My Destiny

by Adrianne Byrd

  “I’ll have to eat it when I get back.” He looked at his watch. “You know Destiny and I take our morning run together.”

  “Jeez, I can’t believe you haven’t nailed her, yet.”

  “How many times do I have to tell you that it isn’t like that between us? She’s like a sister to me.”

  “Uh-huh. Well, I got a sister and I don’t go jogging with her every morning. I don’t work with her every day or hang out with her after work, and I certainly don’t live across the hall from her. For two supposedly smart people, you guys have to be the dumbest I’ve ever met—and that’s saying something.”

  Miles simply smiled. “If you don’t understand by now, then nothing I say is going to make a difference.”

  Wes rustled a pan from a lower cabinet. “Don’t get me wrong. I like Destiny. She’s nice, beautiful and has beautiful friends.”

  Miles laughed at his reference to Lu Jin—who had always treated Wes like something stuck on the bottom of her shoe.

  “But—” Wes held up a finger “—I think you need to be honest with yourself.”

  Miles crossed his arms. “Meaning?”

  “Meaning—the reason that you’ve come up empty on your so-called search for Mrs. Miles Stafford is because you’re looking for someone just like your next-door neighbor.”

  “That’s not true.”

  Wes raised an inquisitive brow. “It’s not? You mean you’re not looking for a woman you want to spend every waking minute with?”

  “That’s not what I said.”

  “And while I’m on a roll here—what woman you know is going to be cool with all the time you do spend with Destiny?”

  Miles paused.

  “Uh-huh. No woman either of us have ever met.” Wes cracked an egg into the skillet. “You should think about it.”

  Miles headed toward the door. “You sound just like my mother. There’s nothing to think about. Destiny and I are friends and that’s just the way we like it.”

  “What’s the big deal?” Wes called out to him.

  Miles turned toward his friend again.

  “Really? What’s the worst thing that could happen if you two did decide to date?”

  Miles didn’t answer. Instead, he turned and exited the apartment. He waited a few minutes in the hall before Destiny’s door cracked open, but instead of Destiny rushing out to meet him, he came face-to-face with Steven Bennett.

  A flash of anger hardened Miles’s features.

  Steve’s shocked expression suddenly turned mischievous. “Morning.”

  Miles didn’t reply.

  Closing the door behind him, Steve crossed his arms. “Quite an arrangement you two have here. You’re partners at the office and even live across from each other.”

  Forcing an air of nonchalance, Miles smiled. “It seems to work for us.”

  Annoyance flashed in Steve’s eyes. “You want to know what I’m wondering?”

  “I can’t imagine.”

  “I’m wondering, if you do have a thing for each other, why neither of you have acted on your feelings. I mean, ten years is a long time—too long if you ask me.”

  “Next time I’m doing a consensus, Junior, I’ll make sure I knock on your door. Besides,” he went on to add, “there’s nothing going on between Destiny and I.”

  Steve nodded and uncrossed his arms. “That was my conclusion.” He moved away from the door and headed toward the elevators, but not before he added, “Lucky for me.”

  * * *

  Seconds later, Destiny rushed out of the apartment. “Sorry I kept you waiting,” she exhaled her apology in a flurry of movement.

  Miles glared at her. “I can’t believe you.”

  She looked up at him perplexed. “Can’t believe what? What did I do?”

  “I just said hello to your boyfriend. Didn’t you say that you just met him?”

  “My who? Oh, you mean Steve?”

  “Yes, I mean Steve. Or do you have more men stashed in your apartment this early in the morning?”

  She laughed. “What has gotten into you? Steve is hardly my boyfriend. We just met.”

  Miles didn’t trust himself to speak. The alternative of what she was implying was too troublesome.

  “He just stopped by this morning to tell me how much he enjoyed your party last night.” She crossed her arms and stared at him. “Or didn’t you notice that he wasn’t wearing the same clothes he had on last night?”

  Blood instantly drained from Miles’s face as an awkward silence expanded between them.

  She shook her head and locked her apartment door. “And if something had happened between Steve and I, brother dear, it wouldn’t be any of your business.”

  “Can we change the subject since I’ve made a complete ass out of myself?”

  “Gladly,” she said, heading toward the elevators. “How are you feeling this morning?”

  “Good,” he said, wishing she’d chosen another line of questioning. He knew exactly what her next question would be.

  “Any anxieties?”

  He pressed the down button for the elevator. “None that I can think of,” he lied.

  She eyed him suspiciously.

  He knew she was trying to decide whether she believed him. He suspected she didn’t, but she said nothing to support that theory. In fact, she changed the subject.

  “Lu Jin and I are going to go check out that house I told you about in Alpharetta.”

  “So you’re really going to leave me?”

  Destiny reached up and gently cupped his cheek. “Aw. Are you going to miss me?”

  “We’ve been neighbors for ten years. What do you think?”

  “I think you’re going to be just fine.” She pinched his cheek again. “You’re a big boy.”

  “I’m glad you’ve noticed.” He puffed out his chest and made an arm curl to show his muscles.

  “I’m your friend. I’m not blind.” She flirted with a wink.

