Page 97 of Vampire so Virtuous

Eve sent a quick message and read the response. Her eyebrows twitched. “Uh, I’ll just forward this to you. You get the coffees, I’ll get the seats.” She headed for the corner.

Cally’s phone vibrated as she walked to the counter; the queue wasn’t long. “Two lattes please, and”—she opened the message—“a… oh… er… a grande half-caf oat milk caramel macchiato with an extra shot of blonde espresso, one pump of vanilla, one pump of hazelnut, and a light caramel drizzle. Please.” She looked up, apologetic. “Did that make sense?”

“I think I got it,” the server said, frowning.

The thought of Antoine with such a drink was funny. Did all the blood he drank taste the same? Had he ever even tried coffee?

She shook her head, irritated with herself. Why was she thinking about him like that? He was a vampire. A monster. And hadn’t he proved it again when she found him enslaving people, turning them into ‘thralls’?

It was inexcusable. Yet he’d seemed reluctant, as if the whole process was distasteful. He’d said it was necessary… but was it, really?

What unsettled her most was her own response to it. To him. Sheshouldfeel nothing but anger and revulsion—and she did. But it wasn’t that simple.

She leaned against the counter, trying to make sense of it.

It boiled down to this: Antoine seemed good. Not that there was any realevidence—if anything, there was plenty to the contrary. He took what he wanted, whether or not she said yes. He stole free will like it was his right. And yet, deep down, beneath it all, she swore there was a good man in there.

He might still be a monster, but fear no longer played a part in how she saw him. The only truly scary thing about him was what passed for his sense of humor.

And yes, it helped that he was smooth, effortlessly charismatic, teasing with a boyish charm, protective in ways she didn’t fully understand, and aggravatingly sexy. He oozed it, without even trying. Even when he wasn’t biting her and making her—

Cally swallowed hard.

Thank God her order was called a moment later.

Priya arrived too, wearing a skirt suit that was far smarter than her usual jeans and T-shirt. She waved as she bounced over. “Hey Cally. Where’s Eve?”

“In the corner.” Cally led the way, balancing the tray.

Eve greeted Priya with her boisterous cheek-bussing thing, which garnered even more strange looks in this venue than at their regular café. Then they all sat down, helping themselves to their drinks, suitably reverent as they all took their first sips.

“So, Zara’s out of town?” Eve said to Priya.

“Yup. Gone ‘til the weekend.”

“That must make things quiet.”

Priya lowered her eyes. “She’s lovely, but she can be… intense.”

Eve cocked her head. “That guy she was talking about a couple weeks back. The one she said she’d, uh, have some dinners with. Was that someone you were interested in, too?”

Cally looked up. She hadn’t missed Priya’s frown when Zara had shared that story.

“Oh no, that’s fine,” Priya replied lightly, neither affirming nor denying it. “Besides, I have a boyfriend now.”

“You do?” Eve perked up. “Details!”

Priya beamed, practically wriggling in her seat. “Well, his name is Michael. He’s six-two, lovely blonde hair, thedreamiestblue eyes, muscles in all the right places, and amazing arms.”

Eve glanced at Cally; Priya didn’t notice, too busy sighing happily. “Uh-huh. How did you guys meet?”

“Oh, Lily introduced us.” Priya leaned in, eyes dancing with glee. “It was a blind date.”

“Lily, huh?” Cally muttered. “Where does she keep finding all these men?”

“She’s in some local Discord group, I think.” Priya took a sip of her coffee.

Cally blinked. “You hooked up with some guy Lily found in a Discord group?”