Page 9 of The Vampire’s Temptation

Chapter 3

Alessandra hated coffee, but she loved the smell of it. To think she could almost smell it now, a whole half a block away from The Witch’s Brew . . . it must be the anticipation. She hastened her steps, tightening her grip on the old messenger bag she refused to throw away. When she finally stepped through the door, a bell tinkled overhead, welcoming her.

She’d never suspected that Stone Haven would be her forever home, but something about the old-fashioned charm of the place had won her over. In a world constantly on the move, it was a place of stillness and peace. Despite the flood of tourists on the weekends, especially during the summer, she absolutely loved it here. Now, if only she could convince her mother and brother to make the move. She missed them both so much.

“What would you like?” the barista, a former student, asked her with a welcoming grin.

She really should not get a chai latte. Yesterday’s run had been mitigated by dinner and drinks, and she’d promised herself to start watching the calories. She’d always been the same size, but lately her jeans were getting a bit more snug, a product of too much ordering out with her colleagues.

“Get one of those chai lattes you like, Miss Fiore,” Sam urged. The bell on the door rang again, the sound putting a smile on her face. “It’s the first official day of summer.”

Alessandra wasn’t sure how the two were related, but she gave in to temptation.

“OK, why not.”

“I thought I might find you here.”

Toni suddenly appeared next to her, her hair arranged in an eighties-style high pony she kept insisting would come back in style any day now. She’d stayed at Tyler’s last night, so they hadn’t seen each other at home this morning.

“And luckily for you, I have a few minutes before work.”

“I thought your aunt hired a new girl to get you Sundays off—”

“She quit.”

Alessandra hated when Toni worked seven days a week. Between her job at her aunt and uncle’s gift shop, Ye Old Curiosities, and her shifts at Murphy’s, the girl worked her butt off despite the fact that their rent was low, her aunt being the owner of the house and all. But tell her to take a break, and Toni would have none of it.

“But more importantly, we need to chat.”

Alessandra paid for her drink and took it from Sam. Without asking, he started making Toni’s drink next. Although Toni was the one who’d turned Alessandra on to chai lattes, she never ordered them when they were out. For some reason, she always stuck with Earl Grey.

One of her many quirks.

“Let me guess. There are at least eight reasons why you’d like to kill me?”

Sam’s eyebrows winged up.

“Just one, actually,” Toni corrected.

Alessandra tried not to smile as her friend slid a couple of dollars across the counter and took the tea. Toni carried her drink to the side table to doctor it with milk and sugar, and then they moved past their usual seats, two recliners that were currently occupied, and sat on a loveseat instead.

“So,” Alessandra ventured, “what’s new?”

Toni simply stared at her. “Care to explain yourself?”

Alessandra took a sip of the latte—a good choice—and remained silent.

“Allie?”

Only two people called her that. Her brother, and Toni.

“I’m not sure what you—”

“I know you don’t love Tyler,” Toni said. “But he’s cute and confident—”

“Cocky.”

Toni rolled her eyes. “Confident. And he’s really, really good in bed.”