EB Chapter 63 Part 3
Eva
"Refreshments that look suspiciously like tiny cupcakes designed for a baby's first birthday." My gaze moved to Vincent. "And you, Vincent. Not a word about the pink. Your house still is pink with sparkles and Vlad’s is still a garish shade of pepto-bismol pink, and you haven't started a single argument about it since we got back. In fact, you both seem entirely content with it."
Vincent actually looked at his shoes. Vlad cleared his throat, a sound remarkably similar to Vincent's.
"The pink," Vincent began, his voice carefully neutral, "has… grown on me. It is rather… distinctive."
"Distinctive?" I scoffed. "You threatened Pahket. Now it's 'distinctive'?"
"Times change, my love." Vlad offered a weak smile. "Priorities shift. The color of a dwelling seems rather… trivial, given current circumstances."
"Current circumstances involving what, exactly?" I pressed, my voice flat. "A gender reveal party I never agreed to? Or something more?" My mind raced. Had Vincent changed his mind about a wedding before the vampire council? That had been the sticking point, his insistence on tradition, on proper vampire ceremony, something I hadn't much cared for but knew meant the world to him. Or was it Sam? Was he upset that I hadn't had a traditional human-type wedding? He had mentioned it, subtly, a wistful comment about church bells and white dresses.
"Are you planning a wedding?" I asked, my gaze sweeping across all of them – Brandon, Katie, Vincent, Vlad. The silence that followed was deafening. Katie squeezed her eyes shut. Vincent's jaw tightened. Vlad simply stared at the floor.
My heart pounded. The pieces were starting to fit, but not in a way that brought relief, only deeper confusion. The secrecy, the coordinated evasiveness, the sudden tolerance for pink, the baby charms, the forced cheer.
"Someone answer me," I commanded, my voice resonating with growing power. The air in the kitchen grew heavy, the scent of ozone mixing with the sickeningly sweet smell of frosting. "Are you planning a wedding? Is that what this is about? Is one of you upset that we didn't have a traditional ceremony before all of… this?" My hand instinctively went to my swelling belly. "Because if you are, then we should have talked about it. Not sprung it on me as a 'surprise' in the middle of a fake baby shower!"
Katie burst into tears. "It's not fake! It's real! And it's not just a wedding! It's… it's…" She buried her face in her hands.
Brandon stepped forward, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. He looked at me, a flicker of real concern in his eyes. "Eva, it's not what you think. It's… more complicated than that. But it's good. Really good."
"Complicated and good rarely go together, Brandon. Not when everyone around me is acting like they're trying to smuggle a dragon through customs." I took a step closer, my gaze fixed on him. "You're all hiding something significant. And you're not very good at it."
Vincent finally spoke, his voice low, resonating with a rare, quiet intensity. "Eva. We simply wanted to ensure everything was perfect. For you. For the children. For our family."
"Perfect for whom, Vincent?" I challenged. "Perfect for the vampire council? Perfect for Sam's expectations? Or perfect for me? Because 'perfect for me' usually involves full disclosure, open conversation, and no surprises that involve me walking into a room full of pastel-colored deception."
Vlad, usually so prone to grand pronouncements, simply looked weary. "We meant well, Eva. That is all."
"Thomas Edison once said, ‘A good intention, with a bad approach, often leads to a poor result’. Meaning well and executing well are two entirely different concepts, Vlad. Especially when dealing with someone who can feel your thoughts trying to erect mental blockades." I paused, letting the silence stretch, letting my gaze sweep over each of them. Their discomfort was palpable, a tangible thing in the room.
My decision solidified. This charade had gone on long enough. They wouldn't tell me. Fine. I would discover it myself. And if that meant employing tactics they wouldn't expect, then so be it.
My voice dropped, taking on a silken quality, a hint of something deeper, more primal, stirring beneath the surface. "You know, I've been feeling rather… neglected since we got back. All that bonding on the island left me feeling rather… frisky."
Brandon's eyes widened slightly. Vlad straightened, his posture shifting, a predatory gleam returning to his gaze. Vincent's eyes, those intelligent blue pools, sharpened, a flicker of understanding passing through them. Even Katie stopped sniffling, looking up with wide, curious eyes.
"Perhaps," I continued, my voice a purr, "a more… intimate conversation is in order. With each of you. Individually." My gaze lingered on Brandon, then Vincent, then Vlad, then swept to the door where I knew Sam, Bael, and Eric lurked, surely listening. "A little one-on-one time to… reacquaint ourselves.” And perhaps, during those intimate moments, some secrets might just… slip free.
I allowed a slow, suggestive smile to grace my lips. "Because if there's one thing I've learned about all of you, it's that your minds are far less guarded when your bodies are otherwise… occupied." My eyes glittered with challenge. "And I will get to the bottom of this. One way or another."
Without another word, I swept from the kitchen, the scent of baby-themed cupcakes and hushed secrets lingering behind me. The hallway felt charged. I could feel their stunned silence, the sudden shift in their carefully constructed secrecy. My hips swayed a little more, my steps a little lighter. Let them worry. Let them try to calculate their next move. I had mine. And it involved a far more direct, and infinitely more pleasurable, method of interrogation.