© 2026 Vampires Love Garlic by Ashley Chapman. All rights reserved.

43

Night of Stars

Heather

McKenzie told me vampires are picky eaters.

I must have found foods that they just can’t resist.

Dinner is an elegant affair. Everyone has their own seat. I took a gamble and mixed humans with vampires, hoping there would at least be some conversation, and there is. I’ve hired entertainment, dueling pianists with senses of humor that keep everyone laughing. I didn’t give myself a table setting. I prefer to be busy, running in and out of the kitchen, helping Marquis when one of the lighted garlands goes out, making sure everyone else is happy.

McKenzie’s at a table with the mayor and several other vampires, and he catches my eye every time I walk past. He mouths “I love you,” then returns to his conversation. I can feel those words in my chest, pulsing with my heart. I can feel his bite above my breast, a steady reminder that I am loved by McKenzie Bristol.

That truth burns inside me as I help prep dessert.

Pounds upon pounds of pralines. Multiple Mississippi mud pies. So many different types of cobblers that it’s going to be hard to choose. Warm peaches in a sweet sauce. Fried apples. Gallons of fresh vanilla ice cream. No blood, but certainly the best Savannah can offer.

There’s very little talking when dessert is served.

I’m so glad.

Once the food is finished, most of the tables are cleared away. Chairs and sofas are pushed to the far walls. The music really starts. Fast, exciting, getting everyone to their feet. The ballroom becomes a swirl of colors, gorgeous flowers on a chilly autumn night.

“Are you ready for our dance, Miss Heather?”

That deep velvet voice is close to my ear, and I turn to find Harold waiting for me, hand open, cane hooked over his left arm.

“I am,” I say, taking his hand.

“Perhaps outside, under the stars. It is a little quieter.”

I nod, and he guides me out onto the back porch, down the stairs, and to the dance floor. It isn’t nearly as crowded as it is inside, and the music drifts out like a haunting melody. My feet are cold against the floor, but I don’t complain. I didn’t think to grab a sweater, and the fall breeze sends a shiver through me.

“No coat?” Harold asks, stepping back and removing his velvet jacket. He places it over my shoulders, and I don’t miss his subtle attempt to feel my neck.

“He hasn’t bitten me,” I say, accepting the warmth and slipping my arms into the sleeves. “Thank you.”

“No shoes, either?” he asks as though he wasn’t really just checking out my neck.

“I don’t do well in heels, and flats just wouldn’t make sense with this gown.”

“I see.”

He offers his left hand, and I take it with my right. His other hand finds my waist, and he guides me into a dance.

I can see where McKenzie gets his grace and charm. Harold doesn’t need his cane as he moves elegantly across the dance floor. He never stumbles or misses a step. He keeps his eyes on my face, silent for a few moments, assessing me. That’s okay. I’m assessing him, too. I can see how he floats easily from one woman to another. He must be in his early to mid-50s, but he looks younger, quite handsome.

“I’ve been led to believe you are responsible for this gathering,” he says presently. “This has been quite the evening, and it’s only just begun. Tell me, do you consider it wise to place vampires with humans at such an event?”

“Each vampire was required to sign a statement before they passed through the gates. I didn’t make you sign because Marquis informed me that would be bad taste. Every other vampire here knows that there are human guests who are to be respected and unharmed.”

“Derrick tells me you’re quite the barista. He also mentioned you taste delicious.”

“Did you bring me out here to sample my blood?”

He twirls me and then brings me back in to his body.

“I brought you out here to see if you’re really important to McKenzie or if he’s just playing with another woman. I find myself intrigued. McKenzie has had his share of females. He’s engaged to Narcissa, and yet he seems rather possessive of you. If his little display with your dancing earlier wasn’t any sort of indication as to how he feels, him watching you through the window now is definitely giving him away.”

He tilts his head in the direction of the house.

McKenzie is standing inside, right by one of the windows, sipping from a tumbler of bourbon.

“I’d like to know how a human managed to win his interest,” Harold says.

“I put a smiley face in his latte.”

“Excuse me?” His eyebrows go up.

