Page 43 of The Devil and the Dancer
“I feel like I’ve been wearing my feelings like neon lights on my fucking sleeve, but that’s me.” He looked away. “I don’t know if she knows.”
“Since you’re not exactly the touchy-feely emotional type, I’m going to guess she might not. And I’m going to give you some advice you need to take. You might want to ignore me out of spite. God knows I’ve needled you over the years, but this isn’t about us. It’s about her. I’ve been where she is, and I’m not going to bullshit you.”
Gavin swallowed a sharp retort and forced himself to listen. “What is your advice?”
“Right now, imagination is her worst enemy. She’d trying to imagine what you want from her. What your feelings are. What a relationship with a vampire is going to look like. She’s had relationships with humans, good and bad, but she’s never had one with an immortal.”
Gavin nodded. “I’m listening.”
Beatrice continued. “You need to make it clear what you want from her. I’m not making any judgments or assumptions. Your relationship is between the two of you. But don’t let her imagination run the show. Just tell her.”
“That… is excellent advice.” Between his earlier realization about Chloe’s safety and Beatrice’s words of experience, he felt a new sense of resolve. “Thank you, Beatrice.”
“You’re welcome.” She sipped her drink. “I still have reservations. But I’d love for you to prove me wrong.”
“Noted.” He set down his glass. “For the record, he was a fucking bampot for leaving you for five years. I told him so at the time, but he never listens.”
“A fucking bampot?” Beatrice smiled. “I’m going to remember that one, because… yeah. He totally was.”
Chloe was cleaningup the bar when he walked in. Her heart jumped in her chest.
“Hey,” she said.
Gavin walked over, ignoring Rafael who was wiping down tables and putting chairs up.
He stopped in front of Chloe, and his expression was completely unreadable. “Hello. I need to see you in the office when you’re done.”
Shit.
Rafael was staring at both of them with wide, concerned eyes. Gavin walked down the hall and disappeared while Chloe finished wiping down the bar.
Shit.
Chloe felt small inside. She’d been excited when he first walked in, despite the awful mental gymnastics she’d been going through the past two days. Two days without seeing Gavin had felt like an eternity, which had made her pause.
Just how fast was she jumping into this? Sleep with a vampire one night and get addicted the next? What was she doing? Beatrice had called her smart, but she didn’t feel smart. She felt lovesick.
And that scared her to death.
Chloe decided she needed to get perspective. She couldn’t just jump into this headfirst. Not after the disaster that was Tom. She’d spent the day thinking about Gavin, all the while trying to distract herself from missing him. She hadn’t called him. She hadn’t texted. She’d thrown herself into work and spent extra time at practice. She’d had dinner with Arthur and Drew before she went to rehearsal.
And no matter what she did, her thoughts kept circling back to Gavin.
Rafael walked over to the bar. “You guys okay? Boss looked… I don’t know how he looked.”
She smiled big. “He’s fine. He probably just…” She forced herself to stop. Making excuses for Tom’s moods had been one of the first slopes she’d slid down. “Actually, I have no idea what’s up. Your guess is as good as mine, Raf.”
“You want me to stay?”
“No. I’ll be fine.” She didn’t know what was going on with Gavin, but she knew that down to her bones. Whatever mood he was in, it wouldn’t erupt into violence. Anything else, she could handle.
“Go ahead.” He nodded toward the hallway. “I can finish this up.”
“Thanks.” She tossed the towel she’d been using in the cleaning bucket and washed her hands in the sink. Then she hung up her apron and walked down the hall to the small office Gavin used when he was working at the Dancing Bear. The door was cracked open.
He wasn’t behind the desk but sitting on the couch opposite the doorway. It was burgundy-red crushed velvet and looked like it was made in the Roaring Twenties. Chloe had picked it out when she helped him decorate the bar. Gavin’s arms were behind his head, and his feet were resting on the leather ottoman.
She’d fallen asleep on that couch while he was playing with her hair after work. They’d made out on that couch. They’d shared meals there.
