“Coming right up.”
Kaitlyn followed her mother into the kitchen. When she started to help, her mother shooed her away. “Not today. Just sit over there and watch.”
Rolling her eyes, Kaitlyn hopped up on the stool in the corner. “What kind of party?”
“Oh, the usual, you know. Balloons and presents and dancing under the stars.” Elena put the bacon in a pan, mixed the batter, and poured it on the griddle. When the pancakes and bacon were almost done, she dropped the bread into the toaster.
“At least let me set the table,” Kaitlyn said.
“Already done.” Elena placed everything on a tray and carried it into the dining room.
Kaitlyn trailed at her heels. “Oh, Mom,” Kaitlyn said when she saw how her mother had decorated the room. “It’s lovely.”
A pink cloth covered the table. A crystal vase held a dozen roses. There were colorful balloons everywhere, a dress-up silver crown beside her plate.
Kaitlyn grinned when she saw the crown. Her mother had given her one every year for as long as she could remember. It wouldn’t be a birthday without it.
“Please, sit, Your Highness,” Elena said. She placed the tiara on Kaitlyn’s head. “The roses are from your father.”
“They’re beautiful.”
“Best eat those pancakes while they’re hot,” Elena said.
“Looks good, as always.” Kaitlyn helped herself to several pancakes, three strips of bacon, as well as a slice of buttered toast.
“Milk or orange juice?” Elena asked.
“OJ.”
“This is nice.” Taking a seat across from her daughter, Elena filled her own plate. “I’ve missed our mornings together.”
Kaitlyn nodded. When she lived at Wolfram, she adjusted her waking hours to the ones her father kept so she could spend time with her parents. In Tahoe, her hours had been erratic. Sometimes she adhered to mortal hours; sometimes she kept vampire hours. Especially after meeting Zack.
She smiled inwardly. Zack. She could hardly wait to see him.
“So, what do you want for your birthday?” Elena asked.
“I don’t know. It’ll be pretty hard to top what you gave me for graduation and my birthday last year.”
“True.”
“I really don’t need anything,” Kaitlyn said.
“Well, think about it.”
“I will. These pancakes are great,” Kaitlyn said. “I forgot what a good cook you are.”
“It’s nice to have someone to cook for besides myself.”
Kaitlyn ate in silence for several minutes, thinking about what her mother had just said. “Mom, do you ever regret marrying Dad?”
“Of course not. Why would you ask such a thing?”
“It must be hard sometimes, living with a vampire. Eating alone all the time. Never being able to go out together during the day. You know, stuff like that.”
“No relationship is perfect. I don’t always eat alone. Sometimes I dine with Northa and the other women. And your father often sits with me . . .” She paused, brow furrowed. “Kaitlyn, you’ve only known Zack a short time. You’re not seriously thinking of marrying him, are you?”
“Why shouldn’t I marry a vampire? You did.”
“I know, but . . .” Elena paused. “I was about to say that the two of you are different kinds of vampires, but that argument doesn’t really hold water, does it? I mean, your father and I are different and yet we’ve been happy together. We’ve had to make compromises, yes, but every couple has to make adjustments. Still, marrying a vampire isn’t like marrying someone from another religion.” She smiled wistfully. “I guess it would be easier for you, all things considered.”
“I love him, Mom, with all my heart. I can’t imagine my life without him.”
Elena nodded. “You’re old enough to make up your own mind, sweetheart. Whatever you decide is all right with me.”
Kaitlyn reached across the table and squeezed her mother’s hand. “Thanks, Mom. For everything.”
After breakfast, Kaitlyn went into the library to read while her mother went to take care of some household chores.
Sitting there, an unopened book on her lap, Kaitlyn remembered how it had been, growing up at Wolfram. Before she went to school, she had kept the same hours as her parents, but that had changed when she turned five. Her mother had considered teaching Kaitlyn at home, but after thinking it over, she had decided that Kaitlyn needed to have the opportunity to play with other kids her age, that she needed to learn how to interact in a group, and to share.
And so her mother had changed her routine to accommodate Kaitlyn’s schedule. Thinking about it now, she realized her father must have changed his sleeping habits, as well. It must have been hard on her mother, trying to arrange it so she could spend time with a daughter who slept at night and a husband who slept most of the day.
Kaitlyn stretched her back and shoulders. She wouldn’t have to make any adjustments like that if she married Zack. Zack couldn’t have children, so it would be easy to keep the same hours he did.
Zack. She ran her fingertips over her lips as she recalled how he had kissed her last night. It was probably just her imagination, but she was certain she could still taste him.
Zack. Right or wrong, she wanted him with every fiber of her being, yearned for him with every breath. Until she’d met him, she had never believed in love at first sight, or soul mates, or that there was just one perfect man for every woman. But she believed it now.
She opened the book and tried to read, but instead of seeing the words on the page, she saw Zack’s image—dark gray eyes that were sometimes enigmatic but always beautiful. She loved the shape of his mouth, his smile that was sometimes cynical but always sexy. She loved the way he kissed her, the way being in his arms made her feel loved and protected. If she could have assembled the perfect man, he would have looked just like Zack.
Setting the book aside, she left the library. The Fortress was unusually quiet as she walked down the hallway. Kaitlyn grinned. No doubt her mother was holed up with Northa and some of the other women making last-minute preparations for her upcoming birthday party.
Kaitlyn stopped in midstride when the doorbell rang. It wasn’t an ordinary doorbell, of course, but a bell that resounded through the whole house.
Kaitlyn hurried toward the front entrance. She couldn’t be certain, but she thought there would probably be a present waiting for her when she got there.