Bennett dropped her chin to her chest. The day before, she’d been surrounded by people grateful for the roof over their heads and the food on their table, and Bennett had been thankful, too. Thankful she didn’t need to hide from them, appearing as the formidable vampire feared by so many of her own kind. With the Rooneys and the Jensens, Bennett didn’t need to wear the mask she’d become so accustomed to donning. The unflappable façade had always protected her, except it also camouflaged the person she was underneath. A person who liked to read, liked to listen to music, liked to mess with her cat when Xi wasn’t in the mood, and a person who liked the occasional burger and fries.

Bennett knew she’d regret what she was about to do, but she was going to do it anyway. Filling her lungs, Bennett jogged to catch up to Ruby. “Wait.”

Ruby stopped and turned around. “What?”

“If your offer is still good, I’ll have dinner with you under two conditions.”

“Such as?” Ruby said, crossing her arms.

“One, you don’t pepper me with questions, and two, this…this dinner means nothing more than it is. It’s not a date. It’s not the start of something wonderful. It’s just dinner.”

Ruby seemed to brighten from within. “I can work with that.”

***

With several restaurants within walking distance, Ruby suggested they head to Murphy’s Irish Pub, which was only a few blocks away. They set off in that direction, and barely a word was spoken until they were seated at a heavily lacquered table at the rear of the pub.

After the server walked away to place their drink order, Ruby said, “So, have you ever been here before?”

“Yes, a few times,” Bennett said, looking up from the menu. “Not many places in the area make a Shepherd’s pie up to my standards.”

“Oh, I see. Is that what you’re going to have tonight?”

Having lowered her eyes, Bennett raised them again. “I’m not sure. Someone keeps preventing me from reading the menu.”

Ruby huffed out a breath and held her menu in front of her face. “I didn’t think those were the questions I was forbidden from asking. My bad.”

Bennett noticed the waiter approaching with their drinks, so it wasn’t until after he left that she reached over and pulled down the menu Ruby was hiding behind. “They aren’t, but I have a question. Why, knowing what little you do know about me, would you want to have dinner with me? For that matter, why would you even want to be around me?”

“Are you suggesting I should be afraid of you?” Ruby said, putting her menu aside.

“I find it hard to believe you’re not.”