Exton

I grin as I sit down. Gareth looks halfway between terrified and enthralled as he holds the baby, tickling her chin, occasionally making nonsense sounds at her - or maybe it's Elvish; who knows? The more she smiles, the more Gareth relaxes, until finally Tara is absolutely cackling with delight when Gareth lightly tickles her belly.

So as not to gross out anyone at the table, I order a glass of red wine and a double order of spicy buffalo wings. When the order comes, we all dig in and Alise watches in something like amazement as I proceed to demolish the chicken in record time.

I smile. "Don't look so surprised. Vamps can eat; we don't get any nourishment from it, but we do get the taste… And I love these things" - I turn to Raina - "almost as much as I love you." She smiles and kisses me, getting a taste of buffalo sauce in the process.

"Mmmm, I like that. Get Monty over here. I want an order of these for myself."

I look across the table at Gareth. "So how you'd do today? Any prospects?"

The elf looks inordinately pleased with himself; I don't know whether it's my question or Tara, still happily cooing in his arms. "Two or three... but you should really ask Raina about them."