“He came in to my café one day and ordered a latte. I made a smiley face out of the foam. He came every day after that.” I smile, remembering our first few interactions. “I helped him with a vampire dinner once, and then I organized his engagement party for him. I’ve helped him when he’s needed it, and I think that’s what triggered his interest.”

“McKenzie has enough money to hire whomever he pleases for such events,” Harold says with a snort.

“He likes my passion for history. He says it makes me a time traveler, and he likes when I bring other people with me into the past.”

“How much does he pay you for these events?”

“For this one, nothing.” I shrug, moving to the left and then right at his guidance. “I couldn’t resist taking a beat-up old mansion and transforming it.”

“Do you have any idea how much McKenzie Bristol is worth?” Harold asks, swaying me.

“Everything,” I say softly. “He’s worth everything to me.”

“I mean fiscally, child.”

“I know he’s wealthy, if that’s what you mean, but I’m not interested in his money.” I can see the trap he’s trying to set, and it’s not working. “I’ve never seen a man work as hard as McKenzie does. I’ve never seen him fight his battles with the amount of restraint he has. My neck is proof of that. I’ve known him for months now, and he’s never tried to bite my neck. He manages million-dollar projects, including this gathering, and he makes it look so easy. He gives constantly and never asks for anything in return. You have a good son. His money is irrelevant.”

“McKenzie and I have a difficult past. His mother was a good woman, but our marriage was arranged and I often found pleasure elsewhere. I have had multiple women come after me for my money. McKenzie has had the same. I am about to retire.” He twirls me again. “McKenzie will be taking most of my assets, if I choose to give them to him, but I need to make certain he isn’t letting a harlot suck off his success.”

“That’s rather vulgar,” I say with a frown.

“So it is.”

“Don’t you think he’s wise enough to make those decisions for himself?”

“From a business perspective, yes. From a heart perspective, no.”

“You have so little faith in him. Do you realize how successful he has been?”

“In business, he’s absolutely a king. You, however, lead me to doubt his ability to make any sort of good decisions outside the office. Look at you.” He looks me up and down, an icy, cold sort of calculation. “First, you’re a human, which makes you all but illegal for him to be interested in. I’m afraid he’s interested in you only for your blood, my dear. You’re pretty, but nowhere near the level of other women who have flung themselves at him. Second, you don’t fit in here. This dress is lovely, but if you’re trying to tempt my son into giving you his fortune, you’ll have to do better. Barefoot? Juvenile.”

This hurts. Badly. This whole conversation. I can feel pain in my chest, but there’s nothing I can say. I don’t have words for this level of cruelty.

“You can put together impressive parties. So what? There are planners all throughout Savannah. I highly doubt my son’s interested in you for your brain. Really, I think you got him hooked when he tasted you. You’re like his dealer, and he’s got an addiction. I’m sure you know about his disorder. A little bit of fresh, warm blood and he goes feral.”

“How dare you,” I manage to whisper.

He raises an eyebrow.

“Does the little historian have something to say?”

“Yes.” I clear my throat and look into those cold eyes. “How dare you.”

I pull my hand from his and take a long step back.

“You can insult me all you’d like.” I pull his coat off and toss it at him. “Yes, I’m a human. I don’t have all the glitzy, glamorous, wealthy flair of a vampire heiress. McKenzie could have hired someone else for this job. That’s all very true. But you don’t get to insult your son like that.”

“Look at you, little fireball.”

“Yes. Look!” I snap. I can feel angry tears welling in my eyes, but I don’t care. “McKenzie has a blood disorder. Absolutely. He’s fed from me before, yes. But he’s also shown a saintly amount of restraint. I’ve offered him my neck before, and he’s never bitten me there. He won’t, because he loves me. He knows there are things I’ve wanted to wait for, things I haven’t been ready for, and he’s been kind and has shown exceptional patience.”

I clench my hands into fists. I can feel the tears streaming down my cheeks, but I don’t care.

