Professor Julian Brown folded his hands on his lap and looked directly at her. "Okay, Ollie girl. When are you due?"
"When am I due to do what?" The rusty gears in her brain squeaked into life and put two and two together. She gasped then laughed. "Dad! You don't think I'm expecting a baby?"
"You're not?"
"No! I love Hernando more than life itself, but we've never..." She blushed. "I mean... Ohmigosh!" She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I can't believe I'm talking to you about this. No, I'm not pregnant, Dad."
Julian held his hand to his heart and looked relieved. "Oh, thank the Lord! I really don't feel ready to be a granddaddy yet."
"You won't be until me and Hernando feel ready to... make a long-term commitment." Did I just say that? We've never discussed marriage or even going steady. Is there's such a thing on BloodDark as "being in a relationship?" I need to focus and get back on topic.
Olivia cleared her throat. "Dad, I just wanted to tell you I've decided to go to college, and to ask your advice as to which ones I should look into and possibly do some research visits this coming month."
"That's good, sweetheart." Julian took a deep breath and let his shoulders drop. "Whew, okay then. Colleges. You don't want to stay here and attend school where I teach and your mom is underfoot in the library, huh? I can understand you wanting to live on a bigger campus and having the choice of more course offerings. I can think of a few places you might like."
Olivia relaxed. After the initial hiccup, the conversation went quite smoothly. She could see herself visiting the various campuses and checking out their programs this winter and spring—all the while pretending to be touring the world safely with Hernando and his body guard. Besides, one day she really did want to obtain a degree in a field where she could make a difference. She wanted to make her parents proud of her. She wanted to improve herself.
But now wasn't the time for college. She'd file these mental notes away for later.
After a tearful good-bye to Hernando, and a lengthy reiteration of her college research trip conversation to her overjoyed mother, Olivia felt confident she had pulled it off at last. She had made an airtight cover story everyone believed. She could now return to BloodDark as a mail-order vampire bride spy with no one on Earth the wiser. In a couple of weeks when it was all over, she vowed to let all her loved ones in on the secret.
They might feel hurt I told them a little white lie, but I think they'll be proud of me. Who wouldn't be proud of their girlfriend or daughter bringing justice to a world in desperate need of justice?
Chapter Eleven
"Did Hernando really believe you were going to college?" Annara sniffed loudly and put down the box. "Wherever did you find this hair chemical? In a mad scientist's lab?"
Annara's questions interrupted Olivia's thoughts. It was hard to concentrate after the painful separation from Hernando, so she had talked Annara into leaving her post at the embassy for a couple of days and helping her dye her hair. With a pair of costume green contact lenses she'd borrowed from Alexis to change her eye color and wearing some old horn-rimmed glasses she'd found at a charity shop, she figured she'd look different enough not to be recognized by anyone in the Alphan household.
"I got this blond dye at the drug store on Main Street, not at a lab." She held her breath and dabbed another bit of the dye along a strand of hair. "Whatever I'm going to tell my parents if they see their daughter with bleached-blond hair and green eyes, I'll never know."
"Will they be back from their conference soon?"
"Day after tomorrow. I'm glad I had a key to let myself back in the house. I'd forgotten they were going to the conference, but it was a stroke of luck. Saved me some money finding a place to stay in to make my transformation complete." She dabbed at another strand. "I hope this stuff wears off and doesn't completely ruin my hair in the process."
"Since you have procured the invitation to meet the Pure Blood representative, we can leave tomorrow and your parents will be none the wiser." Annara perched herself on the edge of the tub and tilted her head, studying Olivia. "You didn't tell me how it went with Hernando."
"I didn't, did I?" Olivia shrugged and dabbed dye at another hair strand. "It went as well as expected under the circumstance. He thought I just needed time off to be with Mom and Dad after my recent disappearance, but I told him I wanted to sign up for classes this semester at the college to make my parents happy. He hugged me and said he was glad I wanted an education."
"So, he was okay with it. Good."
Olivia shook her head and about gagged at the smell. "No, you don't get it. He was too nice. He wasn't happy I was telling him I was going to be absent from him for at least four months. He was just being nice when he said he accepted and respected my decision to better myself."
"So, he wasn't okay with it?" Annara raised an eyebrow. "Your Hernando... he still trusts you?"
Olivia nodded. This was the most painful part of the whole set up. She had outright lied to Hernando, the man she loved, and he still trusted her. The guilt had kept her awake tossing and turning the past few nights. What will Hernando say when he finds out I lied to him? What will he think when he eventually learns I was working as a spy behind his back? Will he be proud of me for my service to the people of BloodDark? Or will he never trust me again?
"Good. What he doesn't know
