Free Expecting Eternity (Vamp Life #2) by Jez Strider

vampire business.”  He eyed me intently.  “It is unlikely he committed the crime against your friend, though.  I don’t see how their organization would gain anything by harming her.”  I watched him pacing.  “Unless there was some motive we don’t know about.”
    Fate had a bewildered expression on her face and we both waited for her reaction.  “I told you something was weird about him months ago.  I don’t know why a group of people would live in a cave.  What’s a pazzo?”
    “A crazy pe rson, amore.”  Antonio told her.  The slight sting in my heart when I heard him refer to her affectionately caught me by surprise.  He looked at me until I broke eye contact.  “Why don’t you go pack up your things?”
    “Oh, right.  Antonio asked me to join him on his business trip!”  She had a skip to her step as she ran to her room.  I hadn’t seen her so excited in a while.
    Up until that point, I’d resisted confronting Antonio about his relationship with Fate.  “Do you think it’s a good idea to get her hopes up so high?”
    “What do you mean?”  The irritation in his voice was evident.
    “She’s barely an adult.  You know she’s falling in love with you.”  I kept my voice low and he came closer.  It wasn’t like he couldn’t hear me from where he was before.
    His face was only a few inches from mine.  “It hurts, doesn’t it?  Very painful to see someone you love with another person.”
    Yes.  I swallowed hard.  My mouth was dry.  Was he trying to hurt me by dating Fate?
    “I like her, Evelina.  Let me have that much.  Everything else I care for has been taken away.”
    “Do you think I need my hoodie?”  Fate asked as she came back into the room.  “What’s going on?”  She asked when she saw the two of us so close.
    Antonio placed his hand on my stomach lightly.  “The baby kicked and she wanted me to feel.”  More lies.  His hand lingered for a moment and he smiled faintly. 
    At least it was a little white lie, but they do tend to grow out of control before they can be stopped.
    “Oh, my gosh.  I want to feel.”  Great….  Fate placed her hands on me as well.  Her lip pooched out into a pout after a few moments when she didn’t feel any movements.  “Oh well.” 
    “And yes, bring your jacket.  You may get cold on the plane.”  Antonio told her.   She nodded at her boyfriend and headed back to her room.
    It wasn’t any less than I deserved and I certainly had no right or reason to be jealous.  My mind could tell me these things as much as it wanted.  It didn’t make my heart ache any less.  There was nothing left to say, or so I thought.
    Antonio bent down and kissed my lips.  “We’ll always have Venice.”  He left the room with a stoic grace to join his new love. 
    For a brief moment , his words were romantic.  Bittersweet.  Then, I found myself wondering how many times he’d seduced a woman with lines from popular films, music, books, or poetry.  I mean, really, altering a line from a classic? 
    “ Hopeless.”  I said to myself.  Fate didn’t stand a chance against his charm.
    That night, Marcus and I were lying quietly in bed.  He’d been mad at me most of the evening for opening the door when Roger had stopped by. 
    “Are you asleep?”  I whispered softly. 
    After a moment, he grumbled sleepily, “No.”
    The question was weighing on my mind.  “Have you ever seen Casablanca?”
    “I don’t know what that is.  If you’re going to make me watch it, it better not be anything like the time you made me sit through Phantom of the Opera .”  He slid his arm over me and I could tell he was drifting off again.
    I smiled to myself and relaxed.  Sometimes we liked the same things and it was great.  Other times, I was the most content when he was the yin to my yang.
     
    The double date I had been dreading was finally upon us.  There was a honk outside and I looked at Marcus in exasperation before