me, but I was missing in action. It was true that he and I had something in common …we were human, but there was no spark there. I was deeply in love with someone else. Of course, that someone didn’t seem to approve of my choices in life, so from my viewpoint, there was no hope for the three of us.
Fortunately, I was too busy working the room to reflect more on the futility of the situation. Moving through the dining room, shaking hands and trading business cards, I was relishing being part of a well-funded campaign. I caught Levi’s eye and began to make my way across the room. I gestured with my hands to ask if he would like a drink, and he answered with a subtle nod while holding conversation with someone. I stopped and began to backtrack toward the deck where the bar had been set up. I took a few steps, but ran into JP before I reached the bar.
“Where would you like to go for dinner?” he asked quietly under his breath.
“I don’t know,” I said, “Maybe Il Fornaio? It’s sort of old school, but they have a nice deck.”
JP nodded, “Sounds good. There’s also a café nearby, it’s named after a bicycle in French, I thought maybe you would like that.”
I nodded. “La Bicyclette. Sounds good,” I said, suddenly distracted by an uncomfortable feeling of pressure against my skull. I turned my head in the direction of the source of my discomfort and saw something I did not expect: standing next to Gabriel in the living room was William. Were it not for his red hair, I might not have recognized him. I had never seen him wear anything but jeans and a T-shirt, but tonight he was dressed in an expensive Italian khaki linen suit that been altered perfectly to fit his frame. He had paired the suit with a striped shirt and a yellow tie bathed in the pale color of the sun at high noon. He looked wealthy, successful and above all, invited.
Although I was dismayed at his presence, William’s cleverness tickled me. For him, fitting in here this evening was likely no different than infiltrating one of the Vichy cocktail parties he’d described. He understood the dynamics of political theater well, and had managed to stroll into the room as if he had been on the guest list to begin with. There was not a single woman in the room whose gaze wasn’t fixed on him. I felt a deep twinge of regret for refusing to speak with him, for avoiding him. But really, what choice did I have in the matter?
At the moment, however, he was impossible to ignore. I smiled at JP, trying to find a way to make a graceful exit.
“I’m sorry to run out, but I see someone over there I need to speak with.”
JP turned his gaze to William and locked on. It was just my luck to have an intrepid reporter and a stubborn vampire sharing the same room. What were the odds?
“Who is that?” he asked, no doubt noticing William was an unfamiliar face in a sea of insiders.
“No one,” I answered casually, “A friend of a friend. But I do need to go and say hello.”
I walked across the room, trying to keep my face as blank as possible, my body relaxed, my head held high. I acted as though I didn’t have a care in the world. JP’s curiosity was burning a hole in my back, his uncertainty about my truthfulness palpable
“Gabriel,” I said, offering a relaxed smile for the room to observe.
“Olivia,” Gabriel said. “As you can see, that is to say, I invited William. I believe the two of you need to speak,” he said, raising his eyebrows in a sympathetic expression.
I looked at Gabriel and then back at William. He had the advantage, as they say, of the element of surprise. I was on the clock, being watched by a prominent reporter and a room full of wealthy donors. While I was tempted to be petulant, I couldn’t afford to make a scene or express even the slightest emotion in front of this audience. William was the one who had made my life sound so unworkable. But here, there was no opportunity to rebuke him, and to be honest, I’d missed him.
“I don’t believe there is anything to discuss,” I said lightly. “We seem to have reached an impasse.”
Gabriel smiled nervously, “Pas grave. I think I may