Ready Or Not

Do You Have a Moment To Discuss Our Lord and Savior, Hannah Gregg?

**Theo**

"Stealing her from Pines, I understand​. Giving her an office, I understand. A raise goes hand in hand with a promotion, but twenty percent is... extravagant. Still, it's you, so I get it. I understand dinner. But why are you making this a family affair, again?" Daniel straightened his tie and re-rolled his sleeves.

We were in a cab, on our way to dinner. We could have run, but it was raining, and really, it was probably best to arrive in a more conventional manner on the off chance Hannah was already there and waiting.

"Because this one is a firecracker, and the girls will love her," I replied.

"A firecracker."

"Mmhmm," I hummed, fidgeting uncomfortably in my dress pants. I'd told Lydia no Chucks, so she was going to fume when she saw what was on my feet. I laughed a little at the thought.

"Theo, nobody calls anyone a firecracker anymore."

"No?" I asked as we turned a corner sharply and I was thrown against him. "So hard for me to keep track of the lingo."

He rolled his eyes. "Is she bringing anyone or will she be utterly outnumbered by sassy vampires?"

"She can handle the sass, trust me," I assured him, pulling his arm around my shoulders. "And no, she's coming alone. She and her girlfriend split a couple months ago."

My fiance gave me a little shove and held me at arm's length. "Ah ha! Ulterior motive."

I fussed with my hair and avoided his eyes. "I don't know what the fuck you're talking about."

"Sure."

"Okay, fine. But honestly, I invited her out and had already included Anna and Lydia before I knew she was queer. Serendipity, iubit."

"Is Lydia going to believe you didn't have ulterior motives?" he asked with a quirked brow.

"No. Probably not. And that's going to be funny, too. Oh! Also. I didn't tell her what you were, you know? I kind of implied you were human. I didn't want to cause problems for you if my engagement became public before you decided to come out of the coffin."

My fiance smiled and pulled me closer again. "You know, if you want me to buy that you're an incorrigible monster, you're going to have to stop being so damn considerate."

"You're right. We should print announcements with coffin shaped cards and the font can be dripping in blood."

"For our engagement? Who do we need to announce it to?" He looked concerned. He knew the answer.

"Your sister, for one."

"You want to hand my sister a coffin card with bloody cursive telling her we're getting married? You want to print one announcement? You want her to go back to hating us?"

"Me. She hated me. And no, I don't want to do that. That was a joke about exposing your species at the same time as our engagement. You know. Like I was trying to avoid doing? By being considerate...? Jokes lose their mirth when you have to explain them, Daniel," I huffed.

"No, no. I got that," he said. "Or, I sort of did. Maybe. It's hard to tell with you. Your expression doesn't always change when you lie."

"I know," I replied. "Been honing that skill for at least half a century."

"So...?" He truly sounded confused.

"So." The cab was turning the corner to the last block before the restaurant. "So I don't care when you come out to the public as a vampire, even though any time now your name will be on a registry accessible to the public who chooses to look. I do care about how you're going to approach telling people you intend to make an honest monster out of me. Specifically, Melanie."