Page 1 of Vampire so Virtuous
One – Cally
Boston, Massachusetts, Present day.
Cally straightened her blouse, checked her hair in the restaurant window’s reflection, and swallowed a sigh.
He’d chosen an Italian place close to where she lived in Allston—not her favorite, thankfully—one she’d visited only twice before.
It aimed for warmth with wooden tables and exposed brick walls, and maybe the soft pendant lamps were meant to suggest intimacy, but the open kitchen was loud and lively, full of Italian gesticulation. The combination was unintentionally farcical. Going for charm, landing somewhere between cozy and chaotic. Neither here nor there, with a touch of missed opportunity.
Hopefully not an omen for this evening.
Most of the patrons were couples, and only one man sat alone at the bar. He roughly matched Lily’s gushing yet somehow generic description. Not quite as trim as she’d implied, and older. He wore a dark blue suit over a crisp white shirt open at the neck. An immaculate goatee, short brown hair, and highly polished shoes completed a look that straddled the line between self-care and self-adoration.
I never should have agreed to this.
But Lily had insisted she ‘knew the perfect guy’ who would go ‘crazy for you.’ Eve had been encouraging in her usual over-the-top way, urging Cally to move on and meet someone new.
Cally was tempted to turn and leave before he noticed her, but then he looked up. Just like that, escape was no longer an option. His eyes narrowed, his head cocked to one side as he took her in, the edge of his lips curling slightly.
This had better be him, and not some random married man whose wife is about to return from the bathroom.
She steeled herself and made her way over, forcing a pleasant expression. “Hey. Forgive me for intruding, but are you Stefan?”
“Cally,” he said by way of confirmation, rising from his seat, expression carefully neutral. “Nice to meet you.”
His hand pressed against the small of her back, guiding her smoothly to the seat next to his. Cally hesitated at the touch, then took her seat mostly to escape it, reminding herself to give him a chance.
“A glass of white wine for the lady,” Stefan told the bartender without taking his eyes off her.
Cally turned to the bartender. “Actually, I’d like a glass of your house red, please.”
Stefan made no comment; instead, a faint smirk pulled at his lips, and he toyed with the stem of his wine glass. “This is the part where we pretend to be nervous and awkward.”
“Not much pretense here.”Awkward, not nervous.
He raised his glass as the bartender set hers down. “Well, if we’re going to do this, might as well enjoy it, right?”
“Right.”Could try, anyway.
They clinked glasses, and she took a sip. The wine was bold and heavy, a little dry.
“I’m sorry about Lily,” he said, setting his glass down once more. “She can be… persuasive.” He spoke gently, addressing the bar top more than her, with an uneasy air that reflected this whole ridiculous encounter. Maybe he was the nervous one.
Cally didn’t know Lily well enough to comment; she was more Eve’s friend than hers. “At the very least, perhaps we can have a nice evening, then dutifully report back that we didn’t quite hit it off, and put this embarrassment behind us.”
Stefan made a wry face. “With such a low bar, we might even surprise ourselves.”
She gave him a smile as a waiter appeared to escort them to their table. Once again, Stefan laid his hand on the small of her back to guide her through the restaurant, and her smile faded. It wasn’t as if there were spike traps and flaming pits she would be unable to avoid herself.
The table was tucked in a quiet corner, and Stefan pulled out her chair for her before settling into his own. She would’ve preferred the one against the wall, but after the irksome wine incident, it wasn’t worth the effort. Silence fell as they read the menu. As usual in an Italian place, there were plenty of good options.
“I assume you like Italian,” Stefan commented, not looking up from his menu.
Good time to ask.“I do. Luckily.”
“Well, quite.” He seemed to have missed the dry irony in her response.He paused, studying her as if considering something. “I’m glad you agreed to meet. I’m not the biggest fan of these setups, but on this occasion, I’ll give Lily her due. You seem… different from the usual blind date type.”
Cally blinked.He could tell after one minute?