  Miles raised a surprised brow. “Feeling a little feisty today, aren’t you?”

  She shrugged. “What can I say? I’m in a good mood. Besides, we’ll still see each other at the office.” She flashed him a brief smile. “But it’s nice to know that you’ll miss me.”

  As if standing beneath the sun, Miles was warmed by her bright smile. In the past few years, the bond he shared with Destiny had strengthened to the point where he couldn’t remember what life had been like before they were friends—or when their friends weren’t friends.

  It did take Destiny and Lu Jin a while to get used to Wes’s wild parties and attention-grabbing antics, but in the end, everyone got along.

  “Whatcha thinking about?” Destiny inquired a mile into their run.

  “Nothing. I was just going over some details of the Nelson Rogers case,” he lied.

  Destiny shook her head. “I wish you’d listened to me and rejected that case. The man is a slimeball.”

  “Slimeballs have rights, too.”

  “So you keep telling me.”

  “And they have money. And after losing our ass on that Terri Morris case you wanted so badly, we need all the slimeballs we can find.”

  She cut her eyes over at him. “You’re never going to let me live that one down, are you?”

  He smiled at her. “Not if I can help it.”

  Destiny laughed and picked up her pace, enjoying the slight burn coursing through her calves as she tackled an incline on the park’s trail. She remembered a time when such a hill would have done her in.

  She glanced back at Miles and noticed another dazed expression had fallen over his features and she wondered if he’d been honest about what was troubling him. She opened her mouth to question him again, but thought better of it. He would tell her when he was ready—like he always did.

  “So what do you have on your agenda for today?” she inquired instead.

  “Run over to my mother’s like I do every Saturday and hang out with Wes this evening.”

  “What? No da
te?”

  “No. Thank God. I’m about ready to toss in the towel on finding Mrs. Right.”

  Destiny wasn’t fooled, she knew exactly what was troubling Miles—that damn family curse. Of course, her heart dropped a notch at the thought of her being wrong.

  “So what about you?” he asked suddenly.

  She shrugged. “After I run by the office for a couple hours, I’m going house shopping with Lu Jin and my mother, and then I do have a date.”

  As usual, his brows shot up when he barked, “With who?”

  “What does it matter? You’re not going to like him.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “You’ve never liked any of the guys I’ve dated.”

  “With good reason. And I don’t remember being wrong about any of them, either.”

  She shook her head. “You’re impossible—but right.”

  “So?”

  She looked at him puzzled. “So what?”

  “So who is it?” he persisted. “And please don’t tell me it’s that Steve character. There should be a law against—”

  “Stop,” she said.

  “What?”

  “You’re doing it again.”

  “Just my opinion,” he added flippantly.

  Destiny just shook her head, but loved Miles’s overprotectiveness. “By the way, you’ll never guess what I got in the mail yesterday.”

  “Can’t imagine.”

  “Come on, guess.”

  Exasperated, but knowing she wouldn’t tell him until he guessed, he took a stab at it. “You won the Publishers Clearing House ten million dollars.”

  “I wish, but that’s not it. I got a wedding invitation—from Jefferson Altman.”

  “You’re joking?” he asked surprised.

  “No.”

  Miles frowned at the fact that his old nemesis obviously wasn’t having the same troubles he had when it came to finding a wife.

  “Do you think there’s something wrong with me?” Destiny questioned.

  “What do you mean?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. He certainly didn’t have trouble replacing me and moving on.”

  “Stop it,” he warned.

  She looked curiously over at him.

  “You’re fishing for a compliment again.”

  “I was not,” she answered with a small pout.

  “Sure you were. You wanted me to tell you that no one could ever replace you and blah, blah, blah.”

  She frowned. “Boy, aren’t you in a pissy mood.”

  He laughed. “I just know how that little mind of yours works.”

  “Humph.” She rolled her eyes. “Like it would have hurt you to pay me a compliment.”

  “So are you going to the wedding?”

  “Why—so he can rub it in my face that he’s moved on? I don’t think so.”

  They rounded another bend before Miles said, “Maybe there’s something wrong with us. We’ve both been searching for what I’m beginning to think isn’t out there.”

  She frowned as she looked over at him. “Boy, you really are down today.”

  He shook his head as their high-rise came into view. “I’m just being honest. It just seems nearly impossible to find a quality woman nowadays.”

  “Whoa.” She slowed down to jog in place. “That’s not true. There are plenty of quality women. You’re just looking in all the wrong places.”

  “Come on. You know what I’m saying is true. The women I keep running into are more interested in where I live, what I drive and how much is in my bank account. Sure, they all try to hide it, but sooner or later it all comes out in the open.”

  “We’re not all like that,” she insisted. “And while we’re on the subject—the guys running around here aren’t exactly worth writing home about, either.”

  “What?”

  “You heard me. When I first met you, you were changing women like you changed your clothes. And now that you’re ready to settle down, you expect Miss Perfect to show up on your timetable. Well, love doesn’t work like that. You reap what you sow.” With her temper barely in check, she began jogging again.

  Miles quickly caught up with her. “Did I miss something?”

  She drew in a deep, steady breath and seemed to calm down.

