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“You know the man who bought us drinks at Kells?”Niamh doesn’t seem to care about being quiet as she squeals. I rush to shush her, trying not to laugh myself. Then I fidget, wondering how she’ll take the next bit.
As always, she reads me well, her brows furrowing. “What is it? Is he some sort of weirdo?”
“He’s a vampire.”
Niamh isn’t fazed. “So?”
“And...” I’m hesitating and I know it. Ever since Lan told me, I’ve been oscillatingbetween obsessing over it and refusing to think about it. “He says I’m his mate.”
“Are we talking mate as in girlfriend-boyfriend territory or like he wants you to have his vampire babies?”
“Oh, god, I love you.” I throw my hands around Niamh, and she flings her hand out with the coffee to avoid me knocking into it before returning the embrace. Her cavalier reaction has taken away most of the anxiety winding up inside me about Lan. When I pull back, I think about it. “I think it’s more like a soul mate, one true love thing? Before you scrunch up your nose like that, I know it’s fast. But I feel it too? It’s like I can feel him sometimes, inside me.”
She starts to say something and I slap my hand over her mouth. “Not like that,you sex fiend.”
Niamh licks my hand, like we’re children and not grown adults with successful careers, and I scowl, yanking my hand away and rubbing it dry on my skirt. Picking at the hem, I think about what it might mean to Lan for me to be his mate. He’s said he might never be able to love me, but in the short time we’ve been together, he’s made me feel more loved than anyone else before.
“I really, really like him, Niamh,” I confess. “Like, I think I’m in love with him. And not just because he makes me come harder than I ever thought possible.”
Niamh reaches over and squeezes my hand and I meet her eyes. She’s looking at me with pride and encouragement. “Then embrace it, babe. You know I’ve always thought you deserve someone who is going to make you the center of their world. If that’s a vampire? All the better. I know how you’ve always had a thing for the blood-suckers.”
I snort and bump my shoulder against hers. “How about I make you a deal? I’ll embrace this whole mate thing if you finally make Raul take you out for dinner.”
“He should ask me,” she says with a sniff and I roll my eyes.
“He never will, out of respect for me,” I counter then give her a sly look. “Besides, he has a thing for you bossing him around.”
Niamh considers it for a long moment before standing up and downing the rest of her latte then pointing at me with the empty to-go cup. Even with her painted-on jeans and faded graphic tee-shirt under her black blazer, she looks every inch the badass computer engineer I know her to be.
“If I do this, you aren’t allowed to, one, say I told you so if it works out, or, two, fire him if it doesn’t.”
“Fair enough.” I manage to keep my grin to a minimum. Niamh flicks her hair over her shoulder one last time, grabs her purse andpower walks out of the office, and I grin as she starts to speak.
“Raul, you’re taking me to dinner tonight,” she says in that confident tone that made our fellow engineering students listen in spite of her being a woman. “Put your number in my phone and I’ll text you my address. And throw this away for me.”
I don’t hear Raul’s response, which I assume means he’s sputtering in shock but since Niamh isn’t saying anything else I take it that he’s following her demand.
“Six sharp, got it? Wren will make sure you’re off in time. I like real food, and nothing too fancy so don’t go overboard trying to impress me, got it?”
“Uh, yeah, I’ll think of something!”
Raul’s excitement makes me grin and I move back to my desk, satisfied that those two are finally doing something about their attraction to each other.
A few minutes later, I’m scanning the updates forwarded to me by the dev team when Raul knocks on the doorframe. I glance up, my mouth quirked up in a grin. A part of my world might be chaos, but seeing how cute Raul is over Niamh makes me happy.
“Thanks, boss lady,” he says, his smile brilliant.
“No problem,” I tell him. “Oh, a tip. Niamh really likes pub-style restaurants and arcades—the ones where you get tickets to redeem for prizes. Don’t get her flowers because her allergies are horrendous. A six-pack of craft beer will go far.”
His grin grows wider, showing off his brilliant white teeth. I’ve never considered it, not just because he’s my employee, but Raul is a handsome man that’s absolutely Niamh’s type, with his warm brown skin and black hair inherited from his Brazilian mother, and his green eyes from his Irish father. I’d warn him that Niamh will eat him up if he isn’t careful, but like I told her, I’m pretty positive that’s exactly what he hopes will happen.
Drumming my fingers on my desk, I consider my own romantic situation. I could research supernatural mates online, but it doesn’t feel right. Something this important seems like it needs to be discussed face to face with someone who knows. Frowning, I spin one of my emerald stud earrings, wishing I had my mom to talk to. This is definitely a mom situation.
I sit upright. There is someone I could talk to, if she’d see me. I have no way to reach her though, so I’d just be showing up.
Screw it.
I’ve never bailed on work early so frequently, but I grab my bag and text Simon to meet me in the garage. Raul isn’t at his desk when I head out, so I text him to reschedule my meetings for the rest of the day. He’ll make me pay for it later, since he’s the one who has to face the irritated managers. Then again, I did just get him a date with my best friend so he can deal. Checking the time on my phone, I do some mental calculations and just hope she’s home and able to see me.
