Blood Kisses (Nightwalkers Book 1) (10 page)

"So,
you think it’s worth it?" Grabbing her phone back, Ashleigh admired the
picture too. Natalie was hovering over her shoulder, watching Ashleigh switch to
another one. This one was of Caleb shirtless and playing his guitar. It was a
great shot, and a moment of silence passed between them as they drooled over the
handsome man.

"Yes.
Definitely yes." Her answer made Ashleigh laugh, both girls looking over
at the other people waiting to board the plane.

Beginning a long distance relationship with Caleb was easy for the first
few days, but after that, it got hard

The pair talked on the phone constantly. He begged her to come on tour
with him, but she refused. This was something that had become a slight sore
spot between the two. He was playing a concert almost every night, and the busy
schedule was draining on him.

Ashleigh
wondered who the imposter Spencer had spoken of was, but because Caleb hadn’t mentioned
anything, she didn’t think she had anything to worry about. Four months had
passed by quickly, and Ashleigh had once again settled into her calm life in
her small hometown. Spencer and Nathan would come to visit the girls sometimes,
both their crushes on Ashleigh very apparent.

Now
that she was dating Caleb, she didn’t give into Spencer’s advances anymore, and
this made him try even harder to get her back. Her new book had also come out,
and of course, her grandpa’s store was one of the first in the country to sell it.

Hannah
was calling a lot now that it had debuted, informing Ashleigh of different
things and to congratulate her on the book’s release. Because the arrival of
this novel had everyone holding their breath, it was seeing great success in
the stores and selling out all over.

Now,
sitting in her grandpa’s store, Ashleigh read the text she had gotten from
Caleb. It was a link to a video, but he hadn’t left a comment. Deciding to open
it, Ashleigh waited for it to load on her phone.

A
man walked into the store carrying a large bundle of flowers. "Is there an
Ashleigh Brown here?"

"Here!"
Smiling, Ashleigh paused the video and let it buffer on its own.

"Sign
here." The man handed her a clipboard, watching her write. "Here you
go." He sent her a smile and handed her the bouquet.

"Oooo…"
Walking over to her, Natalie’s voice was cooing as she eagerly watched Ashleigh
rip back the paper. "Are those from Caleb? He sure does spoil you, girl."

"Probably,"
Ashleigh laughed. She scanned the bouquet of blood red roses, some dark blue
ones mixed in, and a black spray of small flowers surrounding them. There
appeared to be about two dozen. "These are beautiful."

"Who’s
it from?"

"Let
me see." Ashleigh ripped the small envelope off the outside of the paper
packaging. She opened it and read the enclosed card. "Miss you, babe. Lotsa
love. Caleb." Ashleigh gave a pouty frown, blushing. "Awww…." She
picked up her flowers and walked over to the bathroom.

"So,
when do I get to meet this Caleb guy?" Gramps was sitting at the counter
reading a book. It was slow right now, and they had no customers. Not that they
normally had many, anyway. "You're always flying off to meet him, but he
never bothers to come here. Sounds to me like he doesn’t like you very much. The
guy probably has another girlfriend, and that’s why he never comes around. This
internet dating stuff is dangerous, and—"

"Oh,
stop, Gramps." Ashleigh’s voice was muffled because she was in the other
room. She filled up a glass pitcher with water and set her flowers inside it.

"What’d
ya say he did?" Gramps narrowed his eyes.

"He’s
a rock star." Natalie laughed as she pretended to be strumming a guitar.

"That’s
not a career." Gramps shook his head and turned back to his book. "Does
he have a real job?"

"I’ve
heard neither is writing." Ashleigh brought out the flowers and set them on
the back corner of the counter.

"I
don’t like this guy. A rock star? Those types of guys are known for being
unfaithful, and he’s just going to break your heart. You should—"

Ashleigh’s
phone rang in her pocket. She glanced down at the caller I.D. as she answered. "Hi,
Hannah."

"Have
you seen the news?" Hannah sounded angry.

"Huh?"
Ashleigh’s smile quickly faded, her hand reaching out to touch one of the soft
petals on the roses. "What happened?"

"Some
woman claiming to be Victoria Allure did an interview in Belvada." Hannah
let out an annoyed sigh. "Our lawyers are taking care of the issue, but I need
you to fill some papers out, so I’m flying there to see you today. Is that all
right?"

"Yeah,
that’s fine."