“I don’t believe there’s another man alive who could show the kind of restraint and care he does. You should be proud of him. Just minutes ago…” I pause, wondering how much information I should divulge, and then decide to give it all. This man has had multiple lovers. He can get over whatever I’m about to say. “We were making out in a coat closet. He could have bitten my neck right there. He wanted to. But he didn’t, because he links that throat bite with sex, and he knows I wasn’t ready for it, at least not there. So he bit me here instead.” I lower my dress just enough to show the marks on my breast. “Not because he needed blood, but because he wanted me to know how he feels about me. So degrade and insult me all you like, but leave McKenzie out of this.”

I take another step back.

“McKenzie is worthy of everything you want to give him. You’d be a fool not to place your companies or wealth in his hands. He is wise, and he would do you proud. If I’m the determining factor on whether or not McKenzie gets your assets, then I’ll step back. I love McKenzie, but if I’m coming between him and properties or markets that could make him more profitable, then I’ll walk away.”

“You realize you’re nothing more than a mistress to him. He’s engaged to Narcissa.”

“He’s not, actually.”

Narcissa’s voice interrupts the music. She stands beside me and smiles at Harold.

“Hello, Harold.”

She pats her slightly swollen stomach.

“I broke off our engagement. I wasn’t going to let McKenzie take the fall for my decisions. I’m already married.” She holds up her hand and her middle finger goes up. “Oops! Wrong finger!” She smirks and wiggles her ring finger at him. “I married a human. McKenzie had no say in the matter. I didn’t give him a choice on anything.”

Narcissa smiles at me.

“Heather is McKenzie’s match. I’ve known it since I first saw her dressed up like a pirate in an old restaurant. You know McKenzie can talk a mile a minute. He was speechless when he saw her. I may have dominated that first conversation, but he could have stepped in any time, and he didn’t. He was fascinated. I mean, look at her!”

Narcissa waves at me.

“You can go on all you like about how vampire women are prettier, but that’s such bullshit. This young woman is fire. She’s creative and gorgeous, and she cares more about the vampire-human relations crap than McKenzie and I do. She’s given your son some normalcy in a world where everyone tries to cater to him.” She laughs. “She’s made him wash dishes! Go grocery shopping! Next she’ll be telling him to get a haircut! And he needs one, btw, Heather.”

Harold smirks, and I can see his son shining through in that expression.

“So she’s made him a slave.”

“Hell no!” Narcissa snorts. “He likes doing things for her. You can hate on Heather all you want, but she and McKenzie belong together. I know you saw them dancing. You’ve been with enough bodies before. She fits him. Like a glove. And you know that doesn’t just come from physicality. Molding bodies together requires trust and love, and you saw it on the dance floor. McKenzie and I are no longer together. You’re going to have to come to terms with that. So are my parents. But don’t diss Heather just because she’s a human. You’re not going to find a better woman for your son.”

“Time will tell,” Harold says easily. “You’ll excuse me, ladies, but I believe I have a young man I need to find and have a good heart-to-heart with. Heather.” He bows. “Regardless of how I may feel about you, how vampires as a whole might feel about you, stay yourself. You’re a mighty force tucked inside a little package. Narcissa.” He bows his head. “Mazel tov.”

“McKenzie’s trademark snarkiness,” Narcissa says with a sigh as Harold leaves. “I got that response from both him and his son.” She turns her full attention to me. “Are you all right? You took a good emotional beating there.”

“Aside from having possibly insulted the highest vampire in your world, I’m fine.”

Narcissa laughs and pulls a tissue out from her dress pocket.

“I keep these on hand all the time now,” she says, dabbing at my eyes. “I’ve started bursting into tears for no reason.”

“Thanks, Narcissa.”

“Uh-huh. And now that Harold’s gone…”

She tucks my tissue away.

“Tell me about this closet situation. He bit you where?” she teases, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Oh goodness,” I blush, and she laughs.

She leans down, unstraps her stilettos, and hangs them over her finger.

“You’re going to tell me about what happened. But for right this second, I think you’re needed inside. Something about needing more pralines. They’re a hit. And you won’t be the only barefoot lady tonight.” She gestures to her swollen ankles. “I’ll be right there with you.”

She loops her arm through mine, and we go back into the mansion, two barefoot ladies, arm in arm, a vampire and a human.