He showed her the rose compass on the front of the circular, gold locket. “My father gave it to my mother for their tenth anniversary.”
He turned it over to reveal the inscription on the back. Written in elegant, cursive handwriting were the words Where you go, my heart goes with you. Love always, Mateo.
He hit the button on the top of the locket, and it opened to reveal a picture of his parents on their wedding day. They were beaming at the camera as joy poured from them. On the other side was a photo of him and Maya when they were three and two. She held him before her, but he’d turned to hug her, and they were smiling at each other.
Tears welled in Cassidy’s eyes as she gazed at the happy, loving family. What happened to them was so unfair. And while she knew life was unfair, that didn’t mean she couldn’t weep for those it was cruelest to.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered.
“It was supposed to go to Maya,” he said. “My mom told me to make sure she got it when I found her, and I will give it to her, even if it goes into the ground with her.”
Cassidy blinked away the tears burning her eyes as she placed her hand on top of his. “You’re going to find her.” And she would do whatever it took to ensured it happened.
Dante rested his hand on her knee and squeezed it before kissing her cheek. He contemplated more but pulled away before he lost himself to her again. “How are you feeling? Are you still sore? If I’d known, I would have done things differently.”
Damn it, she was going to blush again. Throughout her whole life, she hadn’t blushed as much as she had since meeting Dante. She gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? I really—”
“Stop,” she said as she rested her hand against his stubble-roughened cheek. “It was wonderful, and I wouldn’t change anything. But though we discussed our favorite sports teams, our past relationships never really came up, so trying to squeeze ‘I’m a virgin’ into the conversation would have been a little awkward.”
“I can see that,” he said as he turned his head to kiss her palm. “I don’t have many past relationships to discuss. My high school girlfriend dumped me; I dated a couple of girls casually after college but nothing serious, and then there was Clora. I’ve been with a couple of girls since, but I’ve mostly been solitary since becoming a vampire.”
“I dated a couple of guys in high school, and then I moved here. Since arriving here, I’ve been out with a few guys. I never met anyone I wanted to see again after going on a date with them.”
“Until me,” he teased as he nudged her shoulder.
She beamed at him. “Until you.” Then her smile faded away. “We probably should have discussed this sooner too, but I’m not on any kind of birth control.”
Dante felt the color drain from his face at the same time a surge of joy shot through him. A baby, a family with Cassidy. He couldn’t think of anything more amazing or terrifying. He’d seen what losing a child did to his parents, but he wouldn’t let that happen to them.
“I’m not ready to have children,” she said.
He clasped her hand in his and rested it on his leg. “Then we’ll be careful from now on, and when you are ready…”
Cassidy quirked an eyebrow when his words trailed off. “You’d want to have a baby with me?”
“I want to experience everything with you,” he said.
Cassidy thrilled at this; she wasn’t ready for babies, but it was good to know he was as lost to her as she was to him. If last night resulted in a child, she would love the hell out of it. She didn’t mention this; if she got pregnant, they would deal with it together.
Dante kissed the tip of her nose before pulling away. “We better go if we’re going to get you some clean clothes before meeting Lindsay.”
Cassidy rose and tugged at the bottom of the shirt she wore last night. She tried not to think about walking into her apartment with her brothers and Aida there; if she did, she’d wear these clothes for the rest of her life instead of returning home.
“I’m ready if you are,” she said and tried to sound cheerful when she felt like she was walking to the guillotine.
Cassidy held her breath as she opened her apartment door. I will not blush. I will not blush. I will not blush.
No matter how many times she told herself this, heat crept up her neck and into her face as she opened the door and poked her head inside. Cassidy scanned the empty hall to the bedrooms before looking to the empty couch. She was about to breathe a sigh of relief when she spotted Aida in the kitchen.
“What’s going on, Stealth Ranger?” Aida asked as she bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing.
“Stealth Ranger?” Cassidy inquired.
Aida opened the fridge and removed a bag of blood before closing the door. “I don’t know; you look like you’re trying to be all sneaky. Stealth Ranger was the first thing that popped into my head.”
“Where are my brothers?” Cassidy asked as she stepped into the apartment; Dante followed her inside.
Aida grinned at Dante and waved before shooting Cassidy a knowing look. Unlike her brothers, she didn’t worry Aida would say or do something stupid, but her friend would demand details later.
“Kyle still hasn’t come home from last night’s adventure; he’s kind of like you in that way,” Aida said with a wink, and Cassidy’s blush crept to the roots of her hair. “Julian ran out to get me the paper; I want to
