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Rachel sat back and capped the bottle of nail polish before holding her feet out and exa the results of her labor She now had ten dark red toenails This was a new experience, but she&039;d had a lot of new experiences since Etienne Argeneau had , she forced that thought away It wasn&039;t good to think about Etienne She tended to grow morose and depressed when she allowed herself to think of the ether Rachel missed him She had only spent a short time in his home, yet it had felt like both an eternity and a mere minute at once It was as if she had known him forever and experienced a lifeti, she set the polish on the table and stood up Rachel lifted her jeans so that the cuffs wouldn&039;t ruin all her hard work, then crossed the living room of her apartment and walked into the kitchen She really should let her nails dry properly before trying to walk, but if she continued to sit on the couch there was no doubt she would just depress herself with thoughts of Etienne and their tiether Rachel had learned that quickly once ensconced back in her own life Thinking of Etienne was a no-no likely to sink her into deep depression and s like ice cream that her body didn&039;t need and she really had no taste for anye and opened it to exah Then she propped her hands on her hips and turned to examine the room It was spotless She had cleaned it, as well as the rest of the apart down to paint her toenails to pass the tihts off She had returned to her life to find that the day position had been given to soized profusely, explaining that they had feared the worst when she had disappeared The position had needed to be filled at once, so he had given it to Tony, who had also applied Rachel had assured him she understood, and she did In fact, much to her own surprise, she hadn&039;t really minded Her experiences in that one short week had definitely turned her into sohts and was happy to work through theer disturbed her sleep She was somehow able to block theht noas that it reminded her so much of her time with Etienne, which onderful and sad at the same time Sheon Etienne and sinking into sadness and depression again Pasting a smile on her face, she left the kitchen and walked down the hall to answer it, wondering which of her neighbors would be knocking at this hour It ell past , so she was sure it had to be a neighbor

Rachel didn&039;t bother to check the peephole before opening the door Her strength and speed had continued to grow in the weeks since she&039;d been turned, and she wasn&039;t really afraid of anyone any way to live She pulled the door open and glanced out, then stilled briefly before stepping through the door and glancing up and down the hallith bewilderment She was sure she had heard a knock, but there was no one at the door And there was no one in the hall

"Imy mind," she muttered as she stepped back inside and automatically locked and bolted the door Rachel had turned and taken two steps away fro but didn&039;t turn back to her apart hadn&039;t co fro roo, she continued down the hall, and into the large, co over her overstuffed furniture before another knock drew her gaze to her balcony

Rachel gaped at the lass doors, then rushed forhen he grinned and waved

"Thoreeted as she pulled the door open to allow hiet up here?"

"I cli

Rachel stared at hie at the front of the building and the six balconies below her own She turned back to ask with disbelief, "You clied with a"

Rachel peered back down the building again It wouldn&039;t be iile and weren&039;t afraid of falling to your death All of which were no doubt true of a two-hundred-year-old vaht be doing things like that herself

A little laugh slipping froain "Why didn&039;t you just buzz? I&039;d have let you in, you know"

Thoain as she closed the balcony door behind them "I wanted to surprise you"

"Well, you succeeded at that," she said dryly, then smiled "To what do I owe this visit?"

"I wanted to wish you Happy Valentine&039;s and invite you to the Night Club," he said easily--but his words ain

"Umm Thomas, Valentine&039;s is in February This is Septehed at her wary expression "We don&039;t follow the regular calendar all the time, you know After a few hundred years you realize that Valentine&039;s is whenever it is, and Cupid shows up when needs must"

"Oh," Rachel said uncertainly She really didn&039;t have a clue what he meant, but she was so happy to have coht off that she decided not to question it

She&039;d thought a couple of tiht Club on her own but hadn&039;t had the courage to for fear of running into Etienne Rachel was afraid she&039;d throw herself at hi like that Or that he&039;d turn away froiven up to save her? Did he hate her? The fact that he hadn&039;t even bothered to call suggested that heher out of her thoughts "Go get changed, Dudette, and we&039;ll hit the club It should be a happening place tonight"

Rachel didn&039;t even bother to think about it, just nodded with a grateful smile and hurried out of the roouerite had fetched her fro at Etienne&039;s Rachel usually wore the to her now, and reminded her of her time with him She knew she&039;d eventually have to replace them but didn&039;t look forward to the day

She took theht black leather skirt she&039;d purchased recently in one of her weak ht contact her Rachel had hoped to wear it out on a date to drive him crazy He&039;d never contacted her, however, and she&039;d let go of that fantasy She had no desire to drive Thomas ith it; he was nice, but Etienne had already stolen her heart and she doubted she&039;d recover for a long while But there was always the possibility that they ht run into Etienne If so, she wanted to look her best If nothing else, he would at least see what he wasup the skirt, then whipped off the large T-shirt she earing, exchanging it for a dressy white blouse that she tucked into the skirt Then she donned sandals that would show off her newly painted toes and hurried into the bathroo her fingers lightly through her hair for a sexy, slightly tousled look, she squirted some perfume on her throat and wrists and hurried back out

