The Vampire's Fake Fiancée (Nocturne Falls Book 5) (30 page)

She smiled back, but it felt as if something had been lost between them. “If you really want me to take the sword out, I will.” She reached back and her fingers grazed the hilt. She winced at the feel of the hilt beneath her hand and the buzz of anticipation that zipped through the weapon and into her like a small electrical charge.

“No. Please. Let’s just forget about it, all right?”

She dropped her hand, happy it was over and yet sad that she felt like she’d created a rift between them. “All right. Where’s Evangeline?”

“Getting ready, I suppose. I’ve asked Greaves to take her to the chapel as soon as she is. I’ll drive us there.”

“Okay, sounds good. I’ll just finish up.” She held her smile until she slipped into the bathroom where her makeup and veil were laid out.

Then the smile she’d been working at fell off her face and the twist of her stomach tightened. That stupid sword. She wished she’d never been born with it. Why couldn’t she have been one of the generations that it skipped? It did happen. Very, very rarely. She just hadn’t been so lucky.

But there was nothing to be done about it now. Not when she had this wedding to prepare for. She went to work on her makeup, following the advice of a YouTube video she’d watched earlier on bridal looks. It was pure vanity, she knew that. Sebastian would marry her with a bag over her head today if that’s what it came to. Today wasn’t about her, it was about him being free.

And about Evangeline’s demands being met.

Seemed to Tessa that Evangeline got what she wanted quite a lot.

Anger made Tessa apply the eyeliner a little heavier than the video had suggested. She sighed in frustration and added a little more to the other eye to balance things out. Maybe she could call it a smoky eye. That was a thing, right?

She heard the bedroom door close and peeked out, realizing Sebastian must have gone down to his office.

Men really had it so easy. Put a suit on and they were done.

She finished her makeup, then went to work on her hair. When Corette had shown her how to twist a few strands back to clip the veil into while leaving a few wispy pieces around her face, Jenna had offered to come and help, but Tessa didn’t want to bring her sister into this. When Tessa got married for real, she’d want Jenna with her every step of that way. But for this farce? It seemed wrong to involve her sister any more than Tessa already had. Like she would be using up a bunch of first time experiences on something that wasn’t real.

Tessa finally figured out her hair, attached the veil and surveyed her work. Duncan probably could have done better.

She sighed. What did it matter? Again, today was not about her.

She stared at herself, getting angry. “Snap out of it. You’re getting married. To an amazing man. Have a little pride. And stop being a quitter.”

The pep talk fixed her mood a little. Enough that she pulled the veil free, laid it gently on the bathroom counter and picked up her brush. This day might not be about her, but she owed it to Sebastian and herself to be the most beautiful bride she could be.

If something was worth doing, it was worth doing well.

With that in mind, she went back to work on becoming that beautiful bride. Whatever that meant.

Sebastian had just unlocked his office door when Greaves stuck his head in. “Evangeline’s in the car. Just wanted you to know I’m taking her to the chapel. She wanted to know why you haven’t left the house yet.”

“Because I’m still waiting on these documents to come through. Not that she needs to know there’s an issue. Just tell her we’re about five minutes behind you. Let the others know, too, will you?”

“Absolutely. See you there.” Greaves left.

Sebastian turned on the office lights, went to his desk and fired up his laptop. The wall of antique weaponry flanking the fireplace gleamed softly in the overheads. He poured himself a whiskey while the computer came to life. There were some things his grandmother wasn’t entirely wrong about. A drink could, on occasion, make things easier to bear.

And the fact that this marriage to Tessa was just about pleasing Evangeline was definitely one of those things.

He took his drink back to his desk and sat, opening his email. “Finally.”

But the email from his solicitor had no attachments, just a note.

My apologies for not having the documents to you yet. We’re having a terrible blizzard and the Internet is spotty. I’m sending this from my phone. As soon as I can get the office computer up and running, I’ll have them emailed to you.

Damn it. He needed those dissolution papers. Without them for Evangeline to sign, this was all for naught. He picked up his whiskey and walked to the window. The sun was well set, leaving the sky burnished in purple and gold. As January evenings in Georgia went, it wasn’t a bad one at all.

Even if he
was
still waiting on the most important documents of his life.

He sipped his whiskey and stared out, trying to think about something else. Tessa was the only thing that filled his head and the unsettled feeling that followed was completely his own doing. If Tessa didn’t want to show him the sword, that was her right. One hundred percent. Was he disappointed? Yes, but her refusal to share that with him wasn’t something that should make him feel poorly toward her.

He was being childish and he knew it.

He’d just thought…she’d want to let him in to the secret side of herself. She’d shared the story of her scar with him. But the sword was different, wasn’t it? More than just a memory, it was a constant reminder of what had happened. A part of her past from which she would never be free. Of all people, he understood a burden of that magnitude.

Another sip of whisky brought further clarity. Truth was, she had no reason to feel differently about divulging something so personal with him. They’d known each other what? Three days?

No, he was being ridiculous. The woman was marrying him, for crying out loud. He owed her an apology. And he’d give it to her, along with a hearty kiss and a lengthy reminder about how beautiful she was and how grateful he felt for all she’d done for him.

