Page 60 of The Vegan Vamp


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Twenty-One

Maron

Two weeks later

The note came justas I was about to walk out to meet Nat, the barista. She’d contacted me, finally, so I was going to treat her to lunch and talk to her about becoming an apprentice. I reached down for it and immediately paused at the handwriting on the front. The envelope was a thick parchment and my name was scrawled across the front. When I flipped it over, I saw the words Deadication Dating Agency embossed in gold on the flap.

I wanted to set it on fire.

Instead, I stepped back into my house, set my purse down on the entry table and opened it.

There is one more date available for you. With the most current and cutting-edge technology available, the Deadication Dating Agency has secured a final match.

A sheet of paper fluttered to the ground. When I picked it up, there was only a date, a time, and an address listed. My heart began to pound. Was it possible to find another soulmate? Could someone have more than one? Sterling’s face flashed in my mind again like it had so many times over the last month or so. I was having a lot of trouble putting him out of my head, but I was trying my best. I had to let him go.

He’d already let me go. I just needed to do the same and move on to someone else. I had no desire to go out on another date, but it must be important if Portia had taken the time to secure all the details.

I looked at the date and frowned. It was tonight. Crap. I fumbled through my purse for my cell and called Nat. When she answered, I told her something had come up and that I would reschedule with her as soon as I could.

She barked out a monotone response and hung up.

I locked the door and headed back into the kitchen to make myself some lunch, bothered by this most recent turn of events.

I wore black tonight.A simple black fit and flare dress with a pair of bright blue flats. I’d left my hair loose and didn’t even bother to curl it. I was over this whole soulmate thing. If it truly was someone I was meant to be with, they’d overlook the half effort I’d taken. I did put on some makeup, though that was minimal as well.

Driving to the address, I flipped on the radio and stopped at a song about a broken heart.

“Perfect,” I muttered and turned it up.

The weather was crap, the traffic was bad, and the music was mournful. What a freaking day.

Fifteen minutes later, I pulled into a small place lit up with tiny fairy lights. There was only one other car there. I didn’t recognize it. A weird feeling trickled up my spine and I sat in the car for a few minutes wondering what was going on.

“You’re a vamp,” I whispered. “You can kick anyone’s ass.” After that pep talk, I got out of my car and slowly walked to the front of the building, using all of my senses to try to figure out who was there.

There was magic around this building. It blocked everything out except the scent of… something. Soup maybe? I could smell garlic, onions, and maybe butter. Shaking my head at the weirdness, I turned the knob of the door and went in. Soft music played over the speakers. The entire place was lit up with the same lights used on the outside. One table sat in the middle already set for two. Frowning, I set my purse down on the floor and ventured in.

Someone was cooking. I could hear sizzling and the sound of pans being moved around. Curious, I headed toward the kitchen.

“Uh uh,” a voice said. I spun around only to see Portia there.

“Come sit.” She held out a chair for me.

“What in the world is going on?” I asked.

“Something that should have happened awhile ago. The world is tilting on its axis. I’m protecting my one hundred percent success rate.”

My heart began to pound and I looked at her hopefully. “Is it?”

She put a finger to her lips in a shhh motion and disappeared.

Five excruciating minutes later,a man walked out of the kitchen carrying two bowls of steaming soup.

“Sterling,” I whispered, wondering if I was seeing things.

He gave me a lopsided smile and set a bowl in front of me. “Don’t speak. I have a lot of things to say to you.” He put his bowl down and sat across from me.

At first, all he did was look at me. I looked back, drinking in his dark hair and handsome face.