AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Five minutes after that, I’d met the tall, dark, and devastatingly delicious Thierry de Bennicoeur, who’d (extremely reluctantly at first) helped me navigate my dangerous new world before I’d fallen head over fangs for him.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
“Oh, my God, Amy. I’m so sorry.” Sure, there had been a bunch of problems between Amy and her husband since they’d hooked up, but I’d honestly thought they’d worked them all out.
“Don’t be,” she replied brightly. “It’s fine. I’m fine. Barry’s fine. We’re still friends. But we realized we just weren’t right for each other. The brighter the flame, the quicker the darkness returns.” She frowned. “Or something like that. Barry said it better, all poetic-like.”
I was still trying to reconcile all of this. “You didn’t tell me.”
Her lips thinned. “No, I didn’t, did I? Doesn’t feel great to be left out of important decisions, does it?”
Oh boy.I took a sip of coffee before replying to that. I didn’t want to lose my patience with my best friend after being with her less than half an hour, and I definitely didn’t want this to escalate more than it already had.
“Where is Barry now?” I asked.
“He’s moved to London, England, to open a restaurant,” she replied.
“Well, that’s random,” I muttered.
“As random as tagging along with your master vampire husband on his new job like some sort of pathetic puppy?”
My gaze shot to hers, and I saw the regret in her eyes set in a split second later.
“That was a shitty thing to say,” she said, her voice trembling. “I didn’t mean it.”
“Yes, you did,” I told her. “And you’re entitled to your opinion, even if it’s that I’m a pathetic puppy. But, for what it’s worth, puppies are never pathetic. They’re adorable.”
“I should probably go before I say something else that’s stupid and hurtful.” Amy stood up and hoisted her heavy purse over her shoulder. She sighed. “It’s just…you never call anymore. You don’t email or text. You didn’t invite me to your wedding or even send me a picture of it. And when I needed you, you weren’t here. Then I randomly see you shopping for shoes, just like we used to do together. I guess I’m more bitter than I’d like to admit. I thought I meant more to you.”
“Of course you do!” I stood up to face her, searching for some way to make this right, to mend whatever chasm of misunderstanding had opened between us. “Amy…”
“It’s okay. Really. Sometimes people drift apart even if they really love each other,” she said, and gave me another quick hug. “That’s just how life is. Good luck, Sarah. With Thierry, with the Ring. With…with everything. It was really great to see you again.”
I watched her leave, my eyes stinging, and then I sat back down at the table. Once, I would have run after her and apologized profusely for everything, even if I didn’t think I was totally at fault. But maybe she was right. Maybe I had changed more than I’d like to admit. And so had she.
Maybe that’s why we hadn’t made more of an effort to stay in touch over the last few months.
“I’m still whimsical,” I muttered. “And I’m still goddamn delightful.”
Feeling rebellious and in need of an immediate distraction, I reached over to her barely touched latte and took a big gulp of it, allowing myself to enjoy the sinfully sweet taste of coffee, pumpkiny-spices, and whipped cream. It was like heaven sliding down my throat, a physical representation of my old life that I tried very hard not to think about anymore since it didn’t fit in with my new life.
For a moment, I wondered if I might be able to find more of a balance between the old and the new—the delightfully whimsical human Sarah and the far less-wacky but still satisfyingly sassy vampire version.
And maybe that balance could start with this ridiculously expensive, sugar-and-carb-laden drink.
I lasted five minutes before the tortuous stomach cramps kicked in, and I rushed to the washroom to prove that such a perfect balance wasn’t going to be happening any time soon.
“And that’s why Amy hates me,” I finished with a shuddery sigh.
Thierry watched me in silence for a few moments. “Amy doesn’t hate you, Sarah.”
How could he say that? “Weren’t you listening?”
He nodded. “To every word. Amy loves you. She always will. And she’s projecting her insecurities onto you, looking for someone to blame for her own disappointments.”
“I don’t know. Maybe. But that still doesn’t make me feel any better about the situation. In fact, it might make me feel worse about not being here for her.”
I paced in short lines in front of him in the foyer of his luxury townhome that didn’t feel totally like home to me since I’d only spent a handful of nights there. Well, maybe a few handfuls. But, still. Thierry had a very minimalist, austere black and white décor esthetic that I didn’t really vibe with. It made me feel like I was trapped in a marble mausoleum. Even his wardrobe consisted of identical all-black Hugo Boss suits that fit his tall frame perfectly.
