didn’t start to sizzle and pop.
“Wow,” Eliza said in a voice that dripped sarcasm. “That was pretty refreshing on such a hot day.”
I aimed a frown toward Stuart. “No,” I said. “Not a you-know-what. Which is good,” I added. “Because I think she might be my cousin.”
His eyes widened with surprise, and I steeled for—for what?
I didn’t know, but I immediately felt guilty because my expectation was that Stuart would muddy the waters and make an already tense situation even more uncomfortable.
He didn’t, though. Instead, he stepped up to the plate.
“All right then,” he said, dropping a wad of euros on the table to cover the minimal check. “In that case, let’s get somewhere we can talk, and we’ll figure out just exactly what is going on.”
“The B&B,” Allie said.
“No,” Stuart and I said together. I cocked my head and smiled at him, feeling a bit like maybe, just maybe, we were becoming a team.
“Um, why not?” Allie asked.
“If she’s not who she says she is,” Stuart said, “we don’t want her knowing where we’re staying.”
“It’s not like they don’t already know,” Allie said and then winced as Stuart narrowed his eyes at me.
“ They ?” he repeated.
“Sorry,” Allie said.
“Kate?” Stuart’s voice was rough. And, I thought, just a little hurt.
“I’ve been meaning to bring you up to speed,” I said. “There are a few things to tell you.”
“I see.”
I bit back a grimace. Yes, I was definitely hearing hurt and anger.
To Stuart’s credit, he sucked it up and pressed on. “Maybe they do know. But that doesn’t mean we need to advertise our location any more than necessary.”
From beside Allie, Eliza let out a long-suffering sigh. “Oh, give it a rest. We might as well go back there. It’s not like I don’t know already know.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “Oh, really. Where, then?”
“Well, duh,” she said, with an Allie-like roll of her eyes. “You’re in the room next to mine.” She dropped that bombshell at the exact moment that Timmy grabbed the tablecloth and gave it a tug, sending all the plates and cutlery clattering to the ground.
Honestly, this was not one of my better days.
I glanced toward Stuart, who looked more irritated with me than he did with our son. To be honest, I can’t say I was surprised.
“Soon ,” he mouthed to me, and I nodded, feeling chastised and guilty and confused. The guilt came from the simple knowledge that he was right. The confusion from the sudden and unpleasant realization that although I told myself that I wanted and hoped for Stuart to be an active and willing participant in this unusual life of mine, when it got down to the wire, I really just wanted to go it alone.
Except that wasn’t true either. More and more, I wanted Allie at my side. And the deep, dark, completely honest truth was that despite everything that had happened with Eric, he was the partner I truly wanted watching my back.
For so long, I’d feared Stuart’s reaction when he learned the truth about me. Because when I’d married him, I’d simply been Kate. Not Kate the Demon Hunter. Just Kate the single mom, trying to get past her grief and get on with her life.
Considering he’d left—twice—I’d been right to worry. But maybe it wasn’t Stuart’s reaction I should have been focused on. Because while Kate the Wife and Mom loved Stuart unconditionally, Kate the Demon Hunter would never have fallen in love with Stuart in the first place. And with every moment that we were back in Rome—with every memory and every danger—that unpleasant and horrible truth was bearing down on me.
And, yes, I could keep running—could keep looking in the opposite direction and hope that it would go away. But eventually, I knew that I would have to deal with that, and I wasn’t sure I knew how. I could drive a spike through the eye of a demon to save myself and my family. But how the hell did I save a
“Wow,” Eliza said in a voice that dripped sarcasm. “That was pretty refreshing on such a hot day.”
I aimed a frown toward Stuart. “No,” I said. “Not a you-know-what. Which is good,” I added. “Because I think she might be my cousin.”
His eyes widened with surprise, and I steeled for—for what?
I didn’t know, but I immediately felt guilty because my expectation was that Stuart would muddy the waters and make an already tense situation even more uncomfortable.
He didn’t, though. Instead, he stepped up to the plate.
“All right then,” he said, dropping a wad of euros on the table to cover the minimal check. “In that case, let’s get somewhere we can talk, and we’ll figure out just exactly what is going on.”
“The B&B,” Allie said.
“No,” Stuart and I said together. I cocked my head and smiled at him, feeling a bit like maybe, just maybe, we were becoming a team.
“Um, why not?” Allie asked.
“If she’s not who she says she is,” Stuart said, “we don’t want her knowing where we’re staying.”
“It’s not like they don’t already know,” Allie said and then winced as Stuart narrowed his eyes at me.
“ They ?” he repeated.
“Sorry,” Allie said.
“Kate?” Stuart’s voice was rough. And, I thought, just a little hurt.
“I’ve been meaning to bring you up to speed,” I said. “There are a few things to tell you.”
“I see.”
I bit back a grimace. Yes, I was definitely hearing hurt and anger.
To Stuart’s credit, he sucked it up and pressed on. “Maybe they do know. But that doesn’t mean we need to advertise our location any more than necessary.”
From beside Allie, Eliza let out a long-suffering sigh. “Oh, give it a rest. We might as well go back there. It’s not like I don’t know already know.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “Oh, really. Where, then?”
“Well, duh,” she said, with an Allie-like roll of her eyes. “You’re in the room next to mine.” She dropped that bombshell at the exact moment that Timmy grabbed the tablecloth and gave it a tug, sending all the plates and cutlery clattering to the ground.
Honestly, this was not one of my better days.
I glanced toward Stuart, who looked more irritated with me than he did with our son. To be honest, I can’t say I was surprised.
“Soon ,” he mouthed to me, and I nodded, feeling chastised and guilty and confused. The guilt came from the simple knowledge that he was right. The confusion from the sudden and unpleasant realization that although I told myself that I wanted and hoped for Stuart to be an active and willing participant in this unusual life of mine, when it got down to the wire, I really just wanted to go it alone.
Except that wasn’t true either. More and more, I wanted Allie at my side. And the deep, dark, completely honest truth was that despite everything that had happened with Eric, he was the partner I truly wanted watching my back.
For so long, I’d feared Stuart’s reaction when he learned the truth about me. Because when I’d married him, I’d simply been Kate. Not Kate the Demon Hunter. Just Kate the single mom, trying to get past her grief and get on with her life.
Considering he’d left—twice—I’d been right to worry. But maybe it wasn’t Stuart’s reaction I should have been focused on. Because while Kate the Wife and Mom loved Stuart unconditionally, Kate the Demon Hunter would never have fallen in love with Stuart in the first place. And with every moment that we were back in Rome—with every memory and every danger—that unpleasant and horrible truth was bearing down on me.
And, yes, I could keep running—could keep looking in the opposite direction and hope that it would go away. But eventually, I knew that I would have to deal with that, and I wasn’t sure I knew how. I could drive a spike through the eye of a demon to save myself and my family. But how the hell did I save a
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