Page 33 of Dear Mr. Vampire

“My staff can run The Castle without me. They’ve done it before.”

“Yeah, but I don’t know how long I will be in Minnesota.”

“It doesn’t matter. We can figure that part out when we come to it.” Zand stood and grabbed his pants off the chair. “I want todrive you there. You can’t deny. It will be less stressful if you don’t have to worry about driving. You can focus on your friends.” He jumped into his pants in one swift motion.

“I don’t want you to just stop everything for me.”

“I don’t care. I want to stop everything for you. It’s final. I’m driving. I’m going to shower, pack some clothes and gas up the car. How long do you need to get ready for the road?”

It was clear. He was in charge. I just sat there and watched him grab his shirt, his cell phone, and his shoes.

“Chanel.”

I was already looking at him, but now I was really seeing him. He was kind. He was caring. He was real, and I wanted to revisit these feelings at a later date.

“Chanel, you need thirty minutes, an hour? How much time do you need?”

“An hour. I’m going to shower and pack a few things.” Probably in the opposite order, but my brain wasn’t working well under the stress.

I watched Zand move toward me. He stopped over to my side of the bed and leaned over to kiss my forehead. The tenderness— I didn’t expect an innocent forehead kiss to go straight to my sweet spot, but it did. I watched my lover walk to the bedroom door. I was mentally shaking off the kiss, and I was in a trance trying to absorb the information Mitchell gave me.

“Chanel, get out of bed.” He said as he exited my bedroom. I sat there and waited until I heard my front door close. I jumped out of bed and shuffled naked to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. I had one hour to get myself together. I could call my job when I got there. I needed to be there for Morgan. She had always been there for me.

I was secretly happy that Zand was willing to drop everything and drive me to Minnesota. I didn’t need a reason to like him more, but this just made me fall just a bit harder for him.

I rushed into the shower because I didn’t have time to waste. I prayed Craig would be okay. He was a good guy. He was goodfor Morgan and good to her. I wanted to think positive, but there was a nagging feeling that things would only be what they were meant to be.

It was a little over an hour when Zand showed up at my door to collect my suitcase. I threw a few essentials inside and hoped I remembered everything I needed. He was wearing black jeans and a black t-shirt. His hair was wet and pushed back off his forehead. Effortlessly sexy was what came to mind. No jacket or coat. He never seemed to be cold, although it was a freeze-fest outside.

Zand didn’t let me lift a finger with my bags. He packed my things in the trunk of his vintage sports car. His black leather jacket was tossed on his backseat. I wondered if this old classic car could make it that far. It seemed to be in pristine condition. The car was beautiful and sexy, but I didn’t know his car. I did know he rarely drove it. He liked to walk.

I thought about my friend because I didn’t want to worry about getting along with Zand. Six or seven hours cooped up in a car with a man could be problematic. I hoped it wouldn’t be. I’d never taken any kind of a road trip with a man, a new man.

My fear was going to take over if I let it. Zand had done nothing wrong. I was just being overly dramatic, and I knew it. Zand was in charge of the navigation, and I didn’t want to challenge his sense of direction. After we stopped for gas, I was going to just check to make sure we were driving on the right path to Bloomington. Of course we were. This man ran an entire nightclub. What made me think he couldn’t drive from Illinois to Minnesota?

We listened to music, and I tried to not stare over at his handsome profile. Mr. Vampire was sort of my saving grace. I didn’t want to drive while I was a bottle of nerves. I was able to send a text to Mitchell saying I was on the road to Minnesota. Itwas selfish, but I didn’t want to hear my friend upset. I knew Morgan’s despair would seep into me and I wasn’t ready for it. I wanted to deal with the drama when I arrived. I was brave about a lot of things, but I didn’t know how to handle bad news. I was headed to the state that was full of bad news for me— bad news and bad memories.

“This is nice.” His warm eyes stared out the front windshield.

“Nice.”What did he mean?

“Us, together, cruising the highway.”

“Yeah.”

“It feels natural.” He glanced over quickly to smile at me.

“It does.” He had no idea how natural it felt. I trusted him and I knew I shouldn’t. I didn’t know him from a can of Sherwin Williams. Basically, all I knew could be summed up in three sentences. He owns a club. He lives in the basement of my apartment complex. He was very good at sex.

“You don’t have to worry. If you want to stay a few days, I can get us a hotel.”

“Do you want to stay in Minnesota?” I asked. I didn’t want to impose on him. After all, this was my drama, not his. “What are you going to do when I’m at the hospital?”

“Don’t worry. I can find something to do. I can work on my memoir.”

“You’re writing a book?”

“No, I’m not, but see there’s always something to do.” He took his eyes off the road to wink at me.

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