She slanted her head. “Or we could sing. Go karaoke somewhere.”
“Your singing would cheer me up, no doubt. But since we’re here at your club, and you have great music…” I motioned to the dance floor. Madness’s “One Step Beyond” started playing. “Oh, now I’m definitely in.”
Many people in the club formed a sort of train. An orderly start turned more to wild abandon as the energy rose. Yes, this was just what I needed to break out of the cycle of the anxiety that hadn’t done me one bit of good.
While I was workingthe next morning, I received a text from Gianna.Tea break?
Sure.
We’d returned to the house together, and she’d gone over to meet Sebastian. They often slept at her townhouse as they had the place all to themselves. I liked it when she slept here as we got to hang out before everyone went off to work.
After we were settled in my living room with hot cups of tea, she said, “Get this. Sebastian said Diego has been acting weird to him as well. He suspects something is up.”
“What did he tell you?”
“That he was acting like he didn’t know you.”
So, it wasn’t just me being paranoid or unable to take a joke. “Crusty cauldrons, what should I do now?”
She positioned her hand into a finger gun directed at their apartment. “I say we go over there and see what happens when you talk to Diego again.”
I nodded, more to myself than to Gianna. Having her there would bolster my courage to face that peculiar situation once again.
“Let’s do it.”
We walkedthrough the shared kitchen into the apartment where I caught the tail end of a heated conversation between Diego, Sebastian, and Lucas. When Diego said Diana’s name, I sucked in a breath.
“You okay?” Gianna squeezed my shoulder.
I exhaled, pushing some of that tight breath out of my lungs. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
As soon as I stepped into the living room, Diego’s fierce blue gaze locked on mine, devoid of the usual warmth.
“There she is again.” He stood and pointed at me. “The woman I told you about. She barged into my room.”
Sebastian blinked at me with confusion and then snapped his head back to face Diego. “That’s Nova. Your fiancée.”
Diego grunted. “What’s wrong with you, man? Why do you keep saying that? You know I’m engaged to Diana.”
My knees buckled. Gianna caught me by the arm and helped steady me.
Those words sliced like a dagger piercing my gut. My muscles froze as those words squirmed through my brain, and I tried to make sense of them. Diego thought he was still engaged to Diana, and he didn’t recognize me?
Forcing myself to breathe through the sharp pain, I asked, “You don’t recognize me at all?
My hands trembled as I awaited his reply.
He stared at me without any recognition. “Lady, I’ve never seen you before in my life.”
The dagger twisted.
Gianna lunged for Diego. “How dare you treat Nova this way? I’ll tear your dead, unbeating heart out of your chest before I let you hurt her.”
He evaded her outstretched arms with his vampire speed but not her tongue lashing.
Sebastian caught her by the upper arms and tried to calm her.
She attempted to squirm out of his grasp. “Let go of me.”
