by A C Warneke
“I wouldn’t quite go that far,” Vaughn chuckled. “He is dark and brooding but I think that if he ever falls in love again, it will be forever.”
“You are such a romantic,” she sighed, this time in dreaminess. The look she gave him was a combination of love and hopefulness.
Before he could respond to that look, or even think of anything to say, she was pulling into the driveway of a generous-sized house. Even as she was turning off the engine, the door banged open and a little, miniature Melanie was racing towards the car. Vaughn turned his head and caught the absolute adoration on Melanie’s face as she scrambled out of the car, catching the little girl up in her arms before he even had a chance to unbuckle his seat belt.
Holding the girl on her hip, Melanie waited for him to get out of the SUV. Up close, he could see that the little girl’s hair was a shade or two darker and her eyes had a little more green in them. Other than that, she could have been Melanie as a little girl. Inexplicably, he was nervous and he seriously hoped the child liked him. The little girl leaned into Melanie’s shoulder, staring at him with her beautiful, old-soul eyes.
“Hi,” he croaked out. Clearing his throat, he offered a tentative smile, “Hi, I’m Vaughn. You must be Ferris.”
Her rosebud mouth curled into the sweetest smile as she regarded him with her intense eyes, “Are you going to marry my Aunt Mellie?”
Melanie choked back a laugh as her face went up in flames. Hugging the little girl, she murmured, “We’ve only just met, sweetie. It’s too soon to know if we’re going to get married.”
Hell, she didn’t even know if gargoyles did get married, or if they performed some other sort of bonding ritual. For all she knew, she “married” Vaughn last night when he gave up his nights for her. Luckily, they were saved by arriving at the door just as her mother opened it, the smile on her lips faltering as she looked past Melanie and saw the unfamiliar Vaughn standing there.
“Mom, I’d like you to meet my, er, boyfriend,” Melanie said, reaching back for his hand. For half a heartbeat, she feared he wouldn’t take it but then she felt the warmth of his skin envelop hers and she knew that everything was going to be all right. With a brilliant smile, she looked up at Vaughn with all of the love in her heart. “Vaughn, this is my mom.”
“Mrs. Jacobs,” he said formally, taking the older woman's hand in his free one and bringing it to his lips, kissing the back of it. “It is an honor to meet you.”
“Please, call me Jennifer,” Melanie’s mom blushed to the roots of her professionally dyed hair, beaming like a schoolgirl. Standing to the side, she ushered the small group inside, “Come in, come in and meet the rest of the family.”
“Smooth,” Melanie whispered in passing, pressing a small kiss to his cheek as she followed her mom into the house. “Real smooth.”
“Ew,” Ferris complained, still in Melanie’s arms. “Why’d you kiss him?”
This time Melanie blushed as her mother turned around with a raised eyebrow. It was just her luck that her father and brother entered the room at that moment. Both wore expressions of shock when they saw she brought home a hulking, supremely masculine, blond man. “Daddy, Jensen, I’d like you to meet my boyfriend, Vaughn. Vaughn, this is my dad and my brother, Jensen.”
“So, you’re kissing my little girl,” her dad scowled, crossing his arms over his barrel chest, glaring at the Viking. Vaughn towered a good six inches over her father, and perhaps three over her brother. He also had several pounds of pure muscle on either of them.
“Er, yes,” Vaughn stammered, stepping closer to Melanie but keeping his hands where everyone could see them. “But I hold her in the highest esteem.”
Everyone’s eyebrows shot to their foreheads at his formal words while Vaughn squeezed his eyes shut and color flooded his cheeks. Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes and met Mr. Jacobs’s stare without flinching. Holding out his hand, he cleared his throat and started over, “Mr. Jacobs, it is a pleasure to meet you, sir.”
“Jenner,” her father said gruffly, reluctantly taking the offered hand.
“Jensen,” Vaughn murmured, shaking her brother’s hand next.
Putting Ferris down, Melanie looked around the hall while still holding the little girls hand. “Where’s Jenna?”
“I had her run to the store for some wine,” her mom explained, still smiling at Vaughn. “She’ll be back soon.”
