“Not in here.”
Before Sebastian could ring for Greaves, the doorbell sounded again.
Julian strode into the library a few moments later. “Isn’t this cozy? Evangeline not here yet?”
They all answered him in unison. “No.”
“All right then.” He poured himself a glass of whiskey. “What’s the plan?”
“Reinforce our story. Whatever we say, go with it. Keep the conversation light. Steer Evangeline away from any probing questions,” Sebastian said. “But above all, if anything goes wrong, protect Tessa.”
Delaney made a worried face. “You think if Evangeline finds out this is all a ruse, she’ll try to hurt Tessa? What kind of woman is your ex-wife?”
“Wife,” Julian corrected. “They haven’t actually gotten a divorce.”
Hugh glared at his brother. “After this many years of separation, it’s a formality.”
“True. But Evangeline would probably disagree with you.” Julian sipped his drink and went off to join the women.
Hugh gave Sebastian a nod. “Tessa won’t come to any harm. Evangeline’s outnumbered.”
“Numbers won’t keep her insults at bay. She won’t lay hands on Tessa, but she will try to eviscerate her with words if given the chance.”
Delaney linked her arm through Tessa’s. “Then we just won’t let that happen, will—”
The doorbell rang again and everyone in the library fell silent. Sebastian’s entire body tightened with resolve.
Evangeline had arrived.
The dining room was beautiful, the food was delicious and five of the six guests at the table were firmly on Tessa’s side.
None of that kept her from feeling like a woman on trial. Was this how the dying souls on the battlefields felt when her valkyrie sisters came to collect them?
If so, it was horrifying, and confirmed her decision to live her life as far removed from her lineage as possible.
Evangeline was tremendously beautiful. Tessa knew some of that was due to her being a vampire. The turning magnified a person’s human beauty. Evangeline must have been stunning as a mortal. Her skin was as perfect as a picture in a magazine, her eyes bright and full of mystery, her hair dark brown and glossy except for a few streaks of red.
Compounding the matter, she was dressed impeccably in a cobalt blue dress that hugged her perfect body. Her make-up was equally perfect and she seemed to be unflappable, with the right response to every question and comment.
Evangeline was the kind of woman who made the world her playground and turned those around her into staff.
Tessa felt like a pretender. Well, more of a pretender than she already was. Getting ready for dinner had been as simple as changing her clothes and accessories, adding a little more makeup and running a brush through her hair. Something told her Evangeline had exerted quite a bit more effort than that.
She took a breath and reminded herself that this was not a competition. This was just a game in which the goal was to make Evangeline believe Sebastian was capable of attracting another woman and to therefore remind Evangeline that he was not to be taken for granted.
With that in mind, Tessa stopped staring at her potato gratin and lifted her head to smile lovingly at her bogus betrothed.
It wasn’t hard to do. She was, sadly, a little smitten with him. It was a rare man who valued books and learning the way he did and had the means to indulge those passions. That alone would have been enough to sway her. But then there were his dark good looks. He was the vampire version of Mr. Darcy and if she was supposed to resist that, then someone needed to tell her how.
But if she thought about the kissing, her bones went to jelly and her brain to mush and the heat of desire warmed her to the point of combustion.
She hadn’t realized the extent of her loneliness until just this moment. Freya help her, she was a sad thing. And, to make matters worse, she missed Duncan. Snuggling that little fur ball was a tremendous stress reliever.
Jenna would roll her eyes and proclaim Tessa had finally become the stereotypical cat lady librarian, but the truth could not be ignored.
Nor could the man seated at the head of the table.
Sebastian listened as Delaney described the dessert she’d brought, some red velvet cake with raspberry filling that was a test for the cake she was going to enter in the Valentine’s Day Bake Off.
Tessa smiled. She liked Delaney and not just for her skills with sweet things. She was a kind, happy woman who Tessa imagined was also a fiercely loyal friend. And Delaney and Sebastian’s brother Hugh were very clearly in love. It was charming how he watched her, a proud gleam in his eyes.
