Page 25

“What if this is my path, like Dad said?”

“Then you have to decide if that’s a risk you’re willing to take. Is this guy worth that risk?”

I thought about what she said. Was he worth the risk? Maybe. I wouldn’t know unless I tried. Maybe he wasn’t. Maybe he was completely wrong for me. But maybe he was perfect.

When I considered the way my body lit up when his hands were on me, I couldn’t deny that I wanted to know what that feeling meant. I had been with other men. No one had left me feeling alive like Duncan had.

And all that from a chance encounter that lasted less than a minute. I owed it to myself to find out.

“I need to do this,” I said, standing from the bed and walking into my closet. I grabbed the dress I had chosen and slipped into it.

I wasn’t flashy by nature, but I liked to look good. The dress I chose was a halter-style top, with a ruffled skirt that stopped just above the knee. The color was a deep purple that I knew set off my eyes.

It wasn’t a particularly warm dress for January, but I had a wool coat, and the restaurant would be warm.

“You look beautiful! He won’t know what hit him. Tell me about him. What makes him special?”

To most people, Athena’s question might have sounded condescending and judgy. But I knew my sister as much as sheknew me. She understood that I was picky. I didn’t date for the sake of dating. There needed to be a connection.

“Well, remember the guy I told you about? The one that caught me on the street?”

“The one you said you had no hope of ever finding?”

“That’s the one. Well, I found him. I was walking down the street, and some giant guy slammed into me and knocked me over. He was there to pick me up. He gave me his card and asked me to call him so he could take me to dinner.”

“Why didn’t you give him your number?”

“There wasn’t time,” I said, walking into the bathroom to put on my makeup. Athena followed behind me.

“What do you mean, there wasn’t time?”

“He and his friends were chasing after the man that had knocked me down,” I explained, hoping she wouldn’t catch my meaning, but knowing full well this was Athena we were talking about.

“They were chasing... the man that knocked you down?”

“Athena, you know the world we live in. There could be any number of reasons they were chasing him, and not all of them are bad.”

I looked at her reflection in the mirror, and her expression gave me pause.

“What is this man’s name?”

“Duncan Murphy.”

“I’ll call Dimeter. Have him investigate this Duncan Murphy.”

I spun around, pointing my finger in her face. “You will do no such thing. I am the oldest and capable of making my own decisions and my own mistakes.”

“Freyja—”

“No, Athena. I mean it.”

“Ok. I won’t call.” Her lips creeped up at the corners an almost imperceptible amount. If I hadn’t been watching, I would have missed it entirely. She was up to something.

“I will say, two chance meetings like that. Maybe you’re right. You owe it to yourself to at least have dinner with him.”

Athena turned and walked out of my bathroom. I heard the door close, and I stood there watching the empty room in front of me. She knew something. Something I knew she wouldn’t share. At least not until the time was right.

My sister could be exhausting, but I knew it didn’t compare to what she must have to deal with, always knowing when something was about to happen and not always being able to tell the person it was happening to.