Blood Ties (Book 3 of The Blood Bond Series)

Epilogue

18 Months Later

"Adam! Adam! Where are you?" Quinn came racing into their home on Bank Street at the corner of Waverly Place. She'd had to keep herself from running at top speed, trying to make it look like she was human when she wasn't. In her excitement, she'd almost forgotten how fast she could go and caught some pretty shocked glances as she passed by people on her run from the subway. Though she had lived in New York for most of college, she never realized how alive it was when you stopped and looked around. It was truly the city that never sleeps.

"Quinn, baby? What's wrong?"

She could hear Adam making his way down the steps from the second floor of the home. He'd probably been up in his study, which was on the second floor since most of the bottom was kitchen, dining room, a bathroom, and a living room. The brownstone was massive but old, and the rooms had been renovated from sitting rooms, tea rooms, and studies, making the living room one large space with an offshoot into a large dining room. The kitchen itself was too damn big by far. They didn't eat, and only really used the fridge and the cabinets for mugs. All cutlery and flatware was simply decoration and rarely used.

"Nothing! Nothing at all is wrong!" she trilled. Her voice was so tremulous, it was like it had a heartbeat or butterfly wings. Adam blinked at her, his brows creasing.

"Okay then, what's up?" He walked closer to her, a hand sliding up her arm to her neck before cupping her jaw. He leaned in and kissed her before she breathed a sigh in. It was a happy sound. He looked closer, watching the sparkle of her eyes and the deep indents of her mouth curving up in a smile.

"I got it!" She squealed like a teen and jumped up and down. Adam smiled, but he didn't get it.

"Got what?"

"The part! The part that I wanted in that Off-Broadway show about the two roommates who hate each other at first and end up falling in love? I got the part of Mira!"

Adam had often heard her talking about the new Off-Broadway musical in the works, but it had been riddled with rewrites and delays, so he'd been so confused, he didn't know where it stood on being premiered. From what Quinn had told him, the music she had heard was stunning, close to what Stephen Sondheim would have written.

"Wait—you did?" His grin broadened his face. Had he been anything but vampire, the wideness of his smile might have stung his cheeks. He was happy for her. Even though it was Off-Broadway, it was a start. She even had a great manager that had gotten her the audition. It was at her suggestion she start small and work her way up. Broadway auditions were cutthroat, and you didn't want to get discouraged too quickly. Starting at the top, she said, there was a lot farther to fall.

"I did!" She almost screamed it in her excitement. "We start up practicing in two weeks. That will give me enough time to run down to the theater and grab a script and start looking through it and memorizing. I would hate to flub lines or go in cold and sound like an idiot." She almost seemed to get a little nervous as she walking, and her eyes grew wide. It was actually pretty adorable, and Adam had to fight back a laugh.

Adam patted her on the back and pulled her closer. "Baby, I'm sure you will knock the fucking socks off the other actors and the audience when it opens." He hugged her tight, drinking in her mild, heady fragrance. "I'm so proud of you. You could have done this the hard way, but you're doing it your way, on your own, with no help from anyone but you and your manager."

She was proud too, but there was nothing to do but bask in the glow for now, even if she was impatient to get a copy of the script and the libretto. Music she'd only heard and studied briefly, mainly the few solos she had. She wanted to hear more and go over some of the melodies on her baby grand piano. It was placed in a corner of the living room, just itching to be touched again.