Free Bite Me (The Transfigured Ones Book 2) by Michelle Roth Page B

perspective.
    She thought a lot about those end scenes in the movies, where the heroine walks away and suddenly the building explodes behind her. Still, she keeps on walking without looking back, a satisfied smile on her face. She knows that the bad guys have been thwarted and all is right in the world.
    Caroline acknowledged that this was not one of those times. Instead, she was equal parts angry at her mother and feeling guilty about leaving the party early. It was incredibly embarrassing, the way she'd just up and walked out. Tomorrow she would call and apologize to her grandmother again. Her mother, on the other hand, would not be receiving a phone call.
    ***
    Caroline was pulling the macaroni and cheese out of the oven when she heard the knock on her apartment door. That would be Magnus. She'd planned to go over to his place after the party, but by the time she'd gotten home she was exhausted.
    Even though she'd done her best to beg off tonight, Magnus had instead talked her into inviting him over. She couldn't really protest without going into the whole mortifying story. And there was no chance of that happening. He'd offered to bring her dinner, but after the miserable day she had, she welcomed the distraction of cooking a meal.
    She opened the door, pasting what she hoped was a smile on her face. “Magnus, come in.”
    The ready grin slipped from his face as he studied her. “What's wrong?”
    Clearly the smile hadn't been as effective as she'd hoped. She waved him off and said, “Nothing. Just a long day.”
    “I've seen you after a long day,” he reminded her. “That's not what this is. You can tell me to mind my own bloody business if you want but at least be honest about it.”
    His patient stare broke her down. “Fine. You're right. I had a shitty day. My mother manages to make me feel like an awkward teenager even after all this fucking time. I went to that stupid party I told you about. You remember, the one that she planned for my grandmother? The second I walked in the door she started in on me by informing me that my dress made me look fat.” When he opened his mouth, she held up a hand. “It gets better from there. Just wait. Then, in front of my grandmother, told me that I'd never keep a man if I didn't start wearing a girdle. The final straw was when I tried to take a finger sandwich from the tray on our table and she slapped my hand away because 'someone needed to'. I'm sure she would've kept it up but I walked out.”
    He stared at her incredulously for a moment, taking in her words and then he finally asked, “Did you slash her tires on the way out?”
    “No. The butler was watching me,” she admitted, giving the first traces of an actual smile since Magnus walked through the door.
    “There it is,” Magnus murmured, cupping the side of her face. “An actual smile. I'll take it, even if it's a slightly vindictive one.”
    She leaned into him and said, “Now I just feel like crap about the whole thing. I walked out of my grandmother's birthday party. It wasn't even the stuff my mother said, so much as the fact she's been saying it my whole life. My job isn't good enough, my friends aren't good enough. She loves to remind me that I'm an overweight spinster at least two or three times per visit in some way.”
    “She's the reason behind your piss poor self-image then?”
    She didn't even bother with prevarication. “Basically, yeah.”
    “I wouldn't feel too bloody bad about leaving then. You had to stand up for yourself at some point.”
    Caroline nodded. “I know. I just wish I had picked a different venue. It's not my grandmother's fault. She's probably one of my biggest fans.”
    “When you explain what happened, she'll completely understand why,” he reasoned.
    “Oh, she was there for most of it, actually. I'm pretty sure she called my mom a bitch as I was leaving.”
    “She wasn't lying, either, love,” he noted.  “Your grandmother sounds like a firecracker.”
    “She