Tall, Dark & Hungry (4 page)

"Oh. I'll show—" Bastien stopped abruptly and turned an uncertain gaze back to Terri, as if he were reluctant to leave her alone with Vincent.

His brother solved the problem by saying, "Just tell me, and I'll go put her in bed."

"
That
hall, the last room on the right," Bastien indicated, gesturing to one of the two corridors that led off the large living room.

Terri shook her head and watched Lucern carry the woman out. The housekeeper really hadn't taken Vincent's playacting at all well. She was overreacting, and obviously fainthearted. Terri turned back to the actor. "As I was saying, the scene we walked in on said as much. So, you have to live your roles to make them feel real to you. You have to act them out?"

"Yeah." Vincent grinned. "I always live out my role. If I'm playing a bartender, I tend bar for a while. If I'm a salesman I get a job selling cars. Whatever. Fortunately, with this role I don't have to act mu—"

"Vinny!" Bastien's tone made both Terri and Vincent glance his way. His expression was forbidding, so much so that the actor didn't even bother to correct the name. In fact, he seemed to read more into the look than Terri, because after a moment of silence he arched his eyebrows. "She's not one of us?"

"No." Bastien's expression was icy. Terri was a little startled by the transformation. He had seemed attractive and friendly and not the least threatening until now, but this expression made him seem just a bit dangerous. In a good way, she decided, as her gaze slid over his broad shoulders and the cut of his slacks. He was a good-looking, well-built—

"You haven't answered my question. What are you doing here?"

Bastien's cold query drew Terri from her itemization of his good points and back to the men.

Vincent answered, "I told you, I have the lead—"

"Fine," Bastien interrupted. "That explains why you're in New York. Now, why are you here? In my home?"

"Oh." Vincent gave a laugh. "You mean Aunt Marguerite's home, don't you? She said I could stay here until we see if the play is going to last any length of time, until I know if I need my own apartment in the city or not."

Bastien closed his eyes briefly and silently cursed his mother. She was such a tenderhearted person. Unfortunately, Vincent had it right. This really was her apartment. His father had purchased the building years ago and set up offices here. He'd designed this penthouse above, allowing a room for each of his children should they wish to visit. On his father's death, Bastien had taken to staying here when in New York, and had come to think of it as his own because he was the only one who usually did stay here. But, in truth, it was still his mother's apartment, and she had every right to allow whoever she wanted to stay here.

To be fair, Marguerite probably hadn't thought it would be a problem. It was a huge apartment and, with Vincent acting at night and Bastien working during the day, in the normal course of events it wouldn't have been a problem. He doubted the two of them would even have run into each other very often. But that was in the normal course of events. Today, nothing was normal. And Terri's presence caused something of a dilemma, because Vincent was a biter.

No, Vincent wasn't doing his normal method acting when they'd walked in—or perhaps he was, since he didn't usually walk around in a cape—but if so, it was only incidental to the fact that he had been feeding. And off the bloody housekeeper!"

Bastien scowled at his cousin. Vincent, and his father before him, couldn't survive on bagged blood. They needed a specific enzyme that died several moments after blood left the human body. It was a problem Bastien had his lab working on, but until they discovered how to fix the problem, Vincent, like his father, had to feed off the living. Still, the man knew better than to feed in Bastien's home. He'd been taught better than that.

"Sorry," Vincent said with a chagrined shrug, not even pretending he hadn't been reading Bastien's thoughts. "It was a long flight and I was hungry. No harm done, though."

Bastien sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Fortunately, it appeared Vincent was right; there was no harm done. Terri assumed the man was a method actor, playacting. Which reminded Bastien of something Kate had once said when mentioning her maid of honor. Terri was a professor at the University of Leeds. She taught something to do with the media, but she spent a lot of time volunteering in community theater. Thank God for small favors. It had saved coming up with an explanation for what they had walked in on. Knowledgeable on plays and acting in general, she'd made the obvious assumption. At least, it was an assumption more obvious than thinking the truth; that Vincent—that all of them—were vampires.

"Your housekeeper is resting quietly," Lucern announced, returning to the living room.

