September Moon (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #8)(60)

“So where did Shaz take Coby tonight? Are they having a real bachelor party? Strippers and all that fun stuff.” I asked, thinking it seemed like a safe enough topic.

Kylarai had asked Shaz to take Coby out. Shaz had asked me repeatedly if I wanted him with me instead, but I had assured him that having a good time with Coby was the best thing he could do for me right now. His reluctance made him that much more adorable. Letting Shaz go was going to be one of the hardest things I’d ever have to do.

“I didn’t even want to know,” Ky said with a laugh. “I told Shaz not to tell me what he had planned. Just to bring back my fiancé in one piece.”

“Well, what about you?” Jez said between mouthfuls of grilled chicken. “You deserve a final big bash too. We should party.”

“The wedding is coming up so quickly. I don’t have time to party.”

Jez was aghast. “There is always time to party.”

“Maybe a little too much time,” I added, giving her a pointed look.

Jez frowned and pushed the chicken around on her plate with the fork, avoiding my gaze. “I know I f*cked up, Lex. But we all suffer, and we all deal in our own way. You can’t punish me for that.”

The tone of our dinner went from fun and friendly to tense and awkward in a split second. It wasn’t fair of me to act like judge and jury. I was just afraid.

“You scared the hell out of me, Jez. I’ve never seen you that far gone before, and I hope I never see it again. I’m sorry. I’ll back off.” Hoping for a smile, I offered her a fry from my plate. “Peace offering?”

She swiped the fry from my hand with the speedy reflexes of a cat. “I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t punish you for caring.” Turning her emerald-green gaze on Ky, she said, “Ok, so about this bachelorette party. Where would you like to go? Bride’s choice.”

Kylarai was about to protest when she seemed to rethink it. “There is a band playing tonight I wouldn’t mind seeing. They’re local. Coby turned me on to them.”

At the mention of a local band, my stomach flipped. Please don’t say it’s at The Spirit Room, I thought.

“They’re playing at The Spirit Room,” she continued, dashing my hopes with just those few words.

Jez raised her eyebrows, expecting my protest. I swallowed hard, finding the cheeseburger was now sitting heavily in my stomach. “Sure,” I said with a forced smile. “We can do that.”

“Do you want to go see the ‘peelers’ first? I don’t mind. I can appreciate some nice man flesh. I just don’t want it touching me,” Jez quipped with a flip of her golden locks.

A giggle erupted from Ky. “As much as I appreciate the offer, no thank you. I have more than enough man flesh at home.”

That was a relief. I wasn’t sure I could stand to watch buff men tear their clothes off and gyrate for screaming women. While the human women would hunger for one thing, I’d be hungering for another.

“Someone may as well have some action at home. At the rate we’re going we’ll be old, sexless spinsters in no time,” Jez said with a nod to me. When I frowned in response, she added, “Sorry, Lex. You have been pushing your men away though.”

“Only Shaz. It’s for his own good, you chatty thing. Don’t think I’m enjoying it.” I flung a fry at her, disappointed when she caught it.

“No more talk of depressing stuff. Aren’t we supposed to be celebrating?” Ky brought our attention back to her, holding her glass up expectantly. Jez and I raised our glasses as well. Kylarai stared at us each in turn. Her cheeks were rosy, and she seemed to glow with an inner happiness. “To friends. And to overcoming the odds, no matter how bleak they may seem. To hope and the certainty that everything happens for a reason.” Kylarai clinked her glass against ours and beamed like the sun itself threatened to burst from within her.

I studied her, seeking the source of her inner illumination. Sure marriage made a woman beam, but there was something else there. A gentle touch of her aura slapped me in the face with the answer. I struggled to maintain my composure. Was this for real?

Her aura was strong and solid, humming with a healthy vibrancy. Focusing intently on her energy, I was able to pick out another, weaker aura beneath hers. Unless I was very wrong, Kylarai was pregnant.

* * * *

We arrived at The Spirit Room after dark, early enough that we were able to find a table near the stage but not so early that the place was empty. Now that the sun had set, I was anxiously anticipating an appearance by my crazed vampire. Which one? A nasty voice in the back of my mind taunted.

Arys hadn’t tried to contact me mentally or by phone. I wasn’t sure if I should be worried or relieved by that. Leaving the house without Jenner had been simple enough thanks to the afternoon sun. Now that darkness had fallen, I expected one of my self-appointed protectors to show up.

The first band of the evening took the stage. They were hard rock with a lot of growling and screaming. Not quite my kind of rock, but it sure beat Top 40 crap.

“I just can’t decide where we should go for our honeymoon,” Kylarai was saying. “Coby wants to lie on the beach in Hawaii, but I’d much rather go somewhere romantic like Paris or Vienna.”

“I vote Europe, for sure. Why not visit both Paris and Vienna? Walking through those cities would be a dream.” I leaned forward, resting my face on my hands, and imagined strolling through the stone streets of Paris.