“Are you following me?” I asked, getting to my feet. “Every time I’m downtown, here you are.”

“If I were following you, I never would have let you set foot in here in the first place.” She pointed at the costume. “What is that?”

“My outfit for Halloween,” I said. “I’m going Greek.”

“It’s not even the right size.”

“I’ll get it taken in.”

She tsked. “I’m so appalled, I don’t even know where to start. You want a Greek dress? I’ll make you one. A good one. Not this monstrosity. My God. People know you know me. If you were seen in that, it’d ruin my career.”

“Yeah, because what I wear to a high school dance will really make or break you.”

“When’s your dance?” she asked.

“Saturday.”

“Easy,” she declared. She gave me a once-over and nodded in satisfaction. “Easy measurements too. Is your sister dressing just as badly?”

“Not sure,” I admitted. “She talked about making a fairy dress in sewing club. A blue one, I think.”

Lia blanched. “Even worse. I’ll make her a dress too. I’ve already got her measurements.”

I sighed. “Lia, I know what you’re trying to do, and it won’t work. Jill absolutely cannot model for you again. It doesn’t matter how much bribery you try.”

Lia attempted an innocent look that was in no way convincing. “Who said anything about bribery? I’m doing this out of charity. It’d be a disgrace to let you two go out in anything less than the best.”

“Lia—”

“Do not buy that,” she warned, pointing at the costume. “It’s a waste. You might as well set your money on fire—although, it probably wouldn’t light as fast as that dress. I’ll let you know when your costumes are ready.” With that, she turned on her high wooden heels and walked away, leaving me staring.

“Did you get a costume?” Sonya asked me later, once the closing store forced us to leave.

“Weirdly, yes,” I said. “But not from there.”

Dimitri apparently wasn’t done with his call, since he hadn’t joined us yet. We strolled leisurely back toward the restaurant, wanting to give him more time with Rose. Other stores were closing, and the tourists were beginning to thin out. I explained the meeting with Lia. Sonya found it more amusing than I did.

“Well, don’t knock it,” she said. “If a designer wants to make you something, you’re not obligated to give her anything else. Maybe she could help me out with bridesmaid dresses.”

We crossed a less busy street and cut through a narrow alley with a brick building on one side and a tree-filled church lawn on the other. I’d admired the church on our way over, but now, in only a short time, evening had filled it with shadows and given it a foreboding look and feel. I was glad I wasn’t walking through here alone. It felt strange to be reassured by a vampire’s presence.

“Lia does make amazing things,” I admitted. “But I don’t know if we should encourage her.”