He gave a small laugh. “I have no doubt. They’ve been at it all day. The color scheme and flower choices changed three times. Geneva and your mother can’t agree. This,” he said pointing at the current choice, “was my mother’s doing.”

Aunt Marigold had lived in North England for several years. I knew when I saw the Hollyhocks that my aunt had done, not only the lights, but the flowers as well. “It’s beautiful,” I replied.

He shrugged. “Eh, it’s a dressed-up nightmare. We both know that. Where’s your friends?”

Duely had always been attracted to Margo and Heath, but because I had begged him not to show interest in either of them, he had left them alone. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to share them; it was that I didn’t want Margo to date a warlock. He was still from the same evil bloodline as I was. Margo was innocent, and this world only darkened those who got too close. As for Heath, he wasn’t into guys, but Duely had been known to convince men they wanted to experiment. I didn’t want Duely using any magic with Heath. Luckily, Duely loved me enough to refrain from manipulating my friends to indulge in his desires.

“They’ll be here tonight. I couldn’t think of an excuse to keep them from coming. Not inviting them would have hurt their feelings.”

Duely understood my need to keep them safe from our world. He too had mortal friends who had no idea our world existed. Explaining to someone you were born evil and it was possible that you didn’t even possess a soul wasn’t a way to make or keep friends. Besides Margo and Heath had lived through their own darkness. They didn’t need mine to add to it.

“Understood. The only way I got out of inviting my newest friend was my mother being here. He didn’t want to be around her since she disapproves of my dating men.”

I frowned. When had Aunt Marigold cared who Duely dated? “When did she start disapproving?” I asked him.

He smirked then and shrugged his shoulders once “Oh, she doesn’t give a shit who I date, but that kept him from wanting to come.”

Understanding then, I laughed. It was for the best, even if it had been a lie. No one needed to be brought into this world if it could be helped. It would only endanger them to know we existed.

“Does this poor bastard marrying your sister have any idea what he’s asking for?” Duely then asked me.

I sighed and shook my head. “No. He’s completely obsessed with her. It’s sickening.”