Undead and Unreturnable Read Online Free PDF Page B

dick?"
     
    That did it; he glared at me, full in the eyes, and the blood rushed into his cheeks. "Don't talk like that. That's not what I—"
     
    "Because, believe me, I resisted the dark side for as long as I could. Then I realized he really wasn't. Bad, I mean. Well, that bad." Did it sound like I was making excuses for him? I didn't mean to. It was just… difficult to put into words. How I felt about him. What he meant to me. Shit, I'd only admitted to myself that I loved him three months ago. "He just took a little getting used to."
     
    "Betsy, I'm not saying I don't think it's a good match—although I don't."
     
    Now I was confused. "So you
are
saying you don't think it's a good match? Right?"
     
    He kept going, unfortunately. Full speed ahead, and damn the torpedoes. "I don't think he's a good
man
. For anybody."
     
    "Oh, so if he was marrying, say, Tina, you would have come down here to warn her off, too?"
     
    Stubborn silence.
     
    "Jon, did you really come all the way from the valley to try to stop my wedding? Because you had months to do that, you know."
     
    " Ani stopped by and she—we caught up on current events, I guess you could say. And—" He cut himself off, but I knew where he'd been going.
And as soon as I heard you were getting married, 1 got in my dad's truck and left
. Oh, boy. Poor Jon. Crushes were the absolute worst. I'd almost rather die again. It
felt
like dying again, when you heard the person you adored above all others had never, ever given you a thought like that, and probably never would.
     
    "I'm getting married, Jon. On"—for an awful moment I couldn't remember the new date—"September 15. I'd love it if you could come. All the Bees are welcome."
     
    He smiled. Well, his lips moved. We both pretended not to notice that his eyes had filled and he was sniffing like he'd instantly picked up a cold—or a cocaine habit. "That stupid name."
     
    "Hey, you want to talk stupid? How about the Blade Warriors? I feel ridiculous even saying it to you. You're lucky I just use the first letter."
     
    The Blade Warriors! Oh, boy. Like my life wasn't silly enough. This past summer a bunch of kids—yep, that's right, not one of them could legally drink—got together and started hunting down vampires. The scary part? They were weirdly successful. (Vampires were notoriously complacent.) The scarier part? I was able to talk them into not doing that anymore. The Bees (I tried not to use the stupid name) had scattered and gone their own way. And now one of them was back, almost literally in my lap.
     
    "I don't know if I'll be able to come," he said, changing the subject… but not really.
     
    "Well, either way. I'm just happy to have anyone there who has a pulse."
     
    "Will there be a lot of vampires there?"
     
    "Yes, and no. My wedding is not a research opportunity, get it? Throw rice and drink. No, you're too young to drink. Throw more rice. Have a Shirley Temple. Go crazy."
     
    "So it's going to be a
wedding
wedding ?"
     
    "Sure."
     
    He chewed on that one for a few seconds. "I've never heard of that before."
     
    "Well, don't you start. Sinclair gives me enough grief."
     
    He perked up. "Really? He doesn't like all the bells and whistles?"
     
    "Oh, you know. He says because we're consorts there's no need for bouquet, maid of honor, best man toast, all that."
     
    "Really?" I could see his dimples again. Odd, the things that depressed the boy and brought him back up. "You, uh, you need any help?"
     
    "You mean planning? Or in general? Because the answer to both is, I dunno . September's a long way off."
     
    "Well…" He looked around the foyer and then glanced down the stairs. "I don't have to be back right away…"
     
    "Do you have a place to stay?"
     
    "Not really. I was going to stop by the church, see if Father Markus could put me up for a few nights…"
     
    "Is that supposed to be a hint? Because it sucks. Why don't you just shove me off the landing? It'd be more