Time Will Tell (18 page)
Lexi nodded. “Yeah, we decided last night. We’re going to name him Hunter.” She smiled. “One day, he’ll be able to understand
how significant his name is.”
“I think Hunter is a great name. And obviously it’s important to you.” Anna glanced around the busy church before turning back to Lexi. “So, what about you?”
“What about me?”
“Well, I know you, Lexi. You’re not just content with being a stay-at-home mom. There’s got to be something more that you want to do,” Anna said, choosing
her words carefully.
Lexi shrugged. “
You know, I have all of the time in the world to do whatever I want, but . . . my time with Eileen might be cut short.” She didn’t mention the fact that sometimes she felt jealous about the fact that Austin and Anna’s daughter had been born an immortal like them. It made it difficult for Lexi to know that there was a chance that she might lose Eileen one day.
Anna nodded understandingly. “What a
bout the immortality potion?”
“I created some of the immortality potion, and I’m saving it. Once we feel she’s old enough, we’ll let her decide if she wants to become an immortal,
too, or if she would rather stay a human,” Lexi explained. “It was the last thing I ever did with my power. And it’s the last thing I’ll
ever
do with it.”
Anna raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure about that? I mean, what if
the world ends or something?”
Lexi laughed. “If it ends, it’s meant to end. I doubt there’s anything my magic could do to stop it, anyway.” She paused. “Anyway, back to your original question. There actually
is
something that I’ll be doing once we go to California.”
“What is it?” An
na asked with raised eyebrows.
“
Professor Fleur knows an art collector in New York just bought three of my paintings. He’s commissioned me to do more,” Lexi said with a smile. “It’s been a long time since I painted, but I recently started again. Leave it to my crazy husband to post pictures of my paintings all over the Internet. That’s how the art collector found them.”
“That’s so exciting! Congratulations!” Anna said, squeezing her in a tight embrace again.
“I’m so glad that Professor Fleur made it through the fire. It took him a long time to recover, but I can’t imagine what we would do without him.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” At that moment, the sound of the wedding ceremony music began to play, and Lexi turned to Anna. “I guess we better get
ready to walk down the aisle.”
Anna nodded. “Is there any word on how the Nich
ols’ are taking this wedding?”
Lexi shrugged. “Not as bad as I expected them to. I don’t know if they’ll ever be open to the fact that both of their children are vampires now, but what are they going to do? It’
s a little too late for that.”
“Mommy, is
it my turn to go out there and sprinkle the flowers for Aunt Caroline and Uncle Gabe?” Eileen asked, staring at Lexi intently. Her sandy blonde hair was in a cute up-do, and she was naturally sun-kissed, just like her father.
“Yes, it is,” Lexi said with a smile. “You and Lily go out firs
t. We’ll be right behind you.”
“Okay,” Eileen said with a small shrug. Linking arms with her best friend, she said, “Come on, Lily.”
A few moments later, Anna and Austin walked down the aisle together, their arms linked as well. Lexi and Dan followed close behind.
As they reached the end of the aisle and went their separate ways, Dan glanced over at L
exi and mouthed, “I love you.”
She mo
uthed back, “I love you, too.”
When Caroline made her grand entrance, the crowd rose and stared at her, but Lexi couldn’t bring herself to take her eyes off of Dan. Even though it had been six years since they’d said their own vows, she often found herself
unable to look away from him.
There was no doubt in her mind th
at he truly was her soul mate.
*
Later on at the wedding reception, Dan and Lexi danced to the song they’d had their own first wedding dance to—“I’ll Be” by Edwin McCain. As Dan swirled Lexi around on the dance floor, he whispered into her ear, “Let me drink from you, Mrs. Nichols.”
Lexi raised her eyebrows. “Here? In the middle of a wedding reception? I think you’ve lost your mind, Mr. Nichols.
”
“Well, not exactly. Come on,” Dan said, leading her down the hallway until they reached the hotel restroom. He opened the door and Lexi followed him inside one of the stalls, where he kissed her lips gently before planting a trail of kisses down her neck. He swirled his tongues in circles, massaging the skin around her neck, before biting into h
er neck and breaking her skin.
Lexi found herself trying to hold back the moans that wanted to escape her lips as her husband,
her soul mate, drank from her.
When it was over, they left the bathroom stall and nearly collided with Anna and Austin, who ha
d come into the bathroom, too.
“What were
you
two doing in here?” Austin asked, a horrified look on his face. It didn’t matter how much they aged; he still hated knowing that his best friend and his cousin were together.
“Probably the same thing you’re about to do,” Lexi said with a sly s
mile. “Have fun, guys.”
“Wait, do they still drink each other’s blood?” Dan whispered, as they went
back into the reception hall.
“Well, yeah, now that they can without worrying about Wilkins
’ Syndrome,” Lexi reminded him.
Dan shook his head. “I still couldn’t imagine drinking from you if you were a vampire. It wouldn’t satisfy my thirst
the same way, I don’t think.”
“Well, that’s why you married me and not a vampire,
” Lexi said, kissing his lips.
“This is true,” Dan agreed. “But that’s not the only reason I married. The real reason is because I don’t plan to spend a singl
e day of my life without you.”
THE END
Jody Morse and Jayme Morse are sisters that reside in the Poconos. They write young adult paranormal romance and suspense novels. To connect with the authors, please visit:
