Almost Midnight (Shadow Falls: After Dark #3.5)(76)

“I just assumed she hadn’t left yet.” It wasn’t a lie. Not a complete one, so hopefully her heart rate wouldn’t put Burnett on alert. The fact that it alarmed Miranda was another matter altogether.

*

Thirty minutes later, Miranda, Kylie, and Della climbed into the one full-sized bed in the bedroom. They rested shoulder to shoulder—with Miranda in the middle. Not that the arrangement was all that strange—many nights at the cabin they’d all piled into Della’s full-sized bed.

But being in Paris, it felt … different.

“Lights off or on?” Kylie asked.

“Off,” Miranda said.

Kylie shifted and the room went black. Then she settled back on the mattress.

Burnett had insisted that they all needed to get some rest before the sun rose. Perry hadn’t tried to kiss her good-bye, but she sensed he’d been considering it. Her tiny step away from him must have told him she didn’t like the idea.

She’d already let him kiss her once and she wasn’t sure it had been a good idea. So instead of trying to kiss her, he’d run the back of his hand down her forearm. His touch held so much emotional current, it had hurt.

It still hurt, but her mind wasn’t stuck on the Perry issue alone. She was still wondering about her mother and the reason she might have let Miranda believe she hadn’t arrived in Paris yet. It had to be about Tabitha and her mom, didn’t it?

Miranda closed her eyes. Thinking of her mom as a slut, the other woman, was only slightly better than thinking of her as a murderer. Didn’t her mom have more pride than that?

“Do you not want to talk about it?” Kylie asked.

Miranda, knowing she was talking to her, pushed her head deeper into the pillow. “About what?”

“Please!” Della snapped. “You are so cram-packed with crap it’s oozing out your ears. And I’m so close to you, it’s grossing me out. Just spill it, witch.”

Emotion tightened Miranda’s throat and she turned her head slightly to stare through the dark room at the crude vamp. “Spill what?”

“Two things,” Della said. “Why did you lie to Burnett? And what happened with you and Mr. Perry?”

Miranda’s breath caught. “Did it come off as a lie?”

Kylie shifted again and the light came on. “Not exactly.”

“We just know you,” Della offered. “When you’re trying to cover up something, you always shuffle your feet like a cat trying to cover up a deposit in his litter box.” She paused. “So what’s up?”

“Why is it that you think I’m supposed to share everything with you and you never tell us anything?”

“It’s too late to argue,” Kylie said. “If you don’t want to talk, we’re just gonna sleep.”

When no one spoke up, the light went off. The mattress shifted as Kylie got comfortable again.

“What have I not told you?” Della hissed into the darkness and shifted onto her side, propping herself up on her elbow.

“Steve,” Miranda said. “Or are you gonna pretend like you didn’t see him?”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m pretending, so leave it alone.”

“Do you still love Chase?” Miranda asked.

“I don’t want to. I don’t want to feel anything for him. He lied. Over and over again.”

“But…?” Miranda asked as Kylie sat up and rested against the bed’s headboard again. This time, however, she didn’t turn on the light.

“It’s the bond thing,” Della said. “It must be. I don’t feel … right. Like part of me is missing.”

“Love feels a little like that,” Kylie said. “I’ll bet I’ve called Lucas six times since we’ve been here.”

“Lucas hasn’t deceived you,” Della said, hurt sounding in her voice.

“Yeah, he did. He was going to get engaged behind my back. So he sort of did deceive me,” Kylie said. “But you forgive because you love them.”

“Maybe she doesn’t love Chase, but she loves Steve,” Miranda said and looked at Della. “Could that be a possibility?”

“I don’t know.” Della ran her hands through her hair. “At this point, I’m not sure I want to love anyone. I hate feeling my happiness depends on someone else.” She went to the window and pulled back the curtain and stared out into the night.

“I know the feeling,” Miranda said with a sigh.

Della turned around and looked at her. “So you and Perry didn’t jump back on the merry-go-round of love?”

“He kissed me,” Miranda said.

“And what kind of kiss was it?” Della asked.

“Good. And bad. I’m still so mad. It’s like I can’t turn the mad off. I know I love him, but I still want to hurt him for what he did to me.”

“Maybe you should. Give him an ass kicking.”

“No,” Kylie said. “Your anger will go away. It just fades.”

“Maybe it doesn’t happen like that with everyone,” Della said. “You are just the sweet, forgiving type.”

“I’m not that sweet,” Kylie said. “I hate it when you act like I’m a goody-two-shoes.”