Page 10 of The Vampire’s Temptation

“Well, then.” She sunk lower into the couch. “By all means, ignore my lame attempt to lure you into another man’s arms—”

“As if you’re going to get away with not telling me absolutely everything,” Toni said with a new sparkle in her eyes. “What, how, when . . .”

Alessandra laughed, eliciting more than one stare. She sometimes had a difficult time with volume control, especially when her friend got her laughing.

“You already grilled me in the bathroom last night, remember? I met him on a run. Apparently he’s new to town and—” She lowered her voice, not wanting anyone to hear for some reason. Surely the gossip mill had enough grist to run on without her adding to it. “He bought the Addy Hutton Mansion.”

Toni’s eyes widened.

“How’d he manage that . . . Wait, he moved here?”

She’d failed to mention that the night before, and Alessandra watched her friend’s face change as understanding finally dawned. After five years of living together, she knew Toni better than she knew anyone. Her friend’s reaction to the newcomer was palpable, and judging from the way he’d looked at Toni last night, the feeling was mutual.

“Oh God, no. No, no, no. Please tell me you’re joking.” And yet there was no denying she looked secretly pleased by the prospect.

“I don’t know what he does, aside from hitting some lottery apparently, or how long he plans to stay.” She shrugged. “Sounded like he was a bit of a rover, though, so maybe he just bought the place as an investment opportunity.”

She took a sip of the warm chai. It wasn’t until she looked up that she noticed Toni’s face had grown serious.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Toni said.

“Since you aren’t prepared to fess up to your matchmaking tendencies, talk to me about the tall, dark stranger you disappeared with on the break.”

“Gladly.”

She sat up and conjured an image of Kenton Morley in her mind. Easy enough since she hadn’t stopped thinking of him.

“Did you see him?”

“I did.”

“And?”

“And Lawrence is cuter.”

Her jaw dropped open. “How could you say such a thing? That man is . . .” How to describe Kenton accurately? “The most beautiful creature I’ve ever laid eyes on . . . in real life.”

Toni shrugged. “He’s not bad—”

“Not bad?!” It was such a drastic understatement, she could barely get the words out. Her memory conjured up an image of him from the night before. Black hair and light eyes, maybe blue? The dark had concealed the exact shade from her. Chiseled cheekbones that belonged in a magazine. But there was something much, much more . . . intriguing about him than the sum of his parts. A darkness, or sadness, despite his easy smile . . . The man could charm the habit off a nun.

“Do you find it odd that two handsome strangers show up on the same day?” Toni asked, scrunching up her nose. “I mean, I’ve lived here my whole life and don’t think I’ve ever seen two more good-looking men in Stone Haven. Ever. And then all of a sudden—”

“Ha! So you admit it. You think Lawrence is—”

“Would you look at that.” Toni looked at the nonexistent watch on her wrist. “Time to work already. Stop down if you can.”

“Coward,” she muttered under her breath. “I’ll see you later.”

As Toni walked away, Alessandra opened her messenger bag and pulled out a good old-fashioned paperback, one she’d grabbed at the used bookstore next door to Curiosities. Opening it, she sunk back down in the sofa and prepared to put Kenton Morley out of her mind for a time, if such a thing were possible.

* * *

“Doyou intend to follow me everywhere I go, Derrickson?”

The Scot was proving to be a nuisance.