Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
The blond man turned his gaze to me, smiled like he was the least threatening guy in the world, and extended his hand to shake mine. “Aliénor, right?”
So, Luca had talked about me to his friends. I shook Bastien’s hand. “Yeah. Luca has told me about you. That you’re a brother to him.”
“Did he now?” Bastien turned to look at Luca again, wearing a wide smirk.
Luca didn’t look mad at me, specifically, but he didn’t look thrilled.
Bastien introduced the woman with him. “My wife, my woman, my lady—Fleur.”
“It’s lovely to meet you.” With warmth, she shook my hand and gave me a smile.
“You too,” I said.
“Mind if we join you?” Bastien clapped his big hands together and rubbed his palms.
I looked to Luca so he could answer.
Luca continued to stare at him like he hated the guy.
“Excellent.” Bastien’s hand went to Fleur’s back. “Sweetheart, sit with Luca. He likes you more than me.”
Fleur moved into the seat beside Luca and Bastien took the seat beside me.
It was an awkward pause, Luca staring at Bastien and Bastien staring back. Fleur glanced back and forth between them then grabbed the menu. “Think I’m gonna get the sweet stack.”
The waiter came over with my coffee, and he seemed to know Bastien too. “Second time this week.”
“Fleur likes this place even more than I do,” Bastien said. “And it’s our first double date. Should be fun.”
I guess I knew Luca well at this point because I could feel his palpable irritation.
“We’ll take two coffees,” Bastien said before he looked at Luca again. “You guys ready to order?”
“I am,” I said.
“Let’s do it.” Bastien fired off his order, ordering for both himself and his wife. Then he turned to me. “What about you?”
“I’ll have what Fleur is having,” I said. “The sweet stack with a side of hash browns.”
Bastien looked at Luca.
“Savory stack.” That was all Luca said, staring at his friend like an enemy rather than a brother.
The waiter walked off, and we were left alone together.
One big, happy family.
Nothing was said. Absolutely nothing.
The coffees were brought, and Fleur added lots of cream to hers.
Bastien sat with his elbows on the table and turned to me. “Tell me about yourself, Aliénor.”
I felt bad that Luca was so annoyed Bastien was there. I didn’t understand why he was so affronted by it. “I’ve lived in Paris my whole life. Just moved in to a new apartment. And a new job at Diamant. Literally just got hired like an hour ago.”
“That’s cool,” Fleur said. “What position?”
“Fashion merchandiser,” I said. “I applied for an unpaid internship, but they gave me this instead…totally out of the blue, but I’m not going to question it. Gotta put food on the table. And I need money to use toward the discount they’re giving me on their clothes.”
Bastien looked at Luca, and they seemed to have a silent conversation across the table. Then Bastien quietly chuckled, apparently to himself, and took a drink of his coffee.
Like Luca used to be when I first met him, he didn’t say a word. I was glad to meet his friends, but I missed the man I had cultivated like a garden, the one who had grown from the little seed I planted.
“What about you?” I asked. “I know you used to work with Luca.”
“The wife and I are enjoying my retirement,” Bastien said. “We did some traveling. Might visit a few other places before we do the kid thing.”
“I hate it when you call it that,” Fleur said.
“Have a family,” Bastien quickly corrected.
“Well, congratulations to you both,” I said.
Bastien took a drink of his coffee.
It was clear that this was a one-sided dream. Bastien seemed like a committed husband who loved his wife with everything he had, but he didn’t seem excited about the prospect of children. Then again, most other men didn’t seem excited about it either. I imagined Luca felt the same way. “You miss the job?” I asked.
“Sometimes.” He was honest about it, right in front of his wife. “But you can’t have it all, at least not at the same time.”
“Why not?” I asked.
“Well, there’s a lot of shit that comes with—”
Luca gave him a hard stare.
Bastien quickly redirected his words mid-sentence. “With working nights and long hours, it’s not ideal for our relationship. It’s not easy being married to a vampire who’s awake all night and sleeps all day.”
I knew something had transpired between the men, but I couldn’t guess what it was. I just knew it was something Luca didn’t want me to know about.
“Luca said the Oath was after you?” Bastien asked.
“Yeah.” I still wasn’t used to the freedom that blessed me. To be able to go anywhere at any time and not be scared was a godsend. A gift that only someone like Luca could grant me. “It’s still hard to believe that this is real. That I got my life back.”