“Perhaps you’ve simply been keeping the wrong company. Even the most depressing place can have a spark if you know where to look.” Her tone might have taken on a teasing tilt, but she tried her best to keep it as subtle as possible. Perhaps this Philippe was more somber a creature, and she couldn’t help but wonder if that had anything to do with her. She couldn’t exactly hope for it, however, hope that perhaps her leaving had some effect on the man. It might have just been a matter of time.
Fingers curled around the hand offered to her, and she tossed the paper she’d been reading carelessly on the table as she stood up, let the man lead her out into the street. He could lead the way and once again, she would be following him. a flashback to a more naive time in her life. She would have to be careful as this evening unfolded, keep her heart guarded. She had no doubt in her mind that spending enough time with Philippe would have her drowning once more in those feelings she had spent nearly 90 years trying to move beyond.
The poor man, she thought, stuck once more with the woman so besotted with him. Perhaps she would have to take great pains to avoid him around town moving forward, protect her heart and spare him from her, in general.
“I’ve not had the pleasure. Am I dressed appropriately? I would hate to embarrass you, darling.” A split decision had Juliette tucking her hand into the crook of the man’s elbow. She could tell herself it was simply to keep pace with him. Nothing wrong with that. She shot him a bit of a grin, teasing once more, hoping, almost praying, that she might draw at least one smile from the man to take with her before they parted ways again.
His question gave her a moment of pause. She had been up to quite a bit. Wandering, exploring, searching for happiness in fictional worlds and dark establishments with strobe lights. “I wrote a couple of best selling novels. Best selling with mid-western housewives, anyway. Romance novels. Wandered around America for a while, dipped into Canada, tried out a couple of tropical islands. Have you seen Hawaii? Beautiful place. Nothing for more than a few years. What have you been doing to occupy your time?” Was it the same thing he had done to occupy his time when they had been together? She wasn’t quite sure she wanted to hear those details.
“Perhaps I have.” There was something about the way she looked at him that made him feel exposed, like she knew him better than most and he couldn’t hide himself from scrutiny. There was something about the way she smiled at him that made him feel like making bad choices, falling into a terrible pattern with her like he had almost a century ago. A voice at the back of his head argued that he had changed, he was no longer the unreachable monster she once loved, who drove her away with a broken heart and a pile of regrets. No one had stayed with him for as long as Juliette had, and no one wanted to be with him even as they left, hoping he’d give them a reason to stay, no one but her. Maybe she had loved him. Philippe knew he had loved her in his own, selfish way, as well as he knew he couldn’t give her what she wanted. Just for a moment he wondered whether he could give it to her now.
Juliette tucked her hand in the crook of his elbow and he glanced down at her. Even as a vampire, she had always had a light about her. Bright eyes, warm smiles. A beautiful creature in every way, womanly, both strong and delicate. There was a reason she caught his eye to begin with. Beauty without fire was nothing but a hollow husk, and she was full of life. If he didn’t know what she was, he would’ve never guessed a vampire. “You are perfect just as you are, love.” Philippe offered her a small smile and wondered what she would feel like if she knew he had found her, and set her free from the misery he would’ve inflicted upon her. If she had stayed, he’d have snuffed out that light, wouldn’t he? He was good at that, taking something beautiful and tearing it apart. His decision had been the right one to make. Here she was, better than he’d ever seen her, all by her lonesome. Well done, darling.
“A novelist?” His brows rose on his forehead in surprise and he let out a soft chuckle. It wasn’t terribly far-fetched however. “You have always been a romantic. I can see that.” Philippe wrinkled his nose at her choice of venue. “America of all places on Earth? I imagined you’d go somewhere more tasteful.” The teasing tone on his voice matched her own, though his smile wilted away when the question was turned around on him. “Life has been a wild ride since you left. I have been everywhere, met many people, almost died a few times... Not a dull moment.” He glanced at her again, assessing the look on her face, always sweet and sunny, even when painted with melancholy. Big blue eyes, nose cute as a button, small delicate chin. “I like to think you’d have kept me out of trouble, but I would most likely have dragged you into it with me, wouldn’t I?”
The Black Diamond Club was just ahead of them, across the street, and he placed a hand atop of the one at his elbow, keeping her from letting go before reaching the front door. “Oh, uou will like this.” There was a lopsided smile on his face as he pushed the front door open and motioned inside. “After you.” The place reminded him of the 20s, and who knows? Maybe it was built around that era. Ashbourne history was still fuzzy to him. The small round tables scattered around the room were occupied, but a couple exited a booth just as they stepped in and he led the way over to take a seat at the table. “So? What do you think of the place?”
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