She glanced between the two vampires as they stared at each other.  She was trying to observe them while still looking vapid.  She wasn’t quite sure how well she did, but by the carefully controlled smirk on Gavin’s face, and the twinkle in his eyes when he caught her notice, she wasn’t very convincing as Giovanni’s brainless meal.

“Your drinks, Dr. Vecchio.”  The server placed the two glasses of amber whisky on the coffee table in front of them.

“Well,” Gavin said, “we’ll let you enjoy your drinks.  Excellent choices for both of you.  You must have very discerning palates.”  He winked at Beatrice behind Lorenzo’s back and mouthed ‘call me’ to Giovanni with a slight frown.

“Goodbye for now,” Lorenzo said.  “I’ll be seeing you around.”

“Looking forward to catching up.”

They walked away, and Giovanni and Beatrice both lifted their drinks.

“Cheers,” she muttered and clinked the edge of her glass with his before she took a sip.  “Here’s to fooling no one.”

Chapter Eighteen

Houston, Texas

June 2004

“What’s that?”

He turned, embarrassed when she walked into the kitchen.  Carl waved to him from the door then walked outside to make his rounds around the house.

“This is…a cake.”

“You like cake?”

He frowned.  “I was told you do.”

Beatrice’s mouth dropped open in shock.  “You got me a cake?”

“You’ve just graduated, and your grandmother isn’t here.”  He cleared his throat.  “I called Caspar.  He suggested a cake.  I’m sorry if it’s—”

“I love it.”

The corner of his mouth lifted.  He was pleased she was happy with the gesture, even if she hadn’t tried the cake yet.  “Your grandmother informed Caspar that your favorite flavor was lemon cake.  I’ll confess, I ordered it.  I can’t imagine you want me baking anything.”

Beatrice grinned and set her school bag down before she walked over to join him at the counter.

“It’d be kind of cool to see you try to cook something with your hands, though.”

He snorted and turned to take the small lemon cake out of the pink box.

“Have you ever done that?  Cooked something with your fire?”

He shook his head and chuckled.  “Not anything you’d want to eat, Beatrice.”

“What?  Why—oh ew!  You’ve killed things that way, haven’t you?”

He shrugged.  “What did you think when Carwyn said I liked my enemies ‘extra crispy?’”

“I’ll admit.  I chose not to think about that too closely.”

“Stick around for five hundred years or so, and you’re bound to make a few enemies.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”  She peeked over his shoulder and smiled.

Giovanni winked as he cut a piece of cake.  He placed it on a small plate, and handed it to her.  “Now, wait just a moment…”

He walked to the refrigerator and retrieved a bottle of champagne, which he twisted open before he grabbed two flutes from the butler’s pantry.

“Come now.  Dining room.  You can’t have your graduation cake standing in the kitchen.”

She followed him to the dining room table, and Giovanni quickly flicked small flames toward the white tapers Caspar kept out.  He poured the wine for them both and sat down next to her.

Lifting a glass, he toasted.  “To you, Beatrice De Novo.  Congratulations on your college graduation.”

“Thanks!”  She blushed with pleasure as she sipped the champagne and took a bite of cake.  “It’s delicious.”

He nodded in satisfaction as he sipped the champagne.  “Excellent.”

“Do you want a bite?”

“Probably not.  Most things with refined sugar are far too sweet for my taste.”

“Really?” She cocked her head to the side in an adorable gesture.

“Yes, they didn’t have anything that sweet when I was human.  Not that I remember.  Well…honey maybe.  That’s very sweet.  Or fruit.  I still eat that occasionally.  I like some fruits.”

She smiled and leaned forward, propping her chin in her hand.  “Really?  Like what?”

Giovanni frowned as he tried to think of the last person who had asked him personal questions.  For some reason, he liked the feeling of sharing his likes and dislikes with her.  “I like figs, fresh ones.  And…apricots.”

She smiled.  “I like apricots, too.”

“What are your favorite foods?”

She took another sip of champagne, and he watched the glass rise to her lips.  He wondered if they were sweet from eating the cake.

“I like spicy things.  Anything with chiles, especially my grandmother’s food.  And chocolate, but just dark chocolate.”

He smiled.  “I never tasted chocolate as a human.  The new world had just been discovered, though I wasn’t aware of it at the time.”

Her mouth dropped open.  “Wow, I guess not.  So no tomatoes for you, either.”

He shook his head.  “No tomatoes or corn…or potatoes, for that matter.”