Bastien nodded. "Thanks, Luc." He glanced at their cousin. "So, what's this about a lead role in a musical?"

"Dracula."
Vincent nodded. "I landed the role last week. We start rehearsals soon." He grinned gleefully. "It's perfectly atrocious. Rotten campy music, ridiculous lines—and they want me to use this horrid Transylvanian accent. I think it will be a hit. I predict a long run."

Terri burst out laughing, and Bastien found a smile curving his lips at the musical sound. She was lovely when she smiled and irresistible when she laughed.

Got the hots for Kate's cousin
?

Bastien gave a start as Vincent's thought intruded on his own. Vincent was still reading his mind. He scowled, then stiffened as the intercom buzzed behind him. Someone was in the elevator and waiting to come up. Without a key like the one Bastien always carried, the elevator had to be unlocked from upstairs to work. No doubt Mrs. Houlihan, the housekeeper, had unlocked it for Vincent to come up. Either that or Bastien's mother had given Vinny her key.

"That might be Kate," Lucern said, showing a noticeable increase in animation at the very idea. It was always amazing to see the difference that came over Luc when his fiancée was around. It was as if a switch were flipped and he came fully to life. Bastien often wondered what it must be like to truly enjoy life again as Lucern seemed to be doing.

It was something he might never know, Bastien realized without rancor. He moved to the wall unit and flipped a switch, bringing up an image of the interior of the elevator on a small monitor. Sure enough, Kate was in the elevator. She wasn't alone.

"Who's that with her?"

Lucern moved closer to look. "It's C.K."

"C.K.?" Bastien asked.

Lucern nodded. Now it was Terri who stood and came to peer curiously at the stranger. "He's a co-worker of Kate's. Another editor. Isn't he?" She looked to Lucern for verification and he nodded again.

Bastien pushed the button to allow the elevator to climb up to the penthouse suite. "Why would she be bringing him here?"

Lucern merely shrugged and made his way to the elevator, though Bastien knew it wasn't curiosity that moved him. He doubted his brother cared at all why the other editor was there; Luc was just eager to see Kate. He was
always
eager to see Kate.

"So. I'm Vincent Argeneau. And you are?"

Bastien turned to see that his cousin had taken Terri's hand again. He had every intention of interrupting the cozy little scene… just as soon as Terri gave her full name. Bastien still didn't have a clue what it was.

"Terri. Terri Lea Simpson."

"And are you a thespian, too? You must have something to do with acting to know about method actors and such. You're certainly lovely enough to be an actress."

"No." Terri laughed at the compliment and shook her head. "I've always been interested in the theater, unfortunately I have no ability in that area. I teach scriptwriting, actually, and volunteer in community theater."

That was all Bastien wanted to hear. He started forward at once, intending to bring an end to his cousin's flirting, but the elevator doors opened just as he did. His attention was drawn to the trio in the entry as he heard Kate's distressed, "Oh, Lucern! You'll never guess what's happened!"

After the briefest of hesitations—a hesitation that ended only when Terri moved past him to join the three people in the entry—Bastien followed her to find out what the dilemma was. It did seem to be the day for problems.

"We had the production meeting, then Chris went home to finish packing and collect his things for the California conference. He forgot his briefcase at the office, his flight was at five, and he didn't have time to come back for it, so I said I'd leave early and run it out to him. And thank goodness I did!"

"Er… Kate? Do you think we could move into the living room so I can put my foot up?" the other editor asked. "My leg's killing me."

"Oh. Of course, Chris. He's supposed to keep his leg elevated," Kate explained to the rest of them. She took his arm to help him into the living room. "It's broken."

Bastien merely raised an eyebrow. That fact was rather obvious from the ungainly cast on the man's right leg.

"How did he break it?" Terri asked. She seemed to be the only person who cared.

"Oh! Terri." Releasing Chris, Kate turned to her cousin and hugged her in greeting. "They found you. I'm so glad. How was your flight? I hope you don't mind staying here, but my apartment's so small and, now that I have to fly out of town, I wouldn't want you to be there all by yourself and—"

Bastien had been grinning at the way that Kate's abandoning him had left the injured editor flailing about, trying to find his balance, but as her words registered, he turned his attention fully on his soon-to-be sister-in-law. "Fly out of town?"

