Page 10 of Forbidden Dark Vows

My breaths are coming in short, shallow gasps. And Alessandro is watching me with a look of genuine confusion on his face.

“What’s wrong? I thought you wanted this.”

I pull the limited-editionWuthering Heightsfrom my purse and throw it at him, flinching when I hear the spine rip. “Stop the car.”

“What?” He shakes his head. “What did I do? It’s why you came to the party last night, isn’t it? I mean, we’re both fucking adults here. You didn’t grab your skates last night for the sheer fucking fun of it.”

He doesn’t get it. I guess that’s what happens when you’re a good-looking movie star. The world is your oyster. Womenthrow their panties at you, and you take whatever you want, whenever you want it.

“Stop. The. Car.”

He scoffs and shakes his head at me like I’m a little girl who just realized she doesn’t want to play big-girl games and now shit’s getting real. He leans forward, taps on the window separating us from the driver, and asks him to pull over.

I open the door and climb out, as the first snowflakes hit my face and make my eyes water.

“Good luck getting a better offer,” he says, before I can slam the door shut.

“I already did, asshole. Kurt Russell gave me his number when you were eying up the woman at the next table.” I know I shouldn’t lie about Kurt when he’s in love with Goldie Hawn, but I hope it infuriates him.

I walk away, my boots crunching on the icy sidewalk, a light frosting of snow collecting on my eyelashes as I tilt my head towards the starry sky.

4

HARRY

I’mtowel-drying my hair with a fluffy white hotel towel when someone starts pounding on my door. I grab a bath sheet towel, wrap it around my waist and open the door.

“It’s our last day in Chicago.” Alessandro pushes past me and flops backwards onto my unmade bed, arms and legs spread eagled like a starfish. “I want to go to the amusement park.”

I close the door and wrap the towel around my neck. “Right now?”

“Why not?” He props himself up on his elbows and eyes up my bare chest like he’s comparing our physiques and congratulating himself on still being the hottest member of the group.

“I’ve just got out of the shower.” As if this isn’t obvious.

Alessandro crosses the room to the mini bar and fixes himself a drink. JD and Coke. It’s barely mid-morning.

The curtains are open, but the world outside seems white and muffled like we’re nestling in the middle of a bank of clouds. When I peer outside, I understand why. It must’ve been snowingall night—the plows have cleared tracks along the street , and the sidewalks are lined on both sides by ridges of slushy snow.

“Have you looked outside?” I turn to face Alessandro who’s peering into his empty glass tumbler. “We could go to the museum instead or, I don’t know, somewhere inside … and warm.”

“Where’s your sense of adventure? Or are you worried that I’ll make you ride the Ferris Wheel?”

“Seriously, man?”

“It’s settled anyway. Call it research.”

“Research? An amusement park?”

“Sure. There’s a movie my agent wants me to audition for. I’ve never been on a rollercoaster before. If it’s going to make me throw up, I’d rather know about it now.”

Alessandro has always had more energy than the rest of us put together. He’s always the last one to leave a nightclub and the first one out of bed the morning after, even with a hangover. It’s almost as if his blood fizzes through his veins like soda, making him chase the next thing and the next until he finally crashes.

This morning is no exception.

“How did the date go?” I blurt it out before I can talk myself out of it.

He came to me yesterday morning and begged me to help him find Ruby, said that she was the most extraordinary woman he’d ever met, said that he couldn’t leave Chicago without seeing her again.

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