“I believe I got my money’s worth.”
“Despite the fact that you really have no idea how much this cost you, I choose to take that as a compliment.”
“A wise choice. Please have a seat.”
I glanced at the table as I slid into the booth. “This is beautiful.”
He shook his head. “I wanted to take you somewhere a little more extravagant, but feel that this is the safest place right now.” He sat down across from me. The candlelight reflected softly in his silver-colored eyes.
“So we have an hour and a half before anyone shows up?”
He poured me a glass of champagne. I noticed that his glass was already filled with what seemed to be his favorite drink—cranberry juice. “Will that be enough time?”
“That all depends.” I smiled. “You know, you could have woken me up last night.”
He gave a small shrug. “You were sleeping so peacefully. And after the shock of what happened, you needed your rest.”
“I really would have made an exception.” I pushed aside my uncertainty and reached across the table and entwined my fingers with his. “Trust me on that.”
He raised an eyebrow. “I must admit, I did consider it. But after listening to your snoring for a short time,
I decided not to disturb you.”
I gave him a stricken look. “Mywhat ?”
“Your snoring.” He gave me a half smile. “Just a soft sound. A snuffle, really.”
“Asnuffle ?” I felt my cheeks start to burn.
He nodded. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s quite adorable.”
I felt the sexy dress vibe skidding off of me like eggs on a nonstick frying pan. “Idon’t snore.”
“You do. Trust me.” His eyes flashed with amusement and I gave him a dirty look, which only served to amuse him further. Oh, good. I guess I was the entertainment for the evening. Well, a guy who seemed amused by my unconscious bodily noises was probably actually a good thing if I could shake my embarrassment. I don’t snore. I’m almost completely positive I don’t.
The amusement faded from his eyes. “Perhaps this should have waited for a better time. If you want to leave, I’ll understand completely.”
“Things are a little crazy right now,” I agreed. I picked up my glass of champagne. I’d never really acquired a taste for the stuff. Kind of like caviar. But I could fake it with the best of them. “But it was my idea we do this, and I stand by it. Should we toast to anything?”
He raised his glass of cranberry juice. “Anything you like.”
“Okay.” I thought about it for a moment. “To the future. May it be filled with six-hundred-year-old vampires making an exception and waking me up, for which I will make it well worth their while.”
“You know many six-hundred-year-old vampires?”
“A lady has her secrets.”
He smiled and touched his glass to mine. “That is a toast that is sure to come to pass.”
I smiled inwardly. Maybe this date was a good idea after all. I took a long sip of my champagne. It didn’t taste bad, actually. Maybe the stuff I’d had in the past was just the wrong kind. I glanced at the bottle. Roederer Cristal. Hundreds of dollars for one bottle. More depending on the year. Yeah, I’d definitely never had that kind before. That was the kind of alcohol worth fighting somebody for.
Which brought up a subject I should probably get to right away, now that I thought of it.
I put the glass down on the table. “Thierry, do you happen to know any self- defense? Like karate or kung fu or anything like that?”
He studied me for a moment. “Why do you ask?”
“I’m thinking about learning how to protect myself. I’ve considered it for a while, but lately . . . I think it’s the only way I can feel safe being out and about with everything that’s going on.”
He shook his head. “The best way to stay safe is tostay somewhere safe. Right now you have the bodyguards. That should be enough. The only reason you would need to learn self-defense is if you continue to thrust yourself into dangerous situations.”
I shrugged. “It happens. Sometimes it can’t be controlled. Quinn said he’d teach me, but—” I stopped talking and cleared my throat. “How about a little more of that champagne?”
“He did, did he?” He poured me more champagne, but his gaze didn’t leave my face. “You could have told me you’ve been in contact with Quinn since he left town. That you told him where the club was located.”
I found that I couldn’t meet his eyes. Why did I feel guilty? “Why does that matter?”
“He has ties to the hunter community. Even if he is no longer fully affiliated with them, that doesn’t mean that they aren’t tracking his every move.”
I sighed. “You are such a worrywart.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Aworrywart ?”
“That’s right. You take simple situations and blow themway out of proportion. Quinn’s had a hard life,
you know.”
He nodded, but his expression was cold. “Yes, poor boy. Such a hard life he’s had with his rich genocidal father, spending every waking moment killing vampires while they screamed for mercy. And now to have you as his number-one advocate. Poor Quinn.”
“He regrets his past.”
Thierry took a sip of his cranberry juice. His knuckles were white on the glass. “I suppose I find that one month is not enough to redeem a decade of his previous actions.”
“And how long would be the right amount of time for you? A decade? A century?”
“Sometimes an eternity is not enough.”
I studied his tense expression. “You sound like you’re speaking from personal experience.”
He stared at me for a moment, but didn’t reply. What George had said to me earlier came back:Dig too deep and you may not like what you find .
This date was taking a serious nosedive. I had to turn it back around while I still could and get it back to how it was at the beginning. Focus, Sarah, I told myself. And no more talking about Quinn. Definitely a hazardous topic.
“How about a new subject?” I announced, forcing a smile to my lips after a moment of uncomfortable silence.
“An excellent suggestion.”