My Roommate Is a Vampire(93)

He waved a dismissive hand. “Points upon which reasonable minds can differ, I suppose. But what I want to ask you is—” He broke off. Closed his eyes. Shook his head. “What I came here today to talk to you about is—”

“You want me to think about it,” I said, interrupting him.

A flock of ducks waddled across the path a few feet away from us, quacking noisily at each other as my entire world tilted slowly on its axis.

Frederick nodded slowly. “Yes,” he whispered.

Then he opened the box in his hand.

I’d never given much thought to what I’d want my engagement ring to look like if I were ever to be on the receiving end of one. I’d always found diamonds to be sort of pretty, but in a bland and characterless sort of way. I’d never been able to imagine myself wearing one—on my hand, or anywhere else.

The ring that lay nestled within the black-velvet box had a blood-red ruby in its center that was the size and general shape of a dime but with interesting facets cut into it that caught the sunlight when Frederick’s shaking hands jostled it a little.

I may have never thought much about what I wanted in an engagement ring, but all at once I knew I’d never see one more beautiful, or more perfect, than this.

“If I say yes,” I said, my breathing starting to come too quickly, “you’ll need to teach me what to do.”

I chanced a look up at his face. He was gazing down at me with an expression I couldn’t read.

“Teach you what to do?” he repeated.

“Yes,” I said. “I’ve lived with you for over a year now, but you’ve been so careful to keep me from the . . . more detailed aspects of things. I’ll need to know exactly what I’m in for if I . . .” I trailed off, trying to think of how to phrase the rest of what I was thinking in a way that wouldn’t frighten any passersby.

“If you . . . ?” Frederick prompted.

“If I take the plunge,” I said bluntly. There. That should cover it. I raised my eyebrows meaningfully.

All at once, he understood what I was trying to say.

“Yes, of course. Darling—I’ll tell you everything,” Frederick promised, his words coming out in an earnest rush. “I’ll show you anything you want to see. If, after you see and know what it would be like for you, if you still say no—”

“I understand,” I said.

“And so will I,” he vowed. “Whatever you decide. This ring is just a promise that you will . . .”

“Think about it,” I agreed.

“Yes.”

Satisfied, I grinned up at him. And held out my left hand.

The ruby felt cool against my skin as he slid the ring onto my finger. Once it was in place, we both stared at it, unable to quite believe what had just happened, until the sun began setting in earnest.

Still beaming up at him, I took his hand.

He took me home.





ACKNOWLEDGMENTS


No book is written in a vacuum. Mine is no exception. Many people have been involved in bringing Cassie and Frederick’s story into the world, and I would be remiss if I didn’t thank them now.

First, thank you so much to Cindy Hwang at Berkley for believing in me, and for giving me the opportunity to write the kooky little vampire rom-com of my heart. Endless gratitude as well to my phenomenal agent, Kim Lionetti, who has patiently answered my countless questions, and who has been the best and fiercest kind of advocate.

A staggering amount of work happened behind the scenes at Berkley to get this book to print. I am forever grateful to my genius editor, Kristine Swartz (whose editing talents are surpassed only by her great taste in K-dramas), and to her editorial assistant, Mary Baker. Thank you to Christine Legon, the managing editor; Stacy Edwards, the production editor; and Shana Jones, the copyeditor, for their work in making this book readable and beautiful. Roxie Vizcarra and Colleen Reinhart created an absolutely perfect book cover that I’ve been screaming about (figuratively, but also literally) ever since it first landed in my inbox. Thank you to Tawanna Sullivan and Emilie Mills in Sub Rights; my publicist, Yazmine Hassan; and Hannah Engler in Marketing for working tirelessly to bring Frederick and Cassie’s story to readers.

There are so many other people in my life I need to thank for being there for me as I wrote My Roommate Is a Vampire. Thank you to Starla and Dani for being the first people to ever read something I’d written and tell me that it was good, actually. Thank you to Sarah B., Quinn, Marie, Pat, Mateus, and Christa for being there when this book’s concept was first conceived. (I hope you have forgiven me for ultimately taking the virgin out of this story’s vampire.) And thank you to Celia, Rebecca, Sarah H., and Victoria for looking over the very first outline for this book and giving me such valuable early feedback.

Special thanks to Katie Shepard and Heidi Harper, who reviewed every single draft of this book as I wrote it. You are both absolute heroes. You provided so much helpful feedback along the way that I definitely owe each of you cake in the near future. (Possibly also ice cream and/or a six-pack of passionfruit La Croix.) A huge thank-you as well to the Berkletes, who are an absolute powerhouse of talent, and whose advice has been so impactful to me as a debut author.

“Thanks” isn’t a big enough word to convey my gratitude to the Getting Off on Wacker gang, who were not only wonderful movie buddies when we saw . . . um, Cats . . . in December 2019, but who have become a beloved source of joy and support in the years since. Shep, Celia, and Rebecca, I don’t know what I’d do without your friendship, your cat pics, your outrageous senses of humor, and your empathy. Thank you to my K-drama buddies—Tina, Emma, Angharabbit, Toni, and Bassempire—for your endless wit, and for your television recs that are always a welcome break from writing. And thank you to Thea Guanzon, Elizabeth Davis, and Sarah Hawley, whose friendship—and off-the-record conversations about writing and publishing—have been a source of much-needed validation (and laughter) this past year.