A strange expression came over Vaughn’s face as he looked at the four Jacobs present. Tilting his head to the side, he frowned, “Your names are Jenner, Jennifer, Jensen and Jenna; how did Melanie end up with a non-Jen name?”
Melanie bit her lip to keep from laughing because he seemed so offended on her behalf. Luckily, her parents weren’t offended as they laughed and led Vaughn into the living room to tell the story about how Melanie came to be. Once everyone was seated, with Ferris on Melanie’s lap, Jennifer took Melanie’s hand in her own, the love apparent on the older woman’s face as she spoke. “Well, Vaughn, to tell you the truth, we weren’t expecting Melanie and her birth ruined our Grand Plan.”
She said the words with a rueful chuckle, shaking her head at her long ago foolishness. Vaughn appeared even more confused, “She was unexpected?”
“You could say that,” Jenner said gruffly, reaching over and ruffling Melanie’s hair with affection.
“Mom, dad, you don’t have to tell Vaughn the story,” Melanie interjected, color blossoming on her face even as she reached over and took Vaughn’s hand in her free one, twining her fingers with his.
“I want to hear the story,” Ferris piped up, squirming around on Melanie’s lap to look at her grandparents with her large, pleading eyes. Melanie had to bite back a smile at the little girl’s attempt at manipulation. She knew that Ferris had everyone wrapped around her little finger, especially Melanie.
“It’s not that great of a story,” Melanie grumbled.
“You see, we had a plan,” Jennifer continued, ignoring Melanie’s protest. “We were going to have one boy and one girl, and name them Jensen and Jenna. And then along came Melanie.”
“But surely, with nine months, you could have come up with another Jen name?” Vaughn interjected, looking baffled.
Jenner and Jennifer both chuckled, “We had about five minutes.”
Vaughn looked at Melanie for an answer and she shrugged, “Jenna and I are twins.”
That shocked Vaughn because he remembered seeing Jenna when she had sunbathed with Melanie on the roof. Jenna had seemed vastly older than Melanie, perhaps not in years but experience. Of course, having heard her history, he could understand the difference. Hearing that Jenna was Melanie’s twin also made him realize that he didn’t know Melanie very well at all, at least not yet. But that was what this month was for – to get to know her.
Jennifer chuckled as she gazed at her youngest daughter, “Melanie was a reminder that even the best laid plans don’t always work out, something we needed to learn. We had to rush around to prepare for a second baby.”
“And she has kept us on our toes ever since,” Jenner grinned proudly, once again ruffling Melanie’s hair. His smile faded as he turned an assessing eye towards Vaughn. “Including bringing home a new boyfriend when we hadn’t realized she’d broken up with her last one.”
“Dad,” Melanie frowned at her dad’s twisted sense of humor. “I broke up with Peter months ago and you know that.”
“Well, I’ve always thought Peter was a prick,” Jensen interjected, leaning back in the couch and crossing his arms over his chest. Turning his head towards Vaughn, he narrowed his eyes, “I have yet to decide if you are, too.”
“Jensen,” Melanie hissed, glaring at her brother. Without taking her eyes off Jensen, she muttered to Vaughn, “Maybe introducing you to the family wasn’t such a great idea after all.”
Her parents laughed and Vaughn saw the glimmer of laughter in Melanie’s eyes as well. The affection they held for each other was so powerful and he had never known. The
hope that had been building inside of him was quickly fading because he couldn’t ask her to give any of this up. Armand was right: this was going to end in heart break. But she was with him now and she loved him and that was enough. Swallowing down the despair, he joined in the laughter, finding that if he ignored his pain, he really liked Melanie’s family.
The front door opened and closed and Ferris scrambled off Melanie’s lap to greet the newcomer. Melanie stood up as well, smiling down at Vaughn. Since she still held his hand in hers, he stood up as well. Jenna was walking around the corner, her head down as she said, “I saw Melanie’s car in the drive way….”
Her smile froze as she lifted her head and saw Vaughn standing there. Her gaze quickly assessed the situation, glancing at the joined hands and then flying to Melanie’s face. Jenna’s cheeks were rosy from the cold but grew redder as she met her sister’s eyes. “Is this him?”
