She grabbed him as if she feared she’d never see him again. “Campbell.”
He made himself smile while keeping the tips of his slowly descending fangs hidden. “See you later.”
Fueled by panic, he engaged his fastest speed to dress and return to his private room at the mansion. He leaned back against the door and let the night with Olivia replay in his mind. Those memories forced his fangs the rest of the way out. Though he’d had sex more times than he could count with more women than he cared to remember, it was the first time he’d experienced a fang drop for any reason other than feeding or fighting.
He’d promised Olivia he’d never say goodbye, had finally decided he was going to have a life with her. But he couldn’t see her again until he figured out a way to keep her safe from the biggest threat to her safety—him.
* * *
After Campbell left, Olivia just managed to reach her bed before collapsing. What a night. What a man. She couldn’t believe half of the things they’d done, and all within the span of a few hours.
She lay in bed well beyond when she normally rose, but why should she hurry? Business had trickled to the point of near nonexistence. Plus, she could really use the day to sleep and recuperate. She was still lying on the bed naked when she heard Mindy enter the restaurant’s back door, once again refusing to stay at home and rest. Wishing she didn’t have to burst her bubble of happiness by going downstairs to face what little was left of her business—so little that she might not even be able to afford to feed herself, let alone the homeless who would be moving in next door—she dragged herself to her feet and dressed.
“Olivia, you better get down here,” Mindy yelled up the stairs.
“Coming.” What the devil was wrong now?
When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she couldn’t believe her eyes. The dining room was already full. Familiar faces sat alongside ones she’d never seen before. And still others waited for an empty table.
“Looks as though you could use an extra hand or two.”
She turned and saw Herbie and Roscoe, all cleaned up and smiling. “What? How did you get here?”
“Honey, we’ve walked all over this city. Ain’t nothing to meander over for some breakfast at the most famous diner in town,” Herbie said.
“I don’t understand.”
“We saw your friend on the news last night, saw what he’s doing for us. Half of me still can’t believe it, but if it’s not a miracle, I don’t know what is.”
“I was a cook when I was in the army,” Roscoe said. “So I could help you out in the kitchen if you’d like.”
“And it won’t be any hardship to work alongside your pretty friend,” Herbie said with a nod toward where Mindy was handing out menus left and right.
“You’re both hired.”
Things didn’t slow down until midway through the afternoon. Olivia heard an ugly remark a couple of times about her being a vampire lover, but she was shocked by how overwhelmingly positive everyone was.
“I haven’t made this much in tips in forever,” Mindy said as she came to stand by the cashier counter with Olivia.
“That makes two of us,” Herbie said as he joined them. “Maybe I’ll hire me a maid in my new place.”
Olivia laughed. “I just plan to take a day off. That will feel more like the world used to be than just about anything.”
A tall, good-looking man in a dark suit came in the front door and headed straight for them. “Olivia DaCosta?”
“That’s me.”
“Darren Stuart,” he said as he extended an envelope to her. “This is the deed and transfer papers for the apartment building next door. As soon as you sign them, the building is yours.”
She accepted the envelope, pulled out the documents and started scanning the text.
“You’ll notice there’s a provision that the property taxes have been waived as long as the building is not used for profit and for its intended purpose, to house the homeless.”
Olivia couldn’t believe how quickly things were happening, and good things this time. As she read the documents in full, Mr. Stuart talked to Herbie and Roscoe about the building and accepted a cup of coffee on the house from Mindy. When Olivia was satisfied that the papers looked legit, she grabbed a pen but hesitated with it over the first signature line.
“Is there something wrong?” Mr. Stuart asked.
“This is just such a big moment part of me doesn’t believe it’s real.”
He nodded. “It’s a good thing you’re doing.”
With that, she signed everywhere he indicated. Then the deed was done, so to speak. She owned a twenty-story apartment building.
Stuart accepted his copy of the forms and gave her a ring of keys about the size and weight of a car tire. Then he slid a business card across the counter to her. A simple elegant off-white card with black ink said simply Darren Stuart above Barnes, Herron and Stuart, Attorneys at Law.
“If you have any legal needs, please let us know. And good luck with being a landlord.”
He smiled, and if she weren’t already in love with someone else, Olivia might have experienced a heart flutter at the sight.
“Thank you.”
He nodded then looked at Mindy. “Thanks for the coffee.” He turned and headed for the front door.
When she glanced at Mindy, she grabbed a napkin and gave it to her friend.
“What’s this for?”
“Your drool.”
Mindy wadded up the napkin and tossed it at Olivia, which set all four of them to laughing again.
They started the end-of-day cleanup, and by the time the last customer left, they were all ready to kick up their feet and relax.
“I’m going to go home and collapse on my couch, eat an entire pizza and watch mindless television until I fall asleep,” Mindy said as she grabbed her coat.
They all waved at Mindy as she headed out the door. Then Olivia eyed Herbie and Roscoe. “How do you all feel about having second jobs, on a volunteer basis at least for now?”
“What do you have in mind?” Roscoe asked.
“She needs help with the new building, getting it up and running,” Herbie answered for her. He got a twinkle in his eyes. “If Roscoe and I can scope things out and pick our places first, we’ll help out with cleaning, maintenance. And tomorrow we can get a lot more people to help.”
“Sounds great.” When she looked at Roscoe, his eyes looked extra watery. “What’s wrong?”
“I just can’t believe I’ll never have to stay in a shelter again.”
She gathered him to her and gave him a big hug. “It’s the least I can do for my two adopted grandpas, right?”
His face lit up, and when she looked at Herbie, he was smiling widely, too. Then he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.
“Come on, Roscoe, we got some apartment shopping to do.”
Olivia laughed as she handed over the monster ring of keys then watched the two of them walk across the alley and through the gateway in the fence that led to the apartment building. Finally alone, she dragged her tired body up the stairs to her own apartment and pulled some leftover macaroni and cheese from the fridge. After nuking it, she sat down at the table to eat and watch daylight fade from the sky.
She’d just finished the final bite when Campbell dropped effortlessly onto her balcony.
When she slid the door open, she said, “You know there are less dramatic ways to make an appearance. You can come up the fire escape or even knock on one of the doors downstairs.”
He gave her a crooked grin. “Where’s the fun in that?”
“Show-off.” She pulled him to her and kissed him thoroughly.
“What was that for?” he asked after she broke the kiss.
“I had a very good day.”
“Oh?”
“Seems your little TV appearance had a positive effect on my bottom line,” she said.