Tessa wondered if a man would ever look at her that way.
Maybe Duncan would.
She snorted at the thought, then quickly covered her mouth with her hand.
Evangeline, seated mercifully at the other end of the table, raised her brows and directed her gaze at Tessa. “What was that?”
Tessa swallowed. “Nothing, sorry.” She lifted her goblet of water and drank, hoping that would end the questioning.
It didn’t.
Evangeline tipped her head while her eyes remained on Tessa. “Will you be entering the bake off?”
Tessa put her water down and shook her head. “I’m not a baker by any means.”
“Where do your talents lie?”
Sebastian reached over and took her hand. “Tessa is a librarian. In fact, she’s about to become the Dean of Library Studies at Harmswood Academy.”
Evangeline smiled and looked dutifully impressed. “Well, how about that. Congratulations. I’ve never had much time for reading. All those dull, musty pages. Not for me. Not when there are so many other more interesting things to do. But now I see why Sebby is so attracted to you. He loves dull things.” Before anyone could say a thing, Evangeline laughed. “Books, I mean.”
Tessa’s valkyrie temper nudged at the base of her spine. She forced herself to smile. “Of course.”
Sebastian’s hand tightened over hers. She looked at him in time to see a muscle in his jaw twitch. “Watch your tongue, Evangeline.”
She rounded her eyes and blinked at him as though she didn’t have a clue why he might be angry. “I said I meant books.”
He grunted at her, the sound a mix of disbelief and irritation.
She grinned and lifted her wine. “Quite the leap to defend your paramour. A very nice touch. Definitely the way a man should act.”
The muscle in his jaw twitched again. “What is that supposed to mean?”
She grinned over the rim of her glass. “Nothing at all. I do find it rather convenient that you’ve rallied the troops. You’re the one who invited me to dinner, after all.”
Despite Julian’s lazy slouch in his chair, there was something dark simmering in his gaze. His dislike of Evangeline, Tessa guessed. He leaned a little farther away from the vampiress before he spoke. “We’re here because your reputation precedes you, Eva.”
She drained her wine, then set the glass down. “What reputation is that?”
Someone else snorted and Tessa realized it had come from Hugh. “Evangeline, don’t play coy. My brothers and I have known you for nearly four hundred years. You were willful and spoiled as a child, given to tantrums and diatribes that lasted until your demands were met. None of that changed as you grew up and when you became a vampire, the turning did what it always does. It took the strongest of your characteristics and magnified them. Unfortunately, in your case, those characteristics weren’t all good ones.”
Hugh shook his head as he continued. “For once in your self-centered, indulgent life, do the right thing and let Sebastian be. He’s found happiness. You ought to try to do the same.”
Evangeline stared at him. An icy glaze narrowed her eyes for a moment and then she seemed to catch herself. She smiled and straightened in her chair. “I will ignore your insults but only because I’m concerned for Sebby. I just want what’s best for him.”
Julian barked out
a laugh. “If that’s the case, give the man his dissolution already.”
She snapped back, “What’s best for him is me.”
Sebastian grunted again.
Evangeline’s eyes went liquid and her gaze turned to Sebastian. “Is that what you want, my darling? A dissolution? To end us once and for all?”
All eyes shifted to Sebastian. Tessa watched, knowing this was a pivotal moment for him. He’d said that getting Evangeline back was necessary for him to keep the promise he’d made, but his actions toward Tessa had said he’d prefer to be free.
She put her hands in her lap and interlaced her fingers, squeezing them together. Maybe she shouldn’t have pushed him away. Maybe she should have given in to her own feelings and let him touch and kiss her all he—and she—had wanted.
If he chose Evangeline because Tessa had denied him, she would be complicit in his unhappiness. Because there was no way he could be happy with that woman.
No. Way.