“You knew about him?” Jennifer asked in disbelief and a little bit of hurt.
The girls had looked similar before, when he had seem them side by side while he was a gargoyle, but now he could see and appreciate the subtle differences: the color of their hair, the shape of their faces, their similar eye color. The sadness in Jenna’s eyes still shadowed her and he could understand Melanie’s wish to see her sister – her twin! – happy again. Ferris stood by her mom, the quintessential little girl, oblivious to the charged atmosphere around her. Hoping to disrupt the tension before it grew, he stepped forward and took Jenna’s hand in his, shaking it instead of bringing it to his mouth for a kiss. “I’m Vaughn.”
“He’s gonna marry Aunt Mellie,” Ferris beamed and suddenly the room was filled with voices as everyone looked at Melanie and Vaughn and started talking at once.
“Is this true?” Jenner asked.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Jennifer cried
“Ferris, hush,” Jenna scolded, watching her sister’s face.
“Are you pregnant?” Jensen asked, effectively silencing the entire group.
“Oh, dear God,” Jennifer breathed, putting her hand against her forehead and sinking gracefully onto the couch.
“I’ll kill you,” Jenner growled, taking a step towards Vaughn before Melanie put a restraining hand on his arm and shook her head, her cheeks beet red.
“Daddy, no!” she cried. Taking a deep breath, still clinging to Vaughn’s hand, she sighed, “I’m not pregnant and we’re not getting married and we told Ferris as much when she asked us that question when we first arrived.”
“She asked if you were pregnant?” Jenna asked doubtfully.
Melanie’s face flamed brighter, “No! She asked if we were going to get married but we’re not. We’re just getting to know one another!”
Vaughn’s gut twisted by the vehemence in her voice when she explained they weren’t getting married. He understood it but he didn’t like it. If she was this opposed to marriage, she would be even more reluctant to complete the ritual and he realized he wanted her to want to commit to him. Uncomfortable, he slid his hand from hers, hoping she didn't realize how much her denial had wounded him.
“But I’ve never seen you look at Peter the way you look at Vaughn,” Ferris cajoled, appearing bewildered as she looked between Melanie and Vaughn. “You love him.”
“Of course I do, sweetie,” Melanie sighed in exasperation, squatting down so that the two of them were face to face. Taking the little girl’s hands in her own, she smiled at Ferris, “I hope that someday we will get married but we haven’t made those plans yet. Besides,” with a wink towards Vaughn, she leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, but loud enough for everyone to hear, “He hasn’t asked me.”
Air rushed back into Vaughn's lungs and he was able to breathe once again. As he looked around at her family, he saw that they were all watching Melanie with quiet wonderment. Her father met his eyes and he saw… acceptance there. Jenner reached out his hand and solemnly said, “Welcome to the family, son.”
“Thank you, sir,” Vaughn managed to croak out over the lump in his throat as he shook the man’s hand. It was strange to be called son when he had several hundred years on the man but at the same time, he felt like a child. He had just been welcomed into this wonderful family and they had no idea who or what he was. Their daughter loved him and that was enough. It was a huge responsibility and he hoped he was strong enough to bear it.
“Well,” Jennifer murmured, wiping a tear from her eye. Stepping forward she wrapped her arms around Vaughn and pulled him into a motherly hug. Unable to help himself, he returned the hug as affection for this group bubbled up inside of him. She looped her arm through his as she led him into the dining room, since Jenna was back with the wine and it was time to eat. Helplessly, he looked over his shoulder as Jenna and Melanie looped their arms together and followed, their heads bent together as they talked quietly.
His heart skipped a beat in his chest when Melanie looked up and caught him looking at her. Her lips curved into a beautiful smile before she returned to her conversation with Jenna. In that moment he knew that she was going to be all right, no matter what happened in the future, and he was grateful for it.
