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I flashed Lily a tiny smile when she turned to me. “Dorian wants to meet tonight.”

Lily smirked. “Really?” she said, as if it amused her.

I shot her my best fake smile back. “It’s nothing. He only wants to talk.”

“Uh, huh,” Lily mumbled, narrowing her eyes at me.

I rolled my eyes. “Dorian hasn’t seen me in a year, and I’m about to show up buzzed as hell.”

“Buzzed? Oh, honey. You’re drunk,” Lily teased.

“I have two hours to sober up,” I said. “So, we should get going at least.”

As I climbed into the car, my eyes darted to a restaurant on the other side of the street. I was tipsy at this point, closer to drunk, but I could have sworn I saw Maurice.

Maurice!

My stomach lurched, and I tapped Lily on the shoulder. “Lily, it’s Maurice,” I said as I pointed to a man sitting at a table with another woman inside the restaurant. I shook my head, squinting my eyes again.

Was I just being paranoid?

“There’s no way he’s still in Salem,” Lily said, pulling my attention toward her. “You all agreed that his threat was empty, and he’d be long gone by now.”

I looked in that direction again, but the man I thought was Maurice was gone. The sun shined brightly outside, so, rationally, I knew it wasn’t him. He’d have burned up even if he were inside a building. He was on the west coast, hiding like a rat.

My eyes were blurred at this point. I had to be seeing things. When my rational thoughts outweighed the idea that my greatest enemy was fifty feet away, I shook it out and convinced myself I was imagining things, and I didn’t see anything.

CHAPTER 7

I ENTERED THE tavern and spotted Dorian sitting in the back corner booth. I wasn’t as drunk as I had been, but I was sure he’d still see it on my face.

Dorian’s head was down, and his fingers lightly tapped the table. As I approached, I noticed he looked slightly different from the last time we had seen each other a year ago. His hair was a few inches longer, almost to the bottom of his ears. He wasn’t wearing all black like he always did. Today, he wore a red t-shirt and blue jeans, with a leather jacket zipped up to his chest. I would never pin Dorian as a vampire, but maybe that was his intention. He looked so handsome, and my heart began to thump against my ribs the closer I got to the table.

As I sat down and barely missed the seat, I caught myself and slid down into the booth. Heat flushed up my neck into my scalp.

Great.

I hoped to God he didn’t feel my embarrassment, but I knew it was written all over my blushed cheeks.

Dorian chuckled under his breath. “Mercy, have you been drinking?” he asked.

I huffed. “No.” Then I fidgeted with my fingers under the table. “I had a few drinks a couple of hours ago, but I’m fine.” He opened his mouth to speak again, but I cut him off. “Is everything okay, Dorian? Why did you have Noah call?”

“You asked me not to call you myself.” His deep, soothing voice reminded me of some of the little things I missed about him. Dorian’s lips pinched together as if trying to hold back a laugh.

I kicked him hard under the table, and he winced. “Dorian, that’s not funny. I thought something bad happened to you.”

“Did you worry about me?” he asked, as if genuinely curious. “Can you even feel concerned for others?” I didn’t think he meant for those words to come off so harshly, but it hurt nonetheless, especially from Dorian. A year ago, when I’d first performed the spell, I didn’t give him that much of an explanation when I told him what I had done.

“Just because my romantic feelings are gone doesn’t mean I’m void of feeling empathy,” I explained. “I’m not a robot, Dorian. I’ll always care about you.”

That was deep. Too deep for us right now. It had to be the liquor talking because, though I genuinely cared about Dorian and Caleb, I avoided telling them that. I didn’t want them to get the wrong impression and think there was any way to win me back. Especially since I couldn’t give either of them my entire heart.

Dorian regarded me silently right before a slight smile pulled at his lips. That was precisely why I should not have said that. He was pleased with my words, though I tried to make sure he understood there was no hope for us.

“Why am I here, Dorian? And where have you and Noah been living?”

He ignored my questions and waved down a waitress. Once she came to our table, she handed Dorian a menu.

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