Bled Dry (Vegas Vampires #3)(40)
Author: Erin McCarthy

When Corbin had narrowed it down to three models, he asked her opinion. “Which one?”

“I think this one,” she said, pointing to one at random, liking its earthy tone.

“It looks more difficult to maneuver than the others,” he said with a frown.

“Then this one.” She pointed to the green one.

“The canopy doesn’t extend as far.”

“Then how about this one?” She pointed to the last remaining one, two models down from the others.

He nodded. “Good choice.”

Brittany almost rolled her eyes. Instead, she just handed him the scanner. He was really enjoying adding items to their registry with the little wand. Clicking the button and capturing the bar code brought a smile to his face every time he used it. Now he wielded the wand like a saber and slashed through the air, scanning at an angle.

“There. It es on ze list.”

Men never changed. They could turn anything into a toy or a weapon.

“Zap one of those headrest things while you’re at it.” There were only three choices, all looking very nearly the same. “Just pick the cheapest one.”

To her amazement, he actually complied. “On to ze high chairs,” he said, consulting the New Parent checklist he had in his other hand.

Brittany noticed that the intense concentration of baby registry sign-up had impacted his English. He sounded fresh from Paris. Not that his vocabulary in English was lacking, because the extensiveness of that constantly amazed her. But he could never entirely shed his accent. It suddenly made her wonder if he would teach their baby French. How cool. Her baby would be bilingual. So when her child was annoyed with her that she had to clean her room, she could bitch about it in French and Brittany would never know what she was saying. Maybe not such a good thing after all.

“Who exactly is going to purchase these items for us? I still do not understand why we don’t just buy them ourselves,” he said as he ran his hand over a contemporary white high chair.

“Where does your money come from, Corbin?” she blurted out, suddenly curious.

He shrugged. “Family money. We were very wealthy in the nineteenth century and I was the last of the line, so it all came to me upon my parents’ death. I have lived modestly, the money has grown through investments. My research is funded by an ancient vampire, so I do not spend my personal money. I am very wealthy. Perfectly capable of seeing to all the needs of our infant.”

He looked offended so she put out her hand. “Chill out. I wasn’t implying you couldn’t. I was just curious. And the whole point of registering is so people can buy us gifts. It’s tradition. People want to give gifts when you have your first child. Everyone at my office will be giving me gifts, and Ethan and Alexis will want to buy us something, and my college friends, my next-door neighbor, your vampire friends… ”

Making a face, Corbin said, “I do not have any friends.” He moved down the row. “Not these. Neither of us has this type of furnishing. We are more traditional.”

Brittany felt her heart swell. She hadn’t meant to remind him of his loneliness. She hadn’t even realized the truth of what he had just said. Yes, Alexis, Ethan, and Cara had all told her Corbin was not accepted by most vampires, but she had figured he had some friends or comrades tucked away somewhere. She knew he was something of a loner, but that had always seemed like his choice to her. Now she understood that no matter what a certain eccentric scientist insisted, he missed simple companionship.

Going after him, she touched his arm. “Hey. I’m your friend.”

Corbin smiled back at her, his thumb stroking across her cheek. “That you are. And it is a gift. I used to have friends, you know, when I was mortal. Even as a young vampire. But then, everyone died. And I didn’t bother to make new ones.” Corbin dropped his hand. “But I am grateful for your friendship. I did not realize how much I missed that.”

I love you, she wanted to say, knowing that she did, that Corbin was different, her feelings for him unique and deep, but she clamped her lips shut. It would sound like she was trying to make him feel better, like it was a declaration brought about by pity, not true feelings. She wished they could still read each other’s thoughts so he would see the truth in her heart, her head, her words written across her consciousness. But for some reason, since the two-month separation they’d had, she hadn’t been able to hear him. Except for when they were having sex. And she didn’t think he heard her either, which bothered her.

“All work and no play isn’t good for anyone, not even a vampire. Don’t worry, I’m going to be dragging you out of the house a lot.” That should reassure him. She almost laughed at the look on his face.

“You are too kind,” he said dryly. Then he turned to a mahogany high chair. “This one?”

“Yes. It’s lovely.” And matched both of their distinct decors.

Damn, they got along so well. They were like poster children for mortal-vampire parents who weren’t married.

Brittany grinned when Corbin aggressively zapped with the scanner.

Everything was going to be so fine.

“What do you mean, your sister will be here in an hour?” Alexis looked around their apartment and tried not to panic. She was a crappy housekeeper. There were papers everywhere, bills piling up, a Wal-Mart bag full of toiletries on the breakfast bar, and various piles of laundry dotting the couch. “Brittany just asked if you could call Gwenna yesterday!”

“Actually, I invited her to visit several months ago, after you suggested that very thing. I thought you’d be pleased. This will give Brittany a chance to talk to her.”

Men. “A little warning would be nice! The apartment’s a wreck and so am I.”

Ethan looked baffled. “I don’t think Gwenna will care if we haven’t run the sweeper all week.”

There was no time to argue with him about female dynamics and making a good first impression. She went into action, scooping up the laundry piles and tossing them willy-nilly into the basket. “Pick up all that paperwork! Shove it in a drawer or something or at least stack it all in one pile.”

Running into the bedroom, Alexis tossed the basket in their closet and slammed the door shut. Damn it. Their bed wasn’t even made. She whipped the comforter over the whole mess of rumpled sheets and smoothed it flat. Tossing pillows on top, she ran back and grabbed the Wal-Mart bag, tossing her hair out of her eyes. She needed to jump in the shower.