boyfriend an ass.”

“Don’t worry. He deserves it.”

“I hope Nick tracks down the ass, then. If he’s got Tory…” Angie’s lips thinned and her eyes shimmered.

Claudia grabbed and hugged her. “Nick will find him. Don’t worry.”

Anthony wanted to get Claudia out of there before there was any more speculation. He also didn’t know how much Claudia had heard regarding their scientific equipment. If Maynard called her later… Shit. I have to tell her.

“Claudia, you’ve had a rough day. Why don’t you go upstairs and I’ll take over here. Don’t go anywhere, though. I need to talk to you.”

“But I was going to…” She glanced at Angie who was still standing there, listening intently. “Never mind. I can cancel. Come up as soon as you can.”

Ordinarily Claudia would have refused to leave in the middle of a situation, but she was emotionally spent. AA taught her not to get too hungry, angry, upset, or tired. They called it HALT. Wait a minute…what she’d spelled was HAUT. Okay…so it was hungry, angry, lonely, and tired. Either way, it seemed appropriate to go to her apartment and take a load off.

She was supposed to meet her sponsor later and go to a meeting with her, but Anthony said he needed to talk. Considering his earlier reaction, she felt she needed to be there for him.

She could say she wasn’t feeling well but she was a terrible liar, so she decided to sell it by holding her nose as she spoke to her sponsor on the phone.

“Gaye. I’b sick. I can’ go out todight.”

“Oh, no. I’m sorry to hear that. You seemed fine yesterday.”

“Yeah, it cabe on sudd’nly.”

“Would you like a visit? We could have our own meeting in your living room.”

“Uh’d no. I’b contagious an jus’ wanna go to bed.”

“Okay…”

Somehow Gaye didn’t sound convinced, and Claudia got the impression that her sponsor suspected there was more to it.

The program asked members to be rigorously honest with themselves and implied that they should be honest with other human beings too, and yet there was that little loophole…“except when to do so would injure them or others.”

She’d fess up later.

She signed off with a polite “Good ’ight” and told herself that when she found out what was bothering Anthony, she could tell Gaye.

She had just decided to make two cups of hot cocoa when a knock sounded at the door. She thought it was too early for Anthony, so she looked through the peephole. Anthony stood there, gazing at the floor with a pensive expression on his face.

She opened it and stood aside. “Why didn’t you use your key?”

“I figured I’d give you the option of letting me in or not. It’s your place, after all.”

She chuckled. “Why wouldn’t I let you in?”

He shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. “You might not after you hear what I have to say.”

A ripple of uneasiness made her nerves tingle. “Why don’t you have a seat? I was going to make some cocoa. Do you want some?”

“No. My stomach is too upset.” He sat on the sofa. “Go ahead and make some for yourself, though.”

She decided to skip the beverage and sat next to him. “Babe, what is it? You’re making me nervous.”

He stared straight ahead and his spine stiffened as if facing a firing squad. “I lied to you.”

She leaned away and studied his face. He seemed perfectly serious. What on earth could he have lied about? His feelings for her? Did he want her to go back to Maynard? Did he want to go back to Ruxandra? She told herself that was ridiculous, but the longer she waited, the crazier her ideas became.

“Well, don’t stop there. What did you lie about?”

“I don’t have Xeroderma pigmentosum.” He dropped his gaze to the floor and his posture slumped.

“Oh. Isn’t that good news? Why do you still look so sad?”

Uh-oh. Maybe he really was spending his days with Ruxandra. Any minute now he’s going to tell me he’s in love with her, and adios, Claudia.

“You may not believe me, but I swear what I’m about to tell you is the gods’ honest truth.”

She waited for what seemed like days. The anticipation was killing her. Suddenly she wanted a chocolate martini, not a hot cocoa. Stop that right now, she told herself. Whatever it is can’t be that bad.

“You and I have been through a lot together,” he began.

She nodded.

“You’ve always been the bright spot in my…life.”

She cocked her head, still not sure where he was going.

“But even though…” He stopped and raked his hands through his hair. “I’m afraid there’s no way to sugarcoat it.”

“Anthony, honey, whatever it is, I want you to tell me.”

He took a deep breath, turned, and looked directly into her eyes. “I’m a vampire.” His eyes searched hers as if waiting for some kind of condemnation.

Of all the things he could have said, that was not what she was expecting. “Um… You’re a what?”

“A vampire. Creature of the night. One of the undead.”

She bit her lip. Any minute now he’s going to crack a smile, and the joke will be on me. But why would he do that? Then she remembered a documentary she’d seen once. Apparently there are people who think they’re vampires. They sleep in coffins during the day, cut themselves or each other, and drink blood…ewww. But on some level, they know they’re not really undead.

“Are you saying you belong to some cult where people act like vampires?”

He sighed. “No.”

“Okay, maybe ‘cult’ is the wrong word. I know there are people who sleep in coffins and drink blood. Usually they wear goth makeup to make their skin white.” She swiped his cheek and checked her finger. No makeup. Not that she thought he wore any. His skin was naturally pale and she blamed that on his “condition,” which she now knew he didn’t have. Apparently he just reversed his sleep patterns.

She shrugged. “I’m okay with it, Anthony. I mean, you gotta be who you gotta be. Right?”

His posture straightened. “Are you serious?”

She cupped his cheek in a loving gesture. He turned into it and kissed her palm.

“I can’t believe how well you’re taking this. I mean, I expected the very worst. I thought you’d scream. Run from me. Never want to see me again.”

She chuckled. “Of course not, silly. I…” She stopped herself half a second before she said, I love you. For one thing, she wanted him to say it first, and for another…

He swept her into a tight embrace, and as his lips crushed hers, she forgot what she was thinking. All she could do was feel.