Page 62 of The Mech Who Loved Me
"Maggie...." He almost said,was a sister when I needed one, but that only dredged up memories of Agatha, and he was already awash with guilt. "Maggie knew metoowell."
"So when you saidvampires...."
"I meant vampires," he replied, and shuddered. "Sort of thing gives a mannightmares."
"But where have you been?" Xander demanded. "I asked Orla, but she's not been sayin', and there's word you were working a mechanical job over in Southwark, but by the look of that nose it's seen some recent action, and...vampires?"
"It's complicated," he replied quietly, "and I don't have leave todiscussit."
"I'm your bestfriend,K."
"With anyone," he said softly, and Xander's lipsthinned.
"Aye, well fuckyoutoo."
This was what he hated about this line of work. "I can't talk about it, but if I could, you'd be the first to know. I just wanted a night away from it to clear my head, a night spent in the cups with some oldfriends."
"What can you tell me then?" Xanderchallenged.
"There's a woman," he said bluntly, "and she's getting undermyskin."
"Well, there's a first. Can you talkabouther?"
"Aye," he said, exhaling sharply, before words about Ava started spilling from his mouth, almost as if he'd needed someone to confess to. He was babbling, and he couldn't help himself. "She's smart, beautiful, shy, and bookish. But she's kind too. The type of woman who rescues abandoned kittens. And utterly oblivious to her own qualities. There was a man today who was flirting with her, and she had no idea." He shook his head. "Not afuckingclue."
"Sounds like she's got you wrapped around her little finger. Though she doesn't seem like yourusualsort."
You havenoidea.
Xander, wisely, poured him a whiskey. "So what's theproblem?"
"She's never been with a man, she's in love with someone else, and she's a romantic through and through. She sees me as an experiment, I think. A no-risk affair." And while the idea had seemed perfect at first—something uncomplicated—it was botheringhimnow.
He had to keep reminding himself he had no future. Nothing to offer her. Keep it nice and uncomplicated, and have a little fun. That wastheplan.
The plan hadfailed.
"I like her," he admitted. "Toomuch."
Xander snorted. "If you tell me you're falling in love with her, I will gladly punch some senseintoyou."
Kincaid shot himalook.
"Shit," Xander said, snagging the whiskey bottle and drinking straight out of it. He wiped his mouth, and then handed the bottle to Kincaid. "All yours, old son. You clearly need it morethanme."
Kincaid glared at the three-quarters-full bottle, and then sighed and tipped it up. "I'mnotfalling in lovewithher."
Alook.
"I'm not," he repeated. "I know where this ends—no, I know ithasan end." He scraped his hand over his face, looking down at his mech fingers drumming on the counter. Sometimes he could still almost feel the actual hand. "I'm the next victim of the Kincaid curse, whether you believe in it or not, and she... she's got her whole life aheadofher."
Years and years. He'd almost started to forget what she truly was, but this brought it into perspective. Ava wasn't immortal—no blue blood was—but sometimes it seemed like it. Some of the older blue bloods were over a century and a half old, still wearing their powdered wigs and rouged faces from the Georgian era. He'd seen them from a distance, and while they were slowly aging, they still looked barely old enough to be hisfather.
Ava had a good century ahead of her. He had a dozen years at most. Maybe more, maybe less. And they weren't going to be kindyears.
"Have you told her?" Xander asked, and then sighed. "Of course you haven't. That's whyyou'rehere."
"It's got nothing to do with it," he growled. "We argued. I needed some time to clearmyhead."