"That was quick And you look good," Tho rooht awaits"

Much to her relief, he didn&039;t head for the door to her balcony, but started down the hall to her front door Rachel didn&039;t think she was ready to start clirabbed her purse and followed hihter She liked Thomas Not in the same way she liked Etienne, of course But he was fun and ood tiht Club would be fun,over what ain some information about Etienne fro and what he was up to Rachel was ery for infored the discs for Blood Lust II, addressed the label, and set it aside with a sigh He&039;d finished Finally, it was done He stared at the envelope for a moment, his mind blank, then stood restlessly and left his office He&039;d been working on the gahts of Rachel to intrude and interrupt hiht that his mother had come by to harass hiht was of Rachel He wondered what she was doing as he walked upstairs

Was she at work? No, he decided She&039;d learned she&039;d been given the day job the night he&039;d turned her It was after ht now, tucked up nice and co rise up within him He wished he was there in that bed with her Of course, she wouldn&039;t get much sleep if he were there He wouldn&039;t be able to resist touching her, caressing her--

Etienne killed his own thoughts there Fantasizing aboutin the world Besides, he hadout a way to approach her He had decided his s and find out what hers were The only question was how he should go about doing it

Etienne was halfway through the kitchen when the phone began ringing He immediately turned to the door to the basehout the house when the repair back, he walked to the phone on his kitchen wall and grabbed it up to bark "hello?" into it

"Hey, dude!" Thoreeted hirimaced The sounds of loud music and talk nearly drowned out the ht Club"

"Got it in one, dude" Thohed "Yeah, I&039;ht know her Rachel?"

"What?" Etienne stiffened, his fingers tightening reflexively around the receiver

"Yeah" Tho I wasn&039;t doing anything"

"Thoestive pause

"She&039;s in the ladies&039; roo you If you want her, you better come on out here and join us," his cousin said with amusement Then, in et it right this tiain If youher for myself Happy Valentine&039;s"

The click of the phone was followed by a dial tone Etienne listened to it for at least a fullCupid He was interfering again God bless hiht, and sla about what he should do first He needed a shower and to change his clothes He had to shave Dear God, he had a beard growing on his da Maybe he should bring her so to find her flowers at this hour? Why did everything have to close at night? Didn&039;t anyone out there want to ht irritably as he hurried out of the kitchen

"You&039;re a happening chick, Dudette!"

Rachel laughed at Tho at the fun Really Lots of fun And she&039;d only thought of Etienne about two thousand times in the two hours that they&039;d been there That was less than usual

"I&039;m pooped, Dudette Let&039;s sit" Thoht her by the hand and dragged her off the dance floor Rachel folloithout protest She was enjoying herself but could do with a rest

"Good, our drinks are here," Rachel said with a pleased sigh as she dropped into her chair She&039;d decided to be brave and let Tho only that he couldn&039;t order her a Sweet Ecstasy He&039;d ordered her an Ever Enduring That hadn&039;t sounded too risky Still, she&039;d asked what it was, and he&039;d merely smiled and said she&039;d see Rachel tried it curiously, surprised that it wasn&039;t bad Not bad at all She no longer needed straws to feed

"Oh, look who&039;s here"

Rachel glanced up and froze at the sight of Etienne h the croard them For a moment, happiness filled her heart, but then worry replaced it He didn&039;t look happy to see them In fact, he looked rather irritable, she decided as she watched him walk the last couple of feet to the table and pause there to stare at her She was just deciding that he had realized what he had given up and did hate her when he suddenly whipped his hand out from behind his back and held out a bouquet of limp flowers to her Rachel stared blankly at the sad bouquet before reaching out uncertainly to take the, because Etienne iize for their state

"I wanted to get you flowers, but none of the flower shops are open at this hour I checked six all-night variety stores before finding any at all, and this was the best of the--"

"They&039;re lovely," Rachel interrupted as she took the flowers Li as they were, they truly were lovely to Rachel They represented hope, and she accepted the a shy smile as she lifted them to her face and sniffed the delicate bouquet of--"Salae," hee, then smiled at him widely "How have you been?"

"Miserable," he answered simply "You?"

"The same" They shared a smile and both relaxed

"Well, it looks like ot to his feet before explaining to Rachel, "It was fun, but I&039;uerite asked reed"

"Cupid, huh?" Etienne asked with aood-naturedly "Enjoy it while you can But don&039;t mess up with Dudette this ti"

Moving to Rachel&039;s side, he bent to hug her and murmured, "Welcome to the family"

Rachel wanted to ask what that et the chance She watched hilance at Etienne as he took the seat his cousin had just vacated

"I aze met his

Rachel&039;s eyebrows flew up at this claih her mind, and Etienne smiled wryly

"I heard that," he said with aht you couldn&039;t read my mind," Rachel said suspiciously

"I can&039;t," he assured her "Well, except e&039;re intimate Your mind opens to me"

"Then how did you--?"