Terri and Lucern spoke the words at the exact same moment, bringing an end to the hug the two women had been enjoying.

"Yes, I—"

"Kate!" It was a panicked cry from the male editor, who was losing his battle to stay upright.

"Oh, Chris!" She whirled just in time to catch his arm and keep him on his feet, then helped him the rest of the way to the couch. She fussed briefly over setting his casted leg on Bastien's mahogany coffee table, then placed a couple of the black accent pillows from the blue-gray couch beneath to raise it higher and save the surface of the wood. Then she straightened with a sigh. "Where was I?"

"Explaining why you have to fly out of town," Lucern growled, moving closer in a way another woman might find threatening, but that Kate merely took as an opportunity to cuddle with her man. She slid an arm around him and leaned close with a sigh that might have been pleasure or relief.

"Yes, well, as I was saying, I had to run C.K.'s briefcase over to him. But there was no answer when I buzzed his apartment, and I knew he was waiting for it, so I finally buzzed his landlady and had her come up with me. She unlocked the door and we went in, calling for him. I heard him shout from the bathroom, and you won't believe it!"

"What?" Terri asked.

"The toilet from the apartment above had fallen through the floor and landed smack on top of him."

"It wasn't just the toilet," Chris inserted, looking slightly embarrassed. "A good portion of the ceiling came with it."

"Yes. And he was trapped underneath. And the pipes had broken and water was pouring down on him."

"Fresh water," Chris clarified quickly.

"Yes. And, well, the landlady rushed out to call for paramedics and a plumber, and I got the toilet off of him."

"It wasn't just a toilet, Kate," he repeated, looking more upset.

"And…" She paused and sighed. "Well, I went to the hospital with him, of course."

"Of course you did," Lucern crooned. "You're such a good person, my love."

She smiled at the compliment and kissed him.

"But what has that got to do with you flying out of town?" Terri asked.

Kate broke the kiss and turned back to continue. "Well, I had to call the office and explain that a toilet had felled Chris."

"It was a good portion of the ceiling too, Kate!" The man was sounding a tad testy, but Bastien managed not to laugh. He supposed he'd be testy, too, if a toilet had fallen on him.

"And the minute they heard what had happened, they started fretting over what to do about the conference in California."

"They want you to go in his place," Lucern guessed unhappily.

"Yes." Kate didn't sound too pleased, either. She rubbed a hand lightly over Lucern's chest. "This is a five-day conference, but I'm flying in the day before and not returning until the morning after, so it's a week. I'm going to miss you, my love."

"No, you won't." Lucern pressed a firm kiss to her forehead. "I'm coming with you."

"You are?" Her face lit up like the sky on the Fourth of July. "Oh, Lucern!"

The couple immediately indulged in another kiss. Bastien was expecting another of their marathon kissing sessions, but much to his surprise, Kate broke the kiss after only a moment. She headed for the elevator, dragging Lucern behind her. "We haven't a minute to lose. We need to pack and book another seat on the flight for you, and—"

"Er… Kate?" Bastien called, halting the pair as they arrived at the elevator and pressed the button. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Kate turned back with a questioning expression as the elevator doors opened. Her gaze slid over the inhabitants of the room, then landed on Terri. "Oh, Terri!" She rushed back to clasp her cousin's hands. "I'm terribly sorry about all this. I know you flew over here to help with things, but there's no one else who can go, and really there's nothing to do for the wedding anyway—everything's taken care of. Just enjoy yourself, relax and tour New York. Have a good time. Please don't hate me."

"Of course I don't hate you," Terri laughed, giving her a hug. "Of course you have to go. Besides, I rather dumped myself on you without warning. It's okay, go on. I'll be fine."

"Er, Kate?" Bastien said as the two women broke apart. When his soon-to-be sister-in-law glanced toward him, he gestured to the couch where her coworker sat, leg elevated. He hadn't meant Terri was whom she'd forgotten; it hadn't occurred to him that some apology or explanation should be made to the woman. Work was work. It was C.K. he thought Kate had forgotten about.