You Managed To Get Him A Duster,

More Than His Exterior Hit Me. I Felt Warm And Safe Just Being With Him. He Brought Comfort After My Terrible Day. So Often With Other People I Felt A Need To Be Center Of Attention, To Be Funny And Always Have Something Clever To Say. It Was A Habit I Needed To Shake. But With Him I Never Felt Like I Had To Be Anything More Than What I Already Was. I Didn’t Have To Entertain Him Or Think Up Jokes Or Even Flirt. It Was Enough To Just Be Together, To Be So Completely Comfortable In Each Other’s Presence—we Lost All Sense Of Self-consciousness.

ʺwhere Is It?ʺ I Asked. ʺlexington, Kentucky.ʺ ʺoh For Godʹs Sake,ʺ I Moaned. ʺwhy Not The Bahamas? Or The Corn Palace?ʺ Dimitri Tried To Hide A Smile. It Might Have Been At My Expense, But If Iʹd Lightened His Mood, I Was Grateful. ʺif We Leave Right Now, We Can Reach Him Before Morning.ʺ I Glanced Around. ʺtough Choice. Leave All This For Electricity And Plumbing?ʺ Now Sydney Grinned. ʺand No More Marriage Proposals.ʺ ʺand Weʹll Probably Have To Fight Strigoi,ʺ Added Dimitri. I Jumped To My Feet. ʺhow Soon Can We Go?ʺ

"she Was Right About Something Else Too," Dimitri Said After A Long Pause. My Back Was To Him, But There Was A Strange Quality To His Voice That Made Me Turn Around. "what's That?" I Asked. "that I Do Still Love You." With That One Sentence, Everything In The Universe Changed.

The Door Opened, And We Were Met By A Fifty-something Man With A Grizzled Blond Beard. He Was Wearing Bermuda Shorts And A Lynyrd Skynyrd T-shirt. Also, He Had An Eye Patch. "this Is Incredible," I Heard Adrian Murmur. "beyond My Wildest Dreams.

Impossible Situations Are Our Specialty.