“You didn’t tell me he was so gorgeous,” Jenna whispered as they went off to the guestroom after dinner. Because there was a snow advisory, Melanie and Vaughn decided it would be a good idea to spend the night. So after dinner, the two girls volunteered to make up the guestroom, not that Melanie was going to make Vaughn sleep in it. She had plans that involved christening her childhood bed. “You also failed to mention that he’s rich, making his money through investments and dealing in antiquities and art.”
“I know,” Melanie shrugged, taking the sheets from the linen closet as they passed it and continuing on into the guest room. Actually, she hadn’t known he was so wealthy because it had never come up before her dad had asked what Vaughn did for a living. She knew he came from money – one does not live in the apartment he does without some wealth – but she hadn’t thought about it. In truth, she just assumed Armand was the wealthy one and his brothers just lived on his generosity. Now, knowing that they were gargoyles, and apparently older than she first believed, it only made sense that they were affluent.
“He’s so polite,” Jenna continued. “Mom and dad were both charmed and it’s safe to say Ferris adores him.”
Melanie laughed at that, having just left the little girl on his lap as he read her a bedtime story. The sight of him with the little girl sent a pang of awareness through her and she fell even more in love with him. Sure, he was gorgeous, but there was something that was intrinsically Vaughn that spoke to her and drove her wild.
Jenna eyed her critically for a moment before blurting, “You’re planning on having him sleep with you in your bed tonight, aren’t you?”
“Did you see him, Jenna?” Melanie teased, putting a fresh pillow case on a pillow. “Of course I’m going to have him sleep with me.”
Jenna tossed the pillow she was holding at Melanie, catching her off guard and making her laugh. “I supposed it is only fair since Jeremy slept in my bed many, many times.”
Melanie smiled, happy to see her sister talk about Jeremy with a smile and not be reduced to tears. Tossing the pillow back, Melanie grinned wickedly, “Oh, I don’t think he slept at all.”
“He didn’t,” Jenna replied with a saucy smile. After a moment of silence, she sat down on the bed and sighed, “I loved Jeremy with all of my heart but sometimes… sometimes I miss the intimacies of being with another person.”
Melanie sat down next to her, putting her arms around her and hugging her. “I know you loved him, Jenna, but he wouldn’t want you to be forever alone.”
“I know,” Jenna agreed. “But for almost seven years, my entire life has been about Ferris, first being pregnant and then raising her and I don’t have the first idea how to get back into the dating game. Hell, I’ve never actually played the game. I mean, Jeremy is all I have ever known.”
“Well,” Melanie said s
lowly, weighing her next words carefully in her head. “Vaughn does have two brothers….”
Jenna snorted, “You’re not trying to set me up with either of them again, are you?”
“It’s just something to consider,” Melanie replied dejectedly. “They’re nearly as gorgeous as Vaughn….”
“Then what would either one of them want with the mother of a small child?” Jenna snorted again, irrationally unable to believe that any guy would want her. Not only was she gorgeous, she was the sweetest, move loving person Melanie knew.
“They would be lucky to have you,” Melanie told her with absolute conviction. “I think that the six of us should make plans to go to the Winter Carnival at the end of this month. That way you can get to know them and they can see what an angel you are.”
“Melanie,” Jenna warned, laughing in spite of herself.
“You’re right,” Melanie sighed, before her lips curled into a wicked smile. “They’re not the types who want an angel. They want a little bit of the devil, at least when it comes to sex.”
Licking her lips, swiping a strand of hair behind her ear, Jenna looked down at her hands folded in her lap. “Is… does he… is he good?”
Melanie fell backwards and smiled up at the ceiling, “Better than good… the best I’ve ever had.”
Jenna fell back next to her sister on the bed. “That’s not saying much; you had never been all that impressed with Peter.”
Turning her head, Melanie met her sister’s gaze, “I can’t even remember what it was like with Peter because Vaughn has filled all of my senses. Somehow he is a part of me and I’m a part of him.”
“Melanie, don’t say such things,” Jenna whispered desperately, clutching Melanie’s hand in her own and looking at her with wide, frightened eyes. “You’ve said yourself that you barely know him so what are you thinking by falling in love with him?”
“Wasn’t it like that for you and Jeremy?” Melanie asked quietly.
