I snorted. “Neither do I.”
“Choices are never easy. I’ve had to make many difficult decisions over the years.”
“Oh yeah? Like what?”
“This is your confession, Miss Fallon. Not mine.”
“Please tell me. You’re not a priest, remember? You’re just playing one on TV.”
His soft laugh lightened something in my chest. “All right, if it will help. The hardest choice I ever had to make was the one to give myself to God. It meant leaving a family I loved, as well as a lass I cared for and could have married if not for my calling. It left a wound I never fully recovered from. Not even after I took my vows.”
Irrational jealousy spiked through me. The woman was long since dead, and here I was, ready to claw her eyes out. “How long have you been a vampire, Caleb?”
“March 14, 1941. The day I took my place as pastor of my very own parish.”
“How old were you?”
“Thirty-eight.”
His voice was heavy with the recollection, telling me there was far more to the story than he was letting on, but my slut of a brain was stuck on the realization that Caleb might have gone thirty-eight years as a human man without ever touching a woman. Why did I like that idea so much?
“Caleb... have you always been... chaste?”
“Are you asking me if I’m still a virgin?”
“Yes?” I couldn’t believe I had the audacity to ask him something so profoundly personal. I blamed it on the darkness of the booth. It made me far bolder than I’d be if we were face to face.
“I’ve never lain with a woman, Miss Fallon. Not that it’s any business of yours.”
“Have you ever been... tempted?”
He cleared his throat. “I believe you’ve collected enough of my secrets, Miss Fallon. Unless there’s anything else you’d like to get off your chest, I think this confession is over.”
“Sounds good to me. Isn’t there some kind of... punishment you’re supposed to assign me now?”
“The ache in your knees should suffice. And if it’s not enough, we can address that in your next session. Wear a skirt.”
His shadow shifted behind the lattice, and I knew the instant he was gone, taking the spicy scent of incense with him.
I sat back on my heels, my heart far lighter than it had been when I’d sought out my confessor. I wasn’t any closer to finding answers to the questions hounding me, but my mind was quiet. My heart calm. Confession with Caleb had been exactly what I needed. I felt closer to him now. Like we’d shared something far more sacred than a couple of truths about ourselves.
Like we may just actually be... friends.
Rising, I stepped out of the booth and made my way out of the church, knowing while this had been my first confession, it certainly wouldn’t be my last.
Until next time... my dark and twisted priest.