Chapter 6
Brother?

For a split second the word caught me completely off guard, and I had this flash of betrayal, certain that Lucius had kept something important – a huge secret – from me. He didn’t have a brother…

I was stunned, too, by our new guest’s appearance as he sauntered into our midst, making a beeline for Lucius.

The rest of us were in formal attire. Even Dad, who usually wore decrepit T-shirts that advocated for causes no one had even thought about in ten years, was in a suit. But the guy who was strolling the length of the room, grinning like he didn’t realize he was making a scene, had on a pair of grubby board shorts and a yellow T-shirt that advertised a Venice Beach surf shop. A shirt that looked worse than most of Dad’s…

As he passed by the table, the candlelight reflected off glossy, long brown hair that was cinched into a loose ponytail with what looked like an old leather shoelace. Hair that was maybe too glossy, like it needed a wash.

I noticed a familiar sound as he walked, and glanced down at his feet, where I discovered a pair of black, rubber…

Flip flops?

I rose from my seat, uncertainly, and turned to Lucius, wanting some sort of explanation and – even in my shock – half expecting my impeccably mannered vampire prince to be very displeased. If this really was his brother, the late arrival… the sloppy clothes… they were disrespectful…

But when I saw Lucius’s face, I realized that he didn’t seem angry.

On the contrary, he was also grinning from ear-to-ear, setting down his glass and pushing aside his chair in order to step toward the newcomer.

What the…?

I looked to my parents and Mindy, who also seemed confused, and was embarrassed to be able to do nothing more than offer them a baffled shrug, myself.

Still standing, awkwardly, I spun back to Lucius just in time to see him extend a handshake to the guy he’d called brother, who in turn clasped my future husband’s hand before pulling him into the same kind of masculine, back-slapping embrace that Lucius had just shared with my dad.

It wasn’t until Lucius grabbed the stranger by the shoulders and spun him to face us – so I could see they shared nearly identical smiles, the gleaming white teeth of Vladescu nobility – that I realized who this person really was. It was almost like I was thinking the words that Lucius spoke as he announced, still smiling, “This surf bum who dares to join us – late – and in such inappropriate attire is, I am almost ashamed to admit, my best man.”

I sank back down onto my seat, still not quite believing my eyes.

This… this… was the legendary Raniero Vladescu Lovatu?

Continue to Chapter 7....