The other woman didn’t deny her words. “He lost a part of himself when she died.”
“How did it happen?”
“A carriage accident. We were traveling to meet him. The sun was setting and we were so close to our destination.” Her smile was bittersweet. “A few minutes later and he would have been at our side. The accident would never have happened.” She tilted her head back. “And I would probably never have been a vampire.”
“I’m sorry,” Abbey whispered, feeling inadequate.
“The horse spooked and darted forward, and one of the carriage’s axles broke. We were on the side of a hill and the carriage was so top-heavy. I was thrown before we rolled too far but hit my head on a rock. Lucian told me what happened when I came to.”
“What happened?” she asked, pulled into the tale despite her regret for the pain it caused Melissa.
“My mother was pinned under the carriage when he found her. What difference a few minutes have made to all our lives,” she whispered, almost to herself. “Our blood is special. It’s designed to keep our bodies regenerating and so it can be used to heal almost any wound. But my mother’s injuries were massive, more than the transformation would likely heal. Still, Lucian would have tried to save her.”
“What stopped him?”
“She did.” There was no hiding from the pain of Melissa’s smile. “For years she’d refused the change, saying she wanted to die a human death. In the end, she held to her belief. With her last breath, she made him promise to take care of me. He would have anyway, but it helps knowing she thought of me, even at the very end.”
“I’m sure,” Abbey murmured.
Melissa walked around the fountain, as if she couldn’t bear to keep still. Abbey kept pace and did her best not to pester the other woman for answers.
“When Lucian found me, I was unresponsive. Nowadays we’d say I had internal bleeding and a brain hemorrhage. In those days, there was no surviving such an injury.”
“So he turned you.”
She nodded. “I woke to the knowledge my human life was over and my mother dead. I would be twenty-four forever.”
“I’m sorry.”
“So many years later, I’m happy with my life, but vampirism is a lonely existence. You only have to look at this crowd to see how superficial and vicious my world is. That’s why I want to use Fated Match.”
“I’ll work on Lucian. You should be allowed to join.”
“He worries for me. A hundred years later and I’m still the young girl he saved.”
“Parents never stop worrying,” Abbey said. “I lost my father when I was still too young to remember him, but you should see my mother.”
Melissa smiled. “I just…” She stopped and gripped Abbey’s arm. “If you want him, you’ll have to fight for him because, I’m sorry to say, he won’t fight for you. My mother’s death killed something in him and he won’t take such a chance again. Not on a human.”
The knowledge both heartened and dismayed her. He’d cared for a mortal once, and perhaps he could do so again. But getting past the barriers he’d erected to keep himself safe would be no easy task. Not to mention such a proposition went far beyond a few nights of fabulous sex.
Abbey fixed her gaze on the armless statue before her. Who was she kidding? If she had even the slightest chance of engaging his emotions, she’d jump at it. Lucian was addicting and she wasn’t ready to let him go. Not when being part of his life was the most alive she’d felt in years.
If they could have a chance, a real chance, would she walk away?
“I can’t put into words how much I appreciate your sharing your past with me,” Abbey said. “Or how sorry I am for the loss you have suffered. But I’m not the woman for Lucian. I don’t know what you expect me to do.”
“I saw the way you looked at him when he left us. It’s not just sex for you.”
Abbey looked away. “My job is to find his perfect match. It’s not me.”
“Maybe,” Melissa said. “But then again, maybe not.”
“There you are,” a deep voice interrupted.
Lucian strode through the hall toward them. “I’ve been searching the first floor for you.”
“Did your talk with the governor go well?” Melissa asked.
“Very.” His gaze turned to Abbey and she found herself stepping into his arms without hesitation.
“Were you all right?” he whispered into her hair.
“Melissa took good care of me,” she said, pressing her cheek against his chest.