  “Desi?”

  She glanced at him and favored him with a quick smile. “No. You didn’t miss anything. It’s just that I had this same conversation with Elliott and Zack the other day. I know for a fact there are plenty of good women out there, myself included. The problem is we have to put up with all these guys who want to be playas and have their women look like video vamps and have low IQs.”

  Miles shook his head. “Like you said, we’re not all like that. Besides, I know a lot of playas that have changed their ways when the right woman came along. The problem is we have to navigate through those vamps to get to the right person.”

  “If you know so many good men, then why haven’t you ever set me up with one of them?” Destiny asked curiously as they entered their building.

  A formidable frown marred his handsome features to the point that he looked like he was scowling. “Set you up?”

  She nodded.

  “With one of my friends?”

  Puzzled, yet entertained by his reaction, Destiny smiled as she crossed her arms and stared at him. “Yeah, why not? Someone other than Wes, of course.” When he continued to look disbelievingly at her, she went on. “What’s the matter?”

  The elevator arrived and they stepped on.

  “Well?” she probed. “Or were you just pulling my leg about knowing so many good men?”

  Finally, his furrowed brows relaxed. “All right.” He pressed the button for the fourteenth floor. “But you have to do the same thing for me.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning, you have to find me a date with one of your quality women, too. And I don’t mean Lu Jin. Someone who you truly believe is marriage material.”

  Destiny’s heart skipped a beat at the very thought of having to set him up with one of her friends.

  “What?” He smirked. “Can’t think of anyone?”

  She straightened with fake resolve and rose to the challenge. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”

  Chapter 20

  When Miles ran the agreement between him and Destiny by Wes, his friend exploded with laughter.

  Miles rolled his eyes.

  “You want to run that by me again?” Wes cupped his ear toward Miles. “There’s got to be something wrong with my hearing.”

  Miles eased behind his desk as a smile spread across his face. “There’s nothing wrong with your hearing.”

  Wes shook his head. “You’re going to find Destiny’s Mr. Right and she’s agreed to find Mrs. Right for you?”

  “That’s the arrangement.”

  Still shaking his head, Wes plopped down in the vacant chair across from Miles. “I swear. You have to be the luckiest bastard alive. Stuff like that never happens to me.”

  Miles shrugged, but his smile grew wider. “What can I say? Destiny and I just have each other’s best interests at heart.”

  Wes held up his hands in mock surrender. “Please, keep the crap to a bare minimum. I’m not wearing my boots today.”

  “It makes sense if you think about it,” Miles explained. “Who better to set me up than someone who knows me as well as Destiny?”

  “What am I—chop suey?” Wes sat upright. “And for the record, this crazy arrangement doesn’t make sense to anyone other than you guys. But I’d appreciate it, if you ever do get the urge to jump her bones, if you’d wait until September.”

  Miles frowned. “September?” Then understanding narrowed his gaze. “Don’t tell me that silly bet is still going on.”

  Wes shrugged; a smile dominated his features. “Hey, September is a great month. The leaves change color, the air is crisp—all that romantic crap women go crazy for.”

  Miles rocked back into his chair with quakes o
f laughter. “You need to find something to better occupy your time than a nonexistent romance.”

  “Are you kidding me? The drama going on between you two is better than what’s happening on Days of Our Lives.”

  “Really?” Miles’s brows shot up.

  Wes cleared his throat. “Not that I’ve ever watched the show—but I’m guessing.”

  “Of course you haven’t,” Miles said, still smiling. “So who has the bid for this month?”

  Wes waved his hand absently. “Elliott. He was just convinced you were going to have one hell of a birthday gift to unwrap last night.” His twinkling gaze turned suspicious. “You didn’t, did you?”

  “No,” Miles barked, and then added, “not that it’s any of your business.”

  “Yeah, you got to wonder about a girl like that,” Wes continued, ignoring Miles’s comment. “You got everyone convinced you’re going to kick the bucket any minute. You’d think she’d let you hit it—at least out of pity.”

  “You need to get your head out of the gutter.”

  “And you need to jump in,” Wes countered quickly. “Before you started this wife quest, you were knocking boots like a part-time job. Nowadays, women have to pass a twenty-four-point inspection for you to say hello to them. And now you’re telling me that they have to get a stamp of approval from Destiny. As your friend, I’m telling you to lighten up.”

  With his features scrunched in confusion, Miles asked, “What do you mean?”

  “Just what I said.” Wes stood from his chair. “It pains me to tell you this, but you’ve lost it. Midas Touch Miles has died, and it’s been a messy death to bear witness to, I can tell you that much.”

  “Come on. It’s not that bad.”

  “Oh, yes it is. You’re not the same man I grew up with. You’re like a bad, watered-down version of your former self. It’s sad. I’ve made excuses to our friends as to why you’re not attending the hot parties. Hell, I’ve even seen Destiny at a few. And that girl is a freak on the dance floor.”

  Miles frowned.

  “Look, Miles. I know you better than anyone. And whether you want to admit it, you’re in love with your next-door neighbor and instead of being a man about the situation, you’re staying at home waiting for the realization to dawn on her. How am I doing so far?”