“—and the very same night your love affair ends.” She tilted her head to the side. “Very strange, wouldn’t you say?”
Great. All we needed was Veronique doubting our story. Talk about the beginning of the end. If there was one person I didn’t trust to keep it quiet, it would be her. “Strange but true. What can I say? Can’t stand him now. I’m flaky like that.”
There was silence for a long, torturous moment as she inspected me as if I was a slimy but curious specimen under a microscope.
“Is it true that you’ve met with the Red Devil recently?” she asked.
My cheeks warmed. I guess there was no way to keep what happened a secret. It only brought back my shame at not being able to control myself. It was the reason today had to work out. I needed this curse gone. Even now with the gold chain firmly in place around my neck, I felt it there, lurking in the shadows of my mind, like a thick black poison waiting patiently for the perfect opportunity to take over again.
I cleared my throat. “I met with him just for a moment. It was no big deal.”
“Are you certain of that?” Thierry asked.
“Yup. He’s in town again and wanted to say hello.”
And stop me from murdering people. And be my bodyguard. Etcetera.
I raised my eyes to look at Thierry again. He hadn’t taken his focus off me. His neutral gaze betrayed a sliver of concern.
Would Veronique and Barry notice if I went directly over to him and kissed him?
Wrapped my arms around him and told him how much I missed him and how I couldn’t wait until this was all over?
Yeah, they’d probably notice. They were all observant like that.
“So what’s going on here this morning?” I asked, wanting desperately to change the subject. “A vampire version of The Breakfast Club?”
“It’s none of your business what we’re doing,” Barry replied sharply. “Like I told you earlier, Amy isn’t here. Therefore there’s no reason for you to be, either.”
Again, I resisted the urge to kick him. “You’re right.”
No Amy. No money. No curse breaking.
“It is time for me to leave as well.” Veronique air kissed Thierry on both cheeks and then did the same to Barry.
“Good-bye, Sarah,” Thierry said evenly.
After he gave me one last deep, searching look, so deep that I actually felt it as if it were the brush of his lips against mine—I had a very good imagination—I turned and left.
The door clicked shut behind me and Veronique the moment we stepped outside, and I heard the lock turn. Barry wasn’t taking any chances of me sneaking back in.
Veronique studied me intently. “One of my many talents is the ability to read people. I read you as being in love with my husband. Even now I see such longing and regret in your eyes.”
At least she wasn’t treating me like a complete smelly piece of garbage, as Barry had. Her demeanor toward me seemed the same as always—dismissive, but vaguely curious.
I forced a shrug. “What can I say? The man is easy on the eyes. But it doesn’t change anything.” I hesitated. “Besides, I’m sure there have been tons of women who’ve fallen for
Thierry in the past, right?”
I regretted asking it as soon as the words left my mouth, feeling a stab of jealousy at the thought of other women in Thierry’s life. Knowing he was married was enough of a cross to bear.
“Of course,” Veronique said simply.
I swallowed. “Oh.”
“However,” she continued, “this annulment nonsense has never been mentioned before. I still wonder what exactly got into him to even broach that subject after so long. If I didn’t know better, I would have assumed he meant for you to have a future together.” She looked at me for a moment. “Are you all right, my dear? You’ve become rather pale suddenly.”
Any mention of my future with Thierry tended to make me feel a bit woozy around the edges. That’s what I wanted. Despite our multitude of problems, I wanted to be with him, and everything currently happening seemed tailor-made to keep us apart. It’s like I was fighting fate itself. I never really believed in the concept before, but I’d lately come to learn that fate was one hell of a mean beeyotch.
“I’m fine. I’m just a bit distracted today.” I glanced over at George’s car. He’d hunched down in the seat a bit so he was mostly out of view, except for the top of his sandy-blond head and sunglass-covered eyes peering over the edge of the driver’s-side window like
“Kilroy Was Here.” Veronique intimidated him, so avoidance was his preferred course of action.
“Distracted because of… your little curse, perhaps?” she asked.
Everyone knew about my problems. I guess when your problem was turning black-eyed and scary as hell, that was a given.
I nodded. “It actually has everything to do with my curse. But there’s more than that on my mind, as well.”
“Like the Red Devil? You truly saw him?”
“In the flesh.” I nodded. “And mask.”
Another glance at the car showed George was beckoning for me to wrap things up with
Veronique. Time was money, after all. Money I didn’t currently have. Would the wizard only see me today? When exactly was he moving out of the country? Why was nothing ever easy?
Veronique’s expression lit up. “The Red Devil is magnificent, isn’t he? I wonder if he’s exactly the same as when he saved my life so long ago—so strong and brave and handsome.”
“And dangerous?” I asked, thinking of Gideon’s assessment. “And deadly?”
“All of those things.” She let out a strange little sigh of contentment. “I would assume he’s a magnificent lover as well, wouldn’t you agree?”
Oh, boy. I glanced at my naked wrist. “Wow, look at the time. I really need to get going.”
“So many years have passed,” she continued, undeterred, “I wonder if he’d still remember me? Well, of course he would. Perhaps we could begin again where we left off.”
“I don’t see why not.” I took a few determined steps toward the car. Veronique was difficult to get away from once she’d started chatting about her favorite subject—herself.
“In non-Red-Devil-related news, I’ve found somebody who might be able to remove my curse.”
She reached forward and squeezed my hand. “That’s wonderful, my dear. Such an unpleasant thing, curses are. I really don’t recommend them.”
“I totally agree.”
She frowned at me. “For such good news you seem rather distraught. Is there a problem?”