“Yeah, well, that’s part of the things I did wrong, Bennett,” Lisa said, the corners of her mouth sinking. “Jimmy is a friend of a friend, and he wanted to have a woman on his arm because he comes from a very religious family, and he’s yet to find the strength to come out.”

Bennett paled. There it was. The woman who she had always believed to be honest had just lied, and it was all because Lisa was now a vampire and she had changed. “No, he’s not. You’re lying. You vacationed in Steamboat with him, and you said he wanted to move in with you. You don’t do that unless you’re in a relationship.”

“Jimmy wanted us to be the next Will & Grace, and I wanted nothing to do with it, which is why I stopped the charade weeks ago. And I went to Steamboat alone. I was having a hard time dealing with your relationship with Ruby, and I thought space would help. It didn’t, in case you’re wondering.” Lisa gulped down a steadying breath. “And I owe you an apology about that. I know you’ve lived for centuries, but these past twelve years have felt like a lifetime to me. Sometimes you’d look at me in a certain way, and that gave me hope, and then at others, you seemed almost oblivious to me. That’s why I agreed to date Jimmy. I wanted to see if it made you jealous, and it did, but it was wrong. I shouldn’t have done it, Bennett, but I couldn’t stop myself from doing it all over again when Ruby came along. I was pissed off, and instead of letting you live your own damn life, I made up that crap about Jimmy and I going on vacation together. I wanted…I wanted to make you feel as miserable as I was feeling, which was wrong of me. It was really, really wrong of me.”

“I…I don’t believe you,” Bennett said quietly. “Vampirism changes a—”

“Oh, Lord, have mercy,” Lisa said, flipping her eyes toward the ceiling. “Bennett, not that you need to know this, but because you’re so hell-bent on thinking being turned has somehow changed me from straight to gay, I lost my virginity when I was seventeen to a boy named Todd, and to put it mildly, there were no fireworks. In college, however, I met a girl named Jasmine. That’s when I discovered fireworks, and we were together until I met you. My attraction to you was instant, Bennett. Like getting hit-by-lightning instant, but I knew about your flipping past, and that scared me.”

“Scared you?”