Page 91 of This Vicious Grace

“I’mtryingto tempt you. You said I can be better, so let me try.”

“Andyoukeep saying you aren’t a hero.” Something fluttered to life in Alessa’s heart—hope, fear, or something else entirely.

“I’m not.” The corner of his mouth kicked up in a smile. “You’rethe hero. I’m just asking a girl to hold my hand.”

Chapter Thirty

Come la cosa indugia, piglia vizio.

Wait at your own peril.

DAYS BEFORE DIVORANDO: 18

Alessa muddled her way through training the next day, which went about as well as the sessions before their day off—if one could call a near-death experience and attempted sororicide a “day off”—and she wasn’t the only one who only emerged from a stupor at the sight of a parade of wheeled icebox carts in the courtyard.

Josef had planned the surprise, a fact he took a bit too long explaining as they eyed the alluring treats.

Alessa held back as the others perused the selection from Josef’s family’s gelateria. To be polite. And because her dread about the coming evening, when Dante would take his turn being tormented, was quickly overtaking her hopes that he could help her.

He’d dodged death at her hand once. That didn’t mean he would again.

Beside her, Josef puffed with pride as he watched his fellow Fontes make their selections. “I’ve always thought you can learn a lot about a person by their favorite flavor.”

“Oh?” Alessa said.

“I usually choose vanilla.” He looked at her expectantly.

“Because vanilla is…”Boringfelt like the wrong answer.

He smiled as if offering her the solution to a puzzle. “Subtle, but complex.”

“Of course.” Alessa called out a request for dark chocolate and raspberry and waited for Josef to take a bowl from an alarmed-looking gelato scooper and hand it to her. “Tell me more.” She’d never really had a chance to speak with him one-on-one, and if the topic of frozen desserts was her best chance to get him to open up, so be it.

“Most people act like vanilla lacks flavor, but it’s actually quite nuanced. The notes vary depending on where you source the beans and how you prepare them before blending.” Josef smiled at his bowl, which was still half full, and thanks to his gift, showed no sign of melting. “I know I’m a man of few words, but I like to think that I, too, am more complex than people assume.”

Alessa nodded pensively. “What does mine say about me?”

Josef flushed. “I couldn’t presume, Finestra.”

Alessa sighed. “Nina, then. Stracciatella? Let me guess, sweet but inconsistent?”

Josef blinked, befuddled. “I know her too well. It wouldn’t be fair.”

“You can’t propose a gelato theory of personality, and then hold out on me, Josef.” She eyed Dante across the room, but while Josef might be the stuffiest boy she’d ever met, even hewould notice her pathetic curiosity if she wasn’t careful. She settled on a safer option. “What did Kamaria get?”

“Half mint and half cafe latte, but she orders something different every time she comes into the shop.”

Alessa thought. “Hmm. Let me try. I’d say she craves excitement and adventure, and she hates being bored.”

Josef’s eyes twinkled. “I concur.”

“This is fun. Do Kaleb.”

“Strawberries and cream. I haven’t figured him out yet.”

“You and me both. Pink. And sweet.” Alessa shrugged. “Yeah, I’ve got nothing.”

They let the subject drop for a bit, each absorbed in their dessert.

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