Vampires Among Us [Vampires Among Us 1] (Siren Publishing Classic)

immediately. A few seconds later, Jennifer sailed into the kitchen.
    “Erica, congratulations, honey! Oh, and welcome to the family! This of course, is from Charles and Rosetta, as I have already considered you part of the family for some time now!” She practically tackled Erica in a tight hug.
    “Thanks, Jennifer. Did you come all of this way just to congratulate us? Wait a minute! How did you know?” Erica pulled back and asked skeptically.
    “Well, I got a really late night call last night from a certain brother of mine, or I should say a really early morning call! I decided I had nothing better to do anyway, so I drove down. I thought maybe we could do a little shopping!” Jennifer exclaimed happily.
    “Shopping?” questioned Erica. “What are we shopping for?”
    Jennifer glanced over to her brother and shot her eyebrows up. “You haven’t talked to her yet, have you?” she accused.
    “Oh for crying out loud, Jennifer, I just got home yesterday morning! I’ve been a little busy catching up on lost time!” Kevin grumbled to his sister, running an agitated hand through his hair.
    Turning her attention back to Erica, Jennifer sat down next to her. “Kevin was supposed to talk to you about this, but since he hasn’t, I will.”
    “Jennifer!” Kevin growled in warning.
    “Kevin, lighten up! Once everything has been explained to her, she’ll be fine!” Jennifer retorted, turning her attention back to Erica.
    “You see, dear, there are tons of friends of the family that are anxious to meet you. Rosetta has suggested to Kevin that the two of you start showing your faces a little more out in public. Kevin told her he would need to speak to you about it first, before committing to anything. He has been turning down invitations to social events for some time now.”
    Kevin watched Erica’s eyes go wide, and then quickly turn accusing eyes on him. “So, you lied to me before?” Her question caught Kevin off guard, momentarily, as he attempted to figure out what she was talking about. “I asked you a while back if there were any activities you or your family were not able to do due to a human being in their midst. Did you lie to me? Am I the reason you are turning these invitations down?”
    Kevin turned to his sister first, anger rising. “Thanks a load for nothing!” he muttered at her, and then quickly turned his attention back to Erica. Attempting to tap down his anger at his sister and handle this situation with calmness, he replied, “No, I didn’t lie to you, I haven’t attended any of these social events in years. It became a point that it was quite obvious what the single ladies at these events had on their minds, and I wasn’t interested. Now that I have someone to go with, it might be fun. We could always try one or two, and if you don’t feel comfortable, then I’ll just go back to declining the invitations,” he added with a small smile, hoping she wasn’t going to get pissed at him for not discussing this with her in private.
    “What kind of social events are we talking about here?” Erica inquired, arching her eyebrow up as she directed her attention back to Jennifer.
    “Well, there are dinners, balls, and charity events scheduled throughout the year, and Rosetta has been trying to get Kevin to attend for numerous years. A member of the family is almost always expected to attend. People tend to get their noses out of joint when we don’t. Rosetta usually sends one of us girls, since Kevin is such a stick in the mud,” Jennifer stated as she cast her brother a glare.
    Erica sucked in a deep breath, and then dove into the unknown waters. “Okay, what did you want to start with?” She was a little wary about all of this, but, obviously, the two people sitting in front of her knew far more about these things than she did.
    Jennifer sat back, crossing her arms over her chest as she gave her brother a triumphant grin. “Well, let me see,” she mused, as she seemed deep in thought. “I know the Governor’s Charity Ball is right around the corner, and the family is always invited. Charles stays in close contact with the governor of our state, primarily due to the VCTF work, so we usually get invited to any high profile event scheduled. Then there is a charity ball for our kind to raise money for our hospital. I think this year part of that money is being slated to go towards the elderly village. Those are the only two I can think of right now, but Rosetta always has a