Sense of Rumor (Mount Faith Series: Book 6) by Brenda Barrett Page B

What if she really was the vamp that Tracy insisted she was, did he have the willpower to resist her since he liked her so much?
    When she opened the front door, he was fully expecting her to be as unkempt as she was in the morning, but she was in sweat pants and a long sleeved shirt and she had her hair neatly brushed into a ponytail.
    "Don't blame me if I sleep on you," Arnella said jokingly when he walked behind her into the living room. "I haven't slept in a while, and I doubt you and I will have the same taste in movies."
    Alric cleared his throat. "Well, let's see."
    She pointed to the DVD player and he put it in.
    "Want something to eat?" Arnella asked.
    "No, thanks." Alric studied her features intently." Have you gotten back your appetite yet? Today you said you had no appetite."
    Arnella shook her head and sat in the settee. "No. Not back yet."
    "What's wrong?" Alric took the remote in his hand and lowered the volume.
    "It's nothing much." Arnella swallowed. "I guess I am extra sensitive about something right now. My appetite will come back."
    "Or maybe you are pregnant?" Alric said softly. "You know, that is a consequence of sleeping around."
    Arnella inhaled sharply. "I don't sleep around, and I am sure I am not pregnant."
    Alric swallowed. He wanted to attack her with what Tracy, her closest friend, told him but he just shrugged. "Okay, if you're sure."
    "I am sure. Play the DVD," Arnella said, curling up in a ball at one end of the couch. He was sitting at the other end.
    "Do you like me?" he blurted out while the opening credits were going on.
    "No," Arnella sniggered. "I have no interest in you whatsoever."
    "So, why did you allow me to come over here?" Alric asked, a little spark of rejection hitting him.
    "I wanted company," Arnella said, looking at him, "and you were the only one who called me. I was tired of my own thoughts, and I just wanted to talk to someone who wasn't a Bancroft."
    "I get you." Alric nodded. "And you are boyfriend-less at this time."
    "I have never had a boyfriend." Arnella looked at the screen.
    "What? Never?" Alric's eyes widened. "That's unbelievable."
    Arnella chuckled. "And flies in the face of everything you think you know about me."
    "Well," Alric paused the show, "are you serious?"
    Arnella nodded. "Yes, I find the dating ritual to be tedious. Besides, I have never met anybody who was worth losing my head over."
    "So how does it work for you? You just say hi to a guy that you like and then have sex with him?" Alric asked slowly, really interested in hearing her answer.
    Arnella rubbed her nose and giggled. "I doubt women do that, except as a job."
    "Then..." Alric had so many questions in his head about her. They were almost choking him.
    "Are we going to watch the movie?" Arnella asked. She clutched the pillow in her arms, and he suddenly wished he were the pillow.
    He nodded. "Sure."
    They watched the movie, which was a tearjerker. Arnella was sniffing through the whole thing.
    "Tell anybody you saw me cry and you are a dead man," she said when the final credits started rolling.
    Alric grinned. "With that threat, I won't."
    "So what about you?" Arnella asked after a long pause. "Why are you girlfriend-less?"
    Alric shrugged. "I have a girlfriend; her name is Medicine."
    Arnella grinned. "Tracy will be quite jealous to hear that."
    "Tell me about Tracy. You guys seem to have a strange friendship."
    "About Tracy." Arnella rubbed her forehead. "Let's see. She's beautiful, rich, comes from a healthy family background, has two older brothers, a banker for a father..."
    "No," Alric shook his head, "I mean what kind of person is she?"
    Arnella shrugged. "She is friendly, ambitious..."
    "You like her, don't you?" Alric asked earnestly. "You must like her a lot to do the Arnella test on prospective boyfriends."

"Arnella test?" Arnella sat up in the settee. "What's that?"
    "When Tracy likes a guy, she introduces you to them. If she likes them, you sleep with them to test their