He nodded. “Let me ask her tonight. She and Benjamin are due back soon.”
Matt smiled. “Spending time with the kid, huh?”
Giovanni cocked his eyebrow. “He’s been her preferred company for the last couple of weeks.”
“Well…” The private detective shifted in his seat, looking slightly nervous. “Mano…he was a good guy. I mean, I know it’s none of my business and all-”
“Do you consider yourself her friend, Kirby?”
Matt nodded. “I do.”
“Then it’s your business,” Giovanni said, giving the tacit approval the man seemed to need. “And I’m not going to kill you for liking Beatrice’s ex.”
“Good to know,” he said with a tight smile.
“How is the lovely Desiree? Beatrice said you two are seeing each other.”
Matt chuckled. “Well, after the initial shock, she’s fairly fascinated by all of it, to be honest. I think being part of the supernatural world gave me a leg up dating her.”
Giovanni smiled before he burst into laughter. “Well, you’ve certainly taken enough risks over the years, I’m glad it finally paid off for you. Thank God for curious women.”
Matt’s head cocked when he heard the hum of the Mustang coming up the drive. “I should go.”
“I’ll call you about the meeting with Alvarez later tonight.”
“Let me know. I’m sure he won’t mind putting it off for the girl, with their connection, but it’s getting close to Christmas and I know you’re leaving for Texas…”
“No, I understand the urgency.”
“And I’m not sure how long you want that guy to sit in the dry room, either.”
“Oh,” Giovanni murmured. “The longer the better as far as that goes. As long as he’s conscious, he’ll suit my purposes.”
Matt nodded. “Just give me a call when you have a date. If it’s not office hours for you, I’ll take care of arranging the appointment.”
“Thank you, Kirby. Your assistance, as always, has been excellent.”
“No problem at all.” He nodded toward the vampire, who showed him to the door.
“And give your father and mother my best.”
“Of course. Have a nice night.”
Giovanni closed the door and walked back to the kitchen, curious why he hadn’t heard the stomping and shouting that normally followed Ben’s return to the house. When the basketball began to bounce, he had his answer. He heated a glass of bagged blood and sat down at the counter to drink. Soon, Ben and Beatrice’s quiet conversation drifted to his ears.
“-doesn’t matter if you want to go. It’s part of life. Just get it over with.”
“But I hear really bad stuff about going to the dentist, and I’ve never been. My teeth are probably super bad, and he’ll have to pull them all or something.”
He could hear Beatrice laugh. “You’re not going to get all your teeth pulled. I’ll make the appointment with my dentist. She’s really cool, and I’m sure she can fit you in next week.”
“Hey, did you ask Gio if we could go to the blue alien movie?”
“Not yet.” He could barely hear her mutter.
“Oh, come on, B! Will you guys stop fighting already? You could at least start talking to each other again.”
He was tempted to go out and yank Ben’s ear for talking to Beatrice that way, but he was too curious what she would say in response.
“Gee, Ben, I’m so sorry my disagreement with your uncle is cutting into your precious movie attendance. I’ll see what I can do.”
“It’s not that, and you know it.” Giovanni heard the basketball bounce a few more times and someone threw it toward the basket. “You guys are both just…”
“What?” she asked the question on the tip of his own tongue as he listened in.
“You’re sad. Both of you. It sucks.”
“Well,” he heard her start, “sometimes shitty things just happen, Ben, and it takes time to work through them. It’s not like I like being mad at him. Besides-” Her voice dropped. “-I’m mostly mad at myself.”
His heart ached for her, and he had to fight the urge to rush out and embrace her. Giovanni knew his comfort was still unwelcome.
“Well, figure it out by Christmas, okay? This is my first huge Christmas with lots of grown-ups giving me stuff, and I don’t want you two spoiling it.”
Giovanni almost snorted blood through his nose, and he grabbed a napkin from the holder on the counter. Luckily, he heard the welcome sound of Beatrice’s laughter, as well.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You know he’s listening to us in the kitchen right now, don’t you? You should go say hi and stay for dinner. Actually, you should cook because you’re way better at it than Gio is. Or we could order pizza! I know where he keeps his wallet.”
Giovanni rolled his eyes and sent a small prayer toward heaven. Carwyn would be pleased, he thought, he hadn’t prayed this much since Caspar started driving. Just as his eyes opened, he heard the kitchen door open and Beatrice walked into the house. He took a deep breath, enjoying the scent of her, fresh from the brisk air outside.
“Hi,” she said.
“Hello.”
“Apparently I’m a better cook than you are.”
“I have a hard time imagining that’s a surprise,” he said with a smile.
He saw her glance at his glass. “Bagged blood?”
Giovanni shrugged. “Unless you’re offering…”
Her eyes darted around the kitchen and she walked to the refrigerator to open it. “Uh, no. Not tonight. And there are tons of clubs in Los Angeles, why don’t you just-”
“No thanks,” he said. “Haven’t gone that route in years.”
Beatrice turned to look at him. “What? Years?”
He glanced meaningfully at her neck and sipped his glass. “Yes, years.”
She turned back to the refrigerator and paused before she started pulling out what looked like the ingredients for a salad, or maybe tacos, which he knew Ben loved.
She worked quietly as Ben continued playing outside and Giovanni pretended to read a book. He heard her start to say something a number of times, but she stopped herself and continued working.
“Ben’s doctor said he’s healthy as a horse, by the way.”
He nodded. “I assumed he was. I had him checked out in New York and his scent hasn’t changed significantly.”
“So, if a person is sick or something, they smell different?”
He nodded. “Yes, human scent changes quite significantly for all sorts of reasons. Health, hormones, even age…”
She chuckled. “I just had the realization that you have to smell adolescent boy on a daily basis.”
Giovanni winced before he grinned. “You have no idea.”
She shook her head, still laughing, and he suddenly realized they were smiling at each other for the first time in weeks. She must have realized it at the same time, and a sad smile replaced her laugh.
“So, your sense of smell is a little scary, to be honest. I always wonder if I’m wearing enough deodorant around you and Carwyn.”
“I wouldn’t worry. You usually smell lovely. Especially when you first wake up,” he added quietly.
He smiled when he saw her pause, but she didn’t get angry.
“You always smell the same to me,” she said.
He cocked his head. “How? What do I smell like to you?”
She didn’t look at him but turned on the burner to heat a pan on the stove. “Kind of like smoke. Wood smoke and whiskey.”
“I remember you wrote that in the journal. About the smoke.”
She looked up at him. “Did you read that? All of it?”
“Of course.”
“Even the parts when I cussed at you? I wasn’t very nice.”
He shrugged. “Did you read my journals? Most of them are far harsher than yours.”
“I haven’t read all of them yet,” she said as she put the ground beef on to cook. “You live in a rough world, you know?”