The image always made me laugh. “But not this time?”

“Nah, this group was just sluggish and out of it. On the bright side, they paid me ten dollars for a bag of Doritos I had sitting around. Gotta love kids spending their allowance.”

Dante and I were both amused by his clients’ antics, but glancing over, I saw that Seth was not. Something cold clenched inside me, and I could suddenly see us through his eyes. He didn’t really find taking advantage of teens under the influence of drugs funny, whether it was monetarily or psychologically. When I’d first met Dante, I’d actually been appalled by the charlatan side of his business. When had I come to accept it? When had I come to enjoy it?

I felt ashamed all of a sudden and hated what Seth must think of me. Then, I became angry for feeling that way, for letting myself feel judged. He had no power over me anymore. It didn’t matter what he thought. The last of the coziness between us shattered, and I felt my icy exterior slip into place. I moved closer to Dante, and Seth’s body language told me he’d seen the transformation I’d just undergone.

“Well, you guys probably need to go,” I said abruptly.

“Yeah,” Seth said uncomfortably. “I guess we’ll see you later.”

“Thanks for the book.”

He merely nodded and then turned to put Kayla into her car seat. Her eyes met mine and I waved a good-bye, but the look of horror on her face never faltered. I knew it was for Dante, not me, but it hurt nonetheless.

Dante wanted to head home and had mostly come to give me a ride. By that point, I felt weary and emotionally disoriented. Home sounded good. We went back inside to drop off my glass and tell Doug I was leaving. Doug looked about as thrilled to see Dante as Seth had, but he said nothing that wasn’t in his usual jovial style.

On the drive home, I stared vacantly out the window and ran my hands over the book’s cover.

“You were kind of chummy back there,” noted Dante.

“Huh?”

“With Mortensen. I felt like I was interrupting something.”

“Oh. No. I just got kind of giddy over the book. You know how much I like them.”

We came to a red light, and he glanced down at the cover. “Advanced copy? We could make a lot of money on eBay.”

“Dante!”

“Just a joke, succubus. Well, kind of. If you ever wanted to work your wiles on him and get more books, you could start a little side business.”

“I don’t need any extra cash. And my wiles are no good. Things are done. He and Maddie are happy.”

“That doesn’t mean anything. You don’t think he still wants you? You don’t think he’d sleep with you if he could?”

“Why do you assume the worst about everyone?”

“Because it’s always true. I’m trying to break you of seeing the world through rose-colored glasses.” He paused while we merged onto the freeway and headed back toward the city. “And he can want you all he wants. I don’t care, as long as you don’t want him back.”