Tessa couldn’t imagine spending any length of time with her. Thank Freya this dinner was almost over and the charade with it. Any longer and she wasn’t sure she’d be able to keep her dangerous temper under control. The woman was just flat out infuriating.
Sebastian lifted his chin, his mouth firmly set until he finally spoke. “A dissolution would be bloody brilliant.”
Sebastian couldn’t believe the words coming out of his own mouth, but Evangeline’s presence at dinner had put a very hard line under the truth of who she was. And always would be.
Compared to Tessa, she was, well, there was no comparison. Unless you went with something like black and white. Winter and summer.
Angel and devil.
Evangeline’s mouth gaped open.
Sebastian folded his napkin. “I’m not saying I would abandon you, Evangeline. We’ve been connected this long, we can certainly remain…acquainted. But you’ve been out of my life for centuries, except when it suits you. Which is most of the time.”
She sputtered a few words. “But…I—”
He held up his hands. “I’m willing to continue helping you should you find yourself in need of something, because I imagine you have few friends willing to extend themselves for you that way.” Also, he was obligated to help her and would be for the rest of his life so why fight it? “That need would be mostly monetary, the same as it’s been these last centuries, but this more personal relationship of ours, such as it is, has been over for a very long time. Let’s make it official. Let me—and Tessa get on with our life. I can have my solicitor draw up the necessary dissolution papers in a day then we can send them off to the council and be free to live our lives.”
Spending time with Tessa had made him realize just how deeply he was suffering at Evangeline’s hands. There was no reason he couldn’t fulfill his promise to her father but live his own life as well. Having her sign dissolution papers would finally bring this ridiculous relationship to an end. They would be completely divorced in the eyes of the council and there could be no repercussions for either of them after that, even if he was still technically her sire.
Her mental and emotional hold on him would be gone. She would become just another item in his budget to be accounted for.
Evangeline finally found her voice. It held an edge of weepy disbelief. “I came here to make amends and resume our life together and this is how you repay me?”
“I’m not repaying you, Evangeline. That implies a debt I owe you and if it’s cost analysis you want, I assure you your side of the ledger is rather lacking. I’m merely attempting to move on with my life.”
Anger shimmered in her eyes. “I don’t believe you. I think you’re trying to force me into groveling. Trying to get me to beg you to take me back.” She sniffed. “That’s not who I am, Sebastian, and you know it.”
“I do.” Indeed, if she had groveled and begged, he might have taken her back no questions asked. But she hadn’t. And he’d told the fortuitous lie that had brought Tessa, and the bright light of reality, into his world. “I promise I’m not trying to force you into anything. Again, this isn’t about you. It’s about me. My life.” He looked at Tessa. “My happiness.”
“Good for you,” Hugh said.
“Rubbish,” Evangeline spat out. “You can pretend all you like, but I know you, Sebastian. I don’t believe for a moment that you’re planning on getting married. This is a game and I, for one, am done playing it.”
Sebastian laughed. “You’re done playing? Games are all you know.”
She reared back in her chair. “Is that what you think? Fine. I have a new game for you. Give me one week, living in this house with you. Let me see the two of you together, twenty-four hours a day. Convince me that you’re truly in love and I’ll give you your dissolution, no questions asked. I’ll sign with a smile. I’ll even pay to file the papers with the council.”
Her words settled over him like a pall. Tessa would never agree to that. She’d never move in with him, not after today. Asking her to keep this charade up for a week with Evangeline in the same house was too much. A bridge too far. “I wouldn’t even let you live in my guest house.”
Tessa spoke before he could say anything else. “I’m game if Sebastian is game.”
Sebastian cleared his throat to cover his surprise. “Be that as it may, Tessa and I need a moment to discuss this.”
Evangeline pursed her lips as though she’d won something and looked directly at Tessa. “He’s afraid that having me around all the time will be too much of a temptation for him. Then your poor little dull librarian’s heart would get broken.”
