Recognition at that voice turned the rest of my skin cold. I turned and my fears were confirmed—it was my ex-fiancée.
She stared at me from under a black umbrella before stepping beside me under the canopy and lowering the umbrella. Her pale face was framed by her silvery-blonde hair. She wore a slim black skirt and silky white top that exposed much of her thin arms.
“You have good taste in jewelry,” Diana added. “I love the ring you bought me.”
“That’s because you gave me specific instructions on what to get.” The memory left a bitter taste on my tongue. What a fool I’d been to fall for this selfish creature of the night.
“Oh yes, that’s right.” Her smile spread across her cool façade. “Then I have good taste.” She laughed at her humorless joke.
She’d hawked the ring, no doubt, as soon as she’d dumped me. I narrowed my eyes at her. “What are you doing here, Diana?”
The last time I’d seen her was at a ball on Halloween. I was hoping it was the last timeever.
She motioned around. “I like Salem. I thought I’d move here and see how it goes.”
My muscles tightened, and I stepped back. “Oh no, no, no.” I raised my hand as if it would stop this insane idea. “Youcan’tmove here.”
“Why not?” Her cool blue eyes twinkled with a challenge.
“BecauseIlive here.”
She brushed my forearm with her cold touch. “Then we should catch up. Our kind needs to stick together.” She parted her lips. “We could even hunt together like in the past.”
I growled. Nothing about our time as a couple filled me with fond memories. Nothing about this predator tempted me to want to do anything with her again. “Hard pass.”
She rolled her eyes with mock exasperation. “I don’t meanillegallyhunting humans, Diego.” She clicked her heels on the brick sidewalk. “There’s a vampire ball coming up. Plenty of young humans willing to offer their blood—and lush bodies—to the highest bidder.” Her sharp smile turned sharklike. “Nowthatis my kind of party.”
That was Diana all right. Seeking fun and bailing when things got real.
“Absolutely not.” I crossed my arms. “What happened to—” I tried to recall the name of the almost-mute undead dude on her arm at the ball last fall and failed. I wanted to push everything about that unpleasant reunion out of my mind. The only good thing about that night was that Nova had pretended to be my girlfriend as emotional support for when I’d faced Diana. And Nova and I had started to fall for each other.
“Oh, who knows?” Diana dismissed with a careless wave. “That’s old news. I haven’t seen him in some time.”
Had she left him too? Or was he smarter than me and had seen past her facade?
It doesn’t matter. You don’t care. Just end this conversation, so you can escape.
“I’m with someone,” I told Diana. “That means you and I will not be spending any time together.”
She crossed her arms across her chest and pouted. “You don’t mean that little witch you said you were engaged to at the ball?”
Her tone indicated she didn’t believe that ruse one bit. I’d blurted out that Nova and I were engaged when we’d barely known each other.
I raised my chin. “I do, indeed. Nova and I are together.”
“Oh please, a witch?” She arched her brows. “Our kind and theirs would never work. I know that you two are not engaged.”
Ah, busted. I narrowed my gaze at her. “How would you know anything about my personal life?”
“Besides, she’s mortal, Diego,” Diana replied, ignoring my question. “Whatever you have with her is feeble. Temporary. You know it can’t last.”
My jaw tightened and teeth clamped together. That was so Diana to cut right where it would hurt most. Empathy to her simply meant a seven-letter Scrabble word. Not that she’d ever have the patience to finish a game or the restraint to do so without cheating.
“I’ll get in touch before the ball.” She turned and sauntered away.
I seethed as I stared at the retreating silhouette of the vicious vampire who’d wronged me. She’d strolled away without a care, incapable of feeling remorse for any of her actions.
Under my breath, I muttered, “Over my undead body.”
