Page 60 of An Acquired Taste

Part of me hopes I’ll see Sebastian’s silhouette waiting in the window. But the windows are dark. Nobody is waiting for me in the lobby when I walk in, either.

I knew it was going to be on me to approach Sebastian. This doesn’t change anything, though it is odd that not even Ellen or Barnabas are here to greet me. I turn to Vincent as he carries my bag in behind me. “Do you know where Sebastian might be?”

He scratches his head. “Not sure, miss. He gave everyone the weekend off, said he’d be away.”

My stomach drops. “Oh,shit,” I say. I thought I was playing it safe by coming here the day before our contract ends, but if he’s not here… “I, uh—wait here for a minute, will you? I might be running out again.”

Then I race upstairs, hoping to find him lurking in the library, having dismissed the staff for some solitude.

But he’s not there. No one is. The house is empty. I can feel it in the air even before I check the rooms to make sure Sebastian isn’t hiding away somewhere. It doesn’t make any sense. Retreating into privacy is Sebastian’s signature move, the only thing that’s predictable about him. Where else would he go?

I enter my own room last. I pause in the doorway and then slowly approach the bed, where a dress is laid out for me. Ayellowdress, perfectly matching my favorite yellow sneakers, which I’m wearing right now.

It’s so unlike everything else in my new wardrobe. It’s also some. I pick it up, running my fingers over the buttery-smooth fabric, my chest aching.

A card waits beneath it.

Dear Amelia,

I would like to formally invite you to the Camelia Summer Ball.

August 15th

Sebastian

Tomorrow. The day our contract ends. As I set the card down, I notice two pins waiting beneath it, both in the shape of anatomical hearts. Valentine pins. One is black, to designate a valentine with a patron; the other is white, indicating a valentine searching for a match.

My heart is pounding. Why would he leave both? And did he set out this invitation for me before or after he found out about the blog and rushed off? Where is he now? Would he plan on going to the ball without me? God damn this man and his atrocious communication skills. God damn his refusal to use a cell phone, too.

As I’m spiraling into panic, my phone buzzes. I pick it up to see a text message from Benjamin:Call when you get a chance.We need to discuss your contract.

My stomach lurches.

There are only two options: I can stay here and hope that Sebastian comes home. Or I can go to the ball and hope that he’s there.

I stare down at the pins. One white, one black. Two choices. What will Sebastian do?

I close my eyes and force myself to breathe. I’ve spent so long trying to figure Sebastian out, only to be proven wrong time and time again. I can’t predict his actions or his feelings.

So I focus on a different question. What doIwant?

This relationship with Sebastian has been hurdle after hurdle. At the end of the day, even with perfect communication, we may simply be too different for this to ever work in the long run. We both have an easy out with the end of our contract coming up. Maybe that’s Sebastian’s intent, to hide somewhere until the contract runs out.

But again, I’m not thinking about that. I’m thinking about what I want, for myself and my future.

…And maybe, just maybe, that’s what Sebastian is thinking about too. As soon as the thought occurs, something snaps into place in my mind. I open my eyes and pick up the dress he chose for me.

Chapter Thirty-Two

It’s nearly midnight when I make it to the ball.

This one is held at the same mansion as the Valentine’s Day Ball, and it is just as dazzling. All glittering crystal and startling beauty, goblets of blood and wine, bite marks on necks and flashes of fangs. But this time, as I stand at the top of the stairwell and look down on it all, I don’t feel dizzy or overwhelmed. My heart pounds, but it’s with excitement rather than fear. I feel confident, even without Benjamin hovering at my side as my chaperone. I take a deep breath and adjust my bodice. I know my worth and I know my assets, and I am not afraid to show it off in this curve-hugging yellow gown. The color stands out in a sea of valentines dressed in red and pink. So do the sneakers I’m wearing with it.

Six months ago, I would’ve been self-conscious. But now, I feel confident. In control. This is my world now, and nobody is going to make me doubt my place in it.

I am aware of eyes on me as I descend the staircase, and I keep my chin high. The room is all glitter and gold, perfect vampires and valentines on their arms—and I belong among them.

I spot the familiar, tall form of Viktoria de Camelia, elegant as she swoops around the dance floor, leading her painfully handsome poster-boy valentine Jonah in a waltz. An unexpectedpain jolts through my chest at the sight. A burst of jealousy. They look so thoroughly enamored with each other, a perfect pairing.

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