"It’ll
be just like last time, dear." Hannah forced a laugh, and Ashleigh listened
to the sound of many voices in the background. "In a few weeks, it will
all blow over. So, when do you want to meet?"

"I’ll
be in the book store all day, so anytime, I guess." She sent a
disappointed look over to Natalie, who was listening in on her conversation.

"Okay.
I’ll meet you in ten minutes."

"You’re
here already?"

"Yes.
See you soon, dear." Hannah hung up.

"Hannah’s
coming." When the call ended, Ashleigh looked at the video she still had
on her screen. She pushed play, her finger slamming down harder then she meant
to.

"For
what?" Natalie quickly put away the book in her hand and made her way over
to Ashleigh.

A
voice spoke on the video. "I’m happy to be here, too, Anthony." Ashleigh
studied the woman. She was dressed in a tight, black dress and nosebleed heels.
She was very pretty, a little too scantily dressed, but pretty.

"Tell
me about your new book," the man interviewing her said. "We all…"

"What’s
this?"

"I
don’t know. Caleb sent me the link." Ashleigh listened to the woman talk
about vampires and how sexy the idea of eternal life with your true love would
be.

The
man spoke again. "The question on everyone’s mind is…"

"What
the fuck?" Ashleigh shouted when she saw a subtitle appear at the bottom
of the screen that read—

Victoria Allure—author of the
Nightwalker
series
.

"Ashleigh!"
Looking up from his book, Gramps yelled at her from the other end of the room,
motioning for her to lower her voice.

"Sorry,
Gramps." Calming herself, Ashleigh glanced at Natalie then continued
watching the video. The woman went on to talk about where she had supposedly
gotten her ideas and about how she had based her character of Lord Drake on a
man named Aiden. He was supposedly her lover, but she said she didn’t want to
go into further detail.

"Wow."
Natalie laughed. "That girl could actually pass as you."

"Yeah,
right." Ashleigh typed a text to Caleb as she carried on a conversation
with Natalie.

Wow.

"Now
I know why Hannah’s coming." Natalie walked away from Ashleigh and sat
down in a chair near the counter.

Caleb
responded to her message, something that normally took a while.

A friend sent me that.

Thanx 4 sending it. Hannah is flying here 2 meet w/me 2day.

Bout the vid?

Ashleigh
looked over at Natalie, who was rambling off about this new guy she was dating
and about how he owns a bar and is hotter than the last one. Ashleigh wasn’t
really listening to her and was focused on her conversation with Caleb.

Yeah. I got a call from her this morn sayin a woman gave
an interview in Belvara. N who is Aiden?

He send me the vid.

"He’s
so handsome. What do you think, Ash?" Natalie paused as she waited for Ashleigh’s
reply.

"I
think he sounds great." Ashleigh let out a nervous laugh as she looked up
from her phone briefly then back down as she typed a message.

U no him?

A friend.

"I
can’t wait for you to meet him." Natalie was still prattling on, her voice
full of vigor and happiness.

"I
can’t wait, either." Ashleigh sent another text.

Thanx 4 the roses ;)

Not just roses

"Excuse
me?" A woman came up to the counter with a few books in her hand. "Can
I purchase these?"

"Sure."
Ashleigh put down her phone and rang up the woman. After small talk with her about
how pretty she was and how it was a shame she wasn’t married, the woman left. She
was a friend of her grandfather and would come into the bookstore every week.

"Hey
there!" A large purse balanced awkwardly on her elbow, Hannah held out her
arms as she rushed toward Ashleigh. "There’s my best-selling authoress!"

"Hi,
Hannah." Ashleigh gave her a limp hug as she made faces at Natalie behind
her back.

Hannah
was dressed to the hilt, wearing a designer pink suit and high heels. Her face
was painted perfectly, a little overdone, but she still looked fashionable.

"Let’s
talk." Hannah took Ashleigh’s hand and pulled her over to a nearby table.

While
they talked about various things, Hannah huddled over Ashleigh as she spoke,
reading the legal papers she wanted Ashleigh to sign and explaining the actions
the publishing company was taking. Natalie went to lunch with her new
boyfriend, leaving Ashleigh alone with Gramps.

A
few customers came in, and Gramps studied the large man dressed in a fancy
black suit. He towered over the man with him, who was wearing a baggy, black
sweater with the hood pulled over his head. They were looking through the
books, and Gramps did not take his eyes off them. They were a little too
dressed up to be normal customers.

