Page 145 of Dark Love

The doctor, who doesn’t seem to be on my side, leans forward. “You sacrifice your soul all the time to help others, but you can’t see another person wanting to do it.”

My soul shriveled and died too many years ago to matter. I’m a monster. “We aren’t talking about me. Dahlia is a good person.”

“She is. And good people step up to help others.”

“But—”

Temperance holds a hand up. “Before you dig your heels in and refuse to even consider it like some men I know—” Her eyes move between her husband andson. “—ask yourself if Dahlia might need a friend who understands what she’s going through?”

The long, poignant pause irritates me even more than Max’s smirk. What if she’s right? What if Dahlia needs a friend? “How would I tell?” That question hurts down to my bones. I should be the one to give her everything she needs.

“They might be subtle signs like trembling hands, momentary unexplained pauses, a hard time sleeping on occasion.”

“Dahlia sleeps well.”

Max raises an eyebrow at me.

One shot. All it would take is one second for me to knock him to the ground.

“But the best way to know would be to ask her what she wants to do.”

Ask Dahlia. No. Absolutely not. “Thank you for your time.” I push up out of the chair. “I need to go.”

“Vex—”

Temperance’s kind voice gives me pause.

“—think about what I said.”

I turn back to her and reluctantly nod.

This day just gets worse and worse.

***

An empty park at night makes for a good spot for a clandestine meeting. The city didn’t bother to properly light the paths, so anything could be lurking in the shadows.

Which shouldn’t give me a burst of excitement and hope, but it does. Thrashing someone might give me a bit of relief from all the pent-up frustration of the day.

Rats that scurry in the dark run from me.

Why would Cormac want to meet here? There’s nothing around but a reception hall full of semi-drunk wedding guests.

That’s another tradition that makes no sense to me. What’s the point of a wedding? You spend a ton of money so other people can eat terrible food and get drunk. If you want to spend your life with someone, just do it.

A couple walks out the door hand in hand. The woman pulls the man in for a long, passionate kiss right there.

See, that’s exactly my point. They could be in the privacy of their home right now, not standing out in the cold.

People make no sense.

“This better be important.” Cormac sits down on the bench next to me. “You pulled me away from my niece’s wedding.”

“My condolences.”

Cormac laughs. “That’s what I told the groom right before I married them.”

“You performed the ceremony?” Cormac was known for getting into trouble back in his youth. Way before he became a cop.

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