Tessa rose out of her chair and muttered, “Something might get broken, but it won’t be my heart.”
“What was that?” Evangeline asked over the sound of Julian snorting with amusement.
“Nothing.” Tessa glanced at Sebastian. “I’ll be in the library.”
Without waiting, she strode off. Sebastian stood, frustration souring his mood further. “You’re unbelievable, Evangeline.”
She smiled lazily. “I am, aren’t I?”
He went after Tessa.
She stood, waiting in the library. Fingers interlaced. Face masked with distress. “She is…awful.”
“I know. I’m very sorry. Obviously, I’m going to tell her this preposterous idea of hers is not going to happen—”
“Absolutely not. You have to agree to this. It’s your chance to get your life back. And like I said in the dining room, I’m agreeable. As much as anyone can be in this situation.”
He stared at her, trying to be sure he’d heard her correctly. “I don’t think you understand what you’re saying.”
“Of course I do. I’m going to have to move in here with you for a week.”
He shook his head. “Nothing makes sense to me right now. Why are you all right with this? With her?”
“I’m not all right with her, but this has nothing to do with Evangeline.” A cautious smile curved her mouth. “It has everything to do with you. You stood up to her tonight. And it feels like something has changed within you. Like you’ve finally figured out that you want to be happy and that you can be, if you remove her from your life. I know you still want to keep your promise to her father and I won’t try to dissuade you from that, but if you want your life back, then I want to help you.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Say yes.”
No one outside his family had ever done anything like this for him before. Or shown so much concern for his well-being. “I am amazed that you would do this for me. What do you want in return?”
“Nothing.” She shrugged. “You’re giving me a job. A great job. That’s plenty.”
His heart swelled with affection for her. So many people came to him with their hands out, but not Tessa. She was giving him something that had no price. A chance at happiness. “You can keep the ring.”
She jerked back. “What? No, that’s far too much. And I don’t have any use for it. Please, just let me d
o this. I’m not trying to get anything out of you. Evangeline’s done that enough, I think.”
A true statement. “This isn’t going to be easy.”
“No, it won’t be. I’ll have to run back to my sister’s and collect my things.”
“You can do that in the morning, once Evangeline succumbs to daysleep. She’ll be out cold for at least five or six hours.” He raked a hand through his hair, worry filling him at the thought of everything that could go wrong. “I don’t like this idea at all.”
“Neither do I, but despite what she said about not believing us, she’s doubtful. I could read it in her and a valkyrie’s instincts are never wrong.”
“Is that why you’re doing this? Because she’s on the fence?”
Tessa’s smile returned. “I’m doing this because…I like you, Sebastian. I see a kindred spirit in you. And it makes me sad to think you’ve already spent so much of your long life burdened by responsibility for a woman who doesn’t love or respect you. I understand living a life that feels constrained by something you cannot control, but you have a chance to change that and I absolutely think you should.”
Emotion clogged his throat. He was unaccustomed to anyone wanting to help him, something he knew he’d fostered by his insistence on Evangeline being an off-limits subject. “Thank you,” he managed.
She nodded. “We should go out and tell her the good news.”
He snorted. “I’m not sure I’d call it good, but yes. In a moment.” He caught her hand and kissed her knuckles, wanting to do more, but restraining himself. If this worked, he would be indebted to Tessa for the rest of his life. Unlike with Evangeline, however, that was a debt with which he felt comfortable.
She allowed him to hold on to her for another second, then eased her hand out of his. “Come on. I’m sure she’s chomping at the bit to move in here and cause trouble.”
Sebastian sighed. “Amazing how well you know her in such a short span of time.”
Together they walked back into the dining room, which was uncomfortably quiet. Evangeline’s gaze held the determination of someone prepared to fight for what she wanted. It was not an unusual look for her.
The Vampire's Fake Fiancée (Nocturne Falls Book 5) Page 10