"I’m
gonna take care of everything." Hannah was hugging Ashleigh’s shoulders, Ashleigh
forcing a smile as she tried her best not to shove her off.

"Thanks,
Hannah."

"You
just sit back and work on that new book. Don’t worry about all this legal
stuff, we’ve got it all taken care of." Hannah squeezed Ashleigh tighter,
speaking in her ear, even though her voice was still loud and excited. "We
loved that preview you sent us. I can’t wait to read the finished manuscript. Ooo!"

Hannah
laughed as she stood up, her arm still wrapped around Ashleigh’s shoulder, "This
Radcliff character sounds juicy. Wow, my dear, you write a great love scene."

"Thanks."
Looking down at the stack of papers in her hand as Hannah walked with her toward
the door, Ashleigh’s voice was low.

"I’ve
got a few appointments elsewhere, my dear." Now standing near the
entrance, Hannah gave Ashleigh a giant hug then kissed both of her cheeks. "We’ll
be in touch."

"Okay."
Holding the papers to her chest, Ashleigh forced a smile. She was still upset
about seeing the video but was trying not to show it.

"And
if you ever want to do a real interview, tell us first." Hannah laughed,
gesturing with her hand overdramatically as she spoke. "I’ll help you find
a more suitable outfit."

"Good
bye, Hannah." Ashleigh waved, holding the door open for her.

"Bye,
dear." Hannah looked over at Gramps. "You take care of this little
girl, Henry, and don’t work her too hard! Remember, we own her for two more
years!"

"Good
bye, Hannah." Ashleigh laughed as she glanced at her grandfather, who was
helping a few women pick out some books for their grandchildren.

Hannah
leaned over and gave Ashleigh another hug and a few more cheek kisses. "Climbing
to number one in horror, my dear!"

"Shh."
Putting her finger to her lips, Ashleigh sent Hannah an annoyed glare.

"All
right." Hannah giggled. "Take care, and don’t worry, we—"

"Yes,
yes…" Ashleigh opened the door wider. "You’ll take care of
everything."

"Good
bye, dear." When Hannah finally walked out the door, Ashleigh let out a
heavy sigh.

Ashleigh
strolled over to the register as she pulled out her phone, looking down at it
instead of the people around her. She started to text Caleb, but her
grandfather’s voice made her look up.

"Go
see if those customers need any help," Gramps pointed. "And put that
thing away. You kids and those electronics. In my day, we had our noses in
books, not absorbed in this texting." He turned back to the ladies he was
helping, putting on a big smile as he spoke softly to them. He wrapped his arms
around the old woman’s shoulders.

"Stop
flirting, Gramps." Ashleigh finished her message to Caleb.

What do u mean?

Then
caught the nasty look she got from Gramps. "He’s not single ladies." She
chuckled as she put her phone back in her pocket then walked over to the
sharply dressed man. "Can I help you?"

"Sure."

Ashleigh
quickly turned around when she heard Caleb’s voice. "Caleb!" She
wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him a tight hug before pulling away
to look at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Visiting
you." Caleb laughed as he brought one of his hands up to her face, pushing
back some of her long hair.

"Aww…"
Ashleigh’s face filled with a glowing smile as she gazed into his bright eyes. "This
is the best surprise ever."

"Is
that your rep?" Caleb motioned toward the door with a nod of his head.

"Yeah."
Ashleigh still had the papers in her hand, so she held them up for Caleb to
see. "She gave me copies of the legal stuff about that suit over that video
you sent me." She quickly put them down on a nearby table then turned her
attention back to him, her voice filled with excitement. "So, what are you
doing here?"

"I
had the day free, so I thought I’d stop by and see my favorite girl." Caleb’s
hands moved down to her hips, and he rocked her back and forth in his arms. "I’m
performing at the Harlo Music Awards tomorrow night." Letting out a
playful growl, Caleb rubbed his nose against hers. "And I’d love to have
my girl there with me."

"You
want me to come with you to the Harlo Award show? Are you sure? They put that
on TV, you know."

"And
in magazines." Caleb laughed, his hand reaching up to her face and stroking
her cheek. "You can get all dressed up and hang on the arm of the sexiest
rock star in the business." His words made her giggle, as one of his
fingers traced the surface of her lips. "I told everyone my new girl was
an editor, so you don’t have to worry about anyone finding out your secret."