To act otherwise would only bolster the general consensus that he was a grumpy, ill-tempered recluse.

The office door closed behind him.
Tessa
.

He turned, a smile at the ready. “I owe you an apology, my darling—”

Evangeline glared at him. “You’re not supposed to be here.”

“Neither are you.” His smile thinned to nothing as he looked past her. “Where’s Greaves?”

She strode forward. “Having some car trouble.”

“Why aren’t you at the church?”

Her glare morphed into a toothy grin. “I forgot something.” She sashayed toward him, hips swaying in the little black dress she was wearing beneath what he hoped was a fake fur. Solid black was an interesting choice for a wedding.

Every alarm bell in his head rang. “What did you forget?”

Her fingers coasted down his lapel. “You look very handsome, Sebby. You always did wear clothes better than the average man. I’ll give you that.”

It would be the first thing she’d given him. But her attention wasn’t something he was the slightest bit interested in. He stepped out of her reach and went to lean on the fireplace mantel. There was something comforting in being flanked by weapons while being confronted by this particular woman. “You didn’t answer the question.”

She came toward him again, her finger tapping her bottom lip. “What question was that?”

Oh, she could try a man’s patience. “
What
did you forget?”

She stopped directly in front of him, her heels putting her just shy of eye-level. “So many things. Like how obtuse you are when it comes to the obvious.”

He frowned at her. “What?”

She laughed. “Actually, I hadn’t forgotten that at all. I’ve been counting on it.”

“What in the hell are you talking about?”

She planted her hands on the mantel behind him and leaned in. She smelled of sandalwood and musk. “I’m talking about the real reason I’m here. The reason I got you to let me into your house, the reason I got you to let me stay here.”

“I know why you’re here. You want me back. Why that is, I have no idea. Life too hard alone, Evangeline?”

She snorted. “You are impossibly smart and yet, somehow one of the most clueless men I know.”

In a flash of light and the hiss of metal, she grabbed one of the daggers from the wall behind him and pressed its point to his heart, the speed of her movements blurred by her vampire quickness. “I don’t want you back, you boring fool. I want the secret to why you can daywalk. I’ve been trying to find it since I got here.”

That explained so much. He’d found some books disturbed in the library, but had assumed Tessa had done that. As if a librarian wouldn’t reshelve books when she was done with them. He really was a fool. Add to that the scratches on his office door lock and the copies of the newspaper stories that Tessa had found and Evangeline’s scheme was clear.

She wasn’t trying to get him back. She’d seen those pictures of him in the paper, pictures taken during the day, and realized he and probably his entire family were unharmed by the sun. Now she was trying to figure out how so she could do it too. “I’m not telling you a bloody thing.”

“I already know it’s some kind of magic. Your little librarian told me that much. So where is it? Give it to me and I’ll leave you alone.”

“I highly doubt that.”

She pressed the dagger harder until the point pierced his shirt. “I will end you, Sebastian.”

“You think threatening my life is going to make a difference? I’ve had no life to speak of thanks to the years I’ve wasted on you. And this is my reward? Threats from you? I’ve had enough.”

“Oh please. The years you’ve wasted on me? As if you could have, what, spent them wining and dining women? Enjoying the world and all it has to offer? You’re a sad creature, Sebastian. You’re a vampire and yet you act like a church mouse, tucked away here in your cathedral, existing on crumbs.”

The fact that she’d called him a mouse when he’d done the same thing to Tessa wasn’t lost on him. He laughed, a loud, boisterous sound that bellowed through the room.

She jabbed the dagger in deeper. Pain radiated through him as blood trickled down his chest. “What’s so funny?”

He stared at her, the woman he’d once adored and had determined that he would care for the rest of his life. If she slipped that dagger any farther, the latter might come true as his life would end right here. Although he’d stopped caring for her about five minutes into their meeting at the Black Rose three days ago.

Now she might actually kill him.

The time for secrets was gone. “You know your father offered to let me out of our marriage contract. On his deathbed, he told me there would be no hard feelings and that if I married you, you would make life miserable. He tried to warn me off, confessing that the creature you’d become was his fault. That he’d spoiled you into an uncontrollable brat. But I was too lovesick to accept that was true.”

“I don’t believe you.” Her eyes blazed silver.

“Would you like me to show you the original documents in which he left me a generous sum to take care of you? They’re rather fragile after all these years, but I’m sure you’ll recognize your father’s signature.”

Her lip curled back, exposing her fangs. Angry tears lined her lower lids. Perhaps he’d finally hit a nerve with her. “You’re lying.”

“Why should I lie about such a thing? That money has been an albatross around my neck, just one more link in the thousand-pound chain that keeps me bound to you. Why do you think I never abandoned you after you left me? Or that I paid every bill you sent my way and refilled every bank account you drained? Because I still loved you?” He laughed bitterly, the truth lifting the cloud that hovered over his life for so long. “All of it was because I promised your father. And I’ll promise you now that all of this is as true as the blade you’re about to run through my heart.”

“Lies,” she whispered.

“You’ve told me I’m about to die. What more perfect time for confession is there?”

She swallowed hard and blinked away the tears, regaining her composure. “I don’t care about the past, whatever it is. I want the power to walk in the sun.”