Max ran his finger down the stem of his glass as he pondered the idea. His eyes met Bennett’s. “You’d have to mark her, and for that matter, you should mark that other mortal of yours and his wife, so no one gets the wrong idea.”

“Yes, Gus mentioned you sent them an invitation,” Bennett said, relaxing back in her chair. “I have to say, I was a little surprised.”

“There comes a point when arguing with you feels much like talking to a wall. It’s obvious I’m never going to change your mind about him, which is why I asked to be introduced to him that night, and this is the next step. You see him as a guardian; therefore, it seemed only fair to invite him and his wife so they can meet the others. However, I’m assuming you don’t feed on them.”

“No…never.”

“Then you need to mark them to make sure my people know they aren’t part of the beverage cart. All right?”

“So you’re saying I can invite Ruby?”

“Yes, Bennett. She can come if she’d like. Only you need to remember, Lisa will be here as well, so you could put yourself into a position seething with friction.”

“If I can survive Napoleon’s trap, I can survive Lisa and Ruby in the same room,” Bennett said with a smile. “Not a problem.”

“Oh, how I love the centuries haven’t touched your moxie. It does a heart good, I tell you. It does a heart good.”

***

Ruby rolled to her side, gazing at the woman whose skin still shone with sweat. “Tell me about yourself.”

“I have a better idea,” Bennett said, raising herself up on her elbow. “Why don’t you tell me about yourself?”

“Um…because my life is boring, and there’s not really much to tell.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

“Okay,” Ruby said, rearranging the pillows. “Well, let’s see. I originally come from Washington, the state, not the district, and I hail from a little town called Eatonville which, the last time I checked, had a population just shy of three thousand. Skipping over all the boring years, I enrolled at Western Washington University after graduating from Eatonville High. I earned degrees in both Archives and Records Management and Library Science. Then I moved to Olympia and took a job with the Washington Archives Division, working in their digital department. My father was a plumber, my mother was a homemaker, and they both died in a car crash when I was twenty-five.”

“Oh, Christ. I’m sorry.”