Enemy Mine

Chapter 35

Sylvie kept me on the phone for an hour, lamenting over her frozen foods lo mien posing as a turkey dinner, and hating on Colin's gargoyle sex kitten. This was the title Sylvie bestowed on Deidra Bourdain. Her crisis helped distract me from my own angst about meeting my flesh and blood father.

"Is your cable hooked up yet?" I asked as I munched from a box of high sodium crackers, pacifying my nerves with pleasure. "You can watch a movie to take your mind off things."

"Like Colin having sex with another woman?" Sylvie sounded angry, but I heard the catch in her throat when she said 'woman'. Deidra was not a woman in the human sense, but it would be counterproductive to point that out. Sylvie needed soothing, not a lecture.

"She's going home tomorrow," I reassured her. "And Colin has been very clear about his feelings for you, in spite of the complications."

"I know. That's the only thing holding me together. I can't believe I fell so hard, so fast. That's not my norm."

"It's not mine either, but look at me with Vincent. There's something magnetic about the Valentinos. Maybe it's because they're gollums."

"Or maybe it's because they're fine mother-fuckers and amazing in the sack."

We both laughed at Sylvie's crude joke and the mood lightened enough that I felt ready to put my crackers away and face the music.

"Well, girlfriend. I have to go meet my father for the first time ever." I knew she would appreciate the serious emphasize I put on 'first time ever', since she had never met her dad either.

"He's going to love you, Reese. How could he not? You are the whole package; intelligence, timeless beauty, and a brilliant sense-of-humor. You're my hero."

Her praise had my cheeks warming up. "Thanks, Sylvie. That means everything coming from you. I'll keep you posted."

"Go get 'em, chica."

Thirty minutes from zero hour, Vincent's apartment started filling up with Valentinos. Sergio and Louis were scheduled to arrive later. The more I learned about the reason for Marco's visit; how the Valentinos didn't keep him in the loop about me and how Sergio and Louis were being kept out of the loop at Marco's request, the more I felt like the post script in the act. This was not just a reunion between father and daughter, Marco planned to shred a few assholes for the whole loop failure.

I had never seen Vincent look nervous, but even his black V-neck couldn't hide the dark crescents under his arms. He would be facing the judgment of a fellow magister, as well as the wrath of his father-in-law. Colin had taken Vincent into his office for a blast of Cognac when the announcement came that Marco and his niece were on their way up.

Griffin took this opportunity to speak covertly to me. "I've met Deidra. She's a supreme fighter, and she's very pretty, like you, only older."

"Do you think she's in love with Colin?" I asked, knowing Griffin couldn't resist giving her opinion.

"They're good friends, so maybe a friend kind-of love, but everyone knows she's in love with Vincent." Griffin patted my arm as her nonchalant announcement jolted my world out of place. "Don't worry, Reese. Vincent never loved Deidra. He never loved anyone until you."

Griffin left me reeling, and I leaned against a barstool for support when I noticed Vincent walking Colin out of his office. The moment our eyes met, Vincent made a beeline for me.

"Baby, are you alright?"

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to answer before the front door opened, and I clenched my buttocks in anticipation of the drama to come. The dogs went nuts, ramping up the tension but providing a much-needed distraction, and Vincent held his hand at my back as we stood away from the swarm.