Finale

fallen
angels. We need them to rally behind you, and we’re going to give them one good reason after another. Starting with a respected Nephilim boyfriend.”
    “Hey, babe, everything okay back here?”
    Dante and I swung around. Vee stood in the doorway, eyeing us with equal parts wariness and curiosity.
    “Hey! Everything’s fine,” I said a little too enthusiastically.
    “You never came back with our drinks, and I started to worry,” Vee said. Her gaze shifted from me to Dante. Recognition sparked in her eyes, and I knew she remembered him from the
bar. “Who are you?” she asked him.
    “Him?” I cut in. “Oh. Uh. Well, he’s just some random guy—”
    Dante stepped forward, hand extended. “Dante Matterazzi. I’m a new friend of Nora’s. We met earlier today when our mutual acquaintance, Scott Parnell, introduced us.”
    Just like that, Vee’s face lit up. “You know Scott?”
    “Good friend of mine, actually.”
    “Any friend of Scott’s is a friend of mine.”
    Inwardly, I gouged my eyes out.
    “So what are you two doing back here?” Vee asked us.
    “Dante just picked out a new car,” I said, stepping aside to give her an unobstructed view of the Porsche. “He couldn’t resist showing it off. Don’t look too
closely, though. I think the VIN number is missing. Poor Dante had to resort to theft, since he used up all his money getting his chest waxed, and boy, does it gleam.”
    “Funny,” Dante said. I thought maybe he’d self-consciously fasten at least one more shirt button, but he didn’t.
    “If I had a car like that, I’d show it off too,” Vee said.
    Dante said, “I tried talking Nora into a ride, but she keeps blowing me off.”
    “That’s because she has a hard-A boyfriend. He must have been homeschooled, because he missed all those valuable lessons we learned in kindergarten, like sharing. He finds out you
took Nora for a ride, he’ll wrap this shiny new Porsche around the nearest tree.”
    “Gee,” I said, “look at the time. Don’t you have somewhere to be, Dante?”
    “Turns out my night’s open.” He smiled, slow and easy, and I knew he was relishing every moment of intruding on my private life. I’d made it clear right off the bat this
morning that any contact between us had to be done in private, and he was showing me what he thought of my “rules.” In a lame attempt at evening the score, I glared my meanest, coldest
look at him.
    “You’re in luck,” Vee said. “We know just the thing to fill up your night. You’re gonna hang with two of the coolest girls in all of Coldwater, Mr. Dante
Matterazzi.”
    “Dante doesn’t dance,” I quickly interjected.
    “I’ll make an exception, just this once,” he answered, opening the door for us.
    Vee clapped her hands, jumping up and down. “I just
knew
this night was gonna rock!” she squealed, ducking under Dante’s arm.
    “After you,” Dante said, placing his palm on the small of my back and guiding me inside. I batted his hand away, but to my aggravation, he leaned close and murmured, “Glad we
had this little chat.”
    We haven’t resolved anything,
I spoke to his mind.
This whole boyfriend-girlfriend thing? Nothing is settled. Just a little something to bear in mind. And for the record, my
best friend isn’t supposed to know you exist.
    Your best friend thinks I should give your boyfriend a run for his money,
he said, sounding amused.
    She thinks anything with a beating heart should replace Patch. They have unresolved issues.
    Sounds promising.
    He followed me down the short hall leading to the dance floor, and I felt his haughty, goading smile the whole way.
    The loud monotone beat of the music drove into my skull like a hammer. I pinched the bridge of my nose, cringing against a swelling headache. I had one elbow perched on the
bar, and I used my free hand to press a glass of ice water against my forehead.
    “Tired already?” Dante asked, leaving Vee on the dance floor to slide onto a bar stool beside me.
    “Any idea how much longer she’s going to last?” I asked wearily.
    “Looks to me like she’s caught her second wind.”
    “Next time I’m in the market for a best friend, remind me to shy away from the Energizer Bunny. She keeps going and going. . . .”
    “You look like you could use a ride home.”
    I shook my head. “I drove, but I can’t leave Vee here. Seriously, how much longer can she possibly last?” Of course, I’d been asking myself the same