by Brenda Drake
He decided to be forthright. “You, actually.”
She looked lovely with her auburn hair pulled to one side. A smattering of beauty marks lined her collarbone. Reese imagined kissing the area just above them and making her squirm.
“I haven’t been avoiding you,” she said, interrupting his fantasy before it got to the naughty part. Unscrewing the top of her water bottle, she eyed him quizzically and took a swig. A large metal bracelet with a mechanical owl attached to it hid the burn mark on her wrist. “I saw you earlier, but I was in full crisis mode. My schedule was jacked. It was missing AP Physics C. I need it for my transcript to get into the colleges I want.”
If she wasn’t trying to avoid him before, her eyes were definitely dodging him now. It was as if she thought she’d turn to stone if their gazes met. It was fortunate that Jan had enough to say for the entire table or they’d all eat in silence.
“…and after we toured Amsterdam, I had asked Henry what his favorite part was,” Jan was saying. “His answer was the red-light district and the cannabis coffee shops. He utterly missed the beauty of the city.”
“If I ever go there, I would love to see the Anne Frank house,” Leah said. “Oh, and I’d go on a canal tour to view the architecture.”
“Perhaps someday I can take you there.” Jan slipped his arm around her back and kissed her neck.
Aster glanced around the cafeteria, trying to avoid looking at the lovebirds. Her eyes finally found Reese. “And what is your favorite thing to do? In Amsterdam, that is.”
“I much prefer exploring outside the city,” Reese answered, holding her gaze. “In spring, I enjoy the Keukenhof Gardens. The floral displays are spectacular.”
Stabbing at her salad, she crinkled her nose. “I’ve seen enough floral displays to last a lifetime.”
“I’m getting you have a real diversion toward flowers,” he said.
“I don’t hate them,” she offered.
Leah rolled her eyes. “She hates them.”
“No, I don’t,” Aster argued. “It’s just that they’re all my mom thinks about. And she overdoes it. She doesn’t do simple.”
“And she gave all her girls flower names,” Leah added.
Reese stretched his leg out, and his foot brushed against Aster’s ankle. A startled gasp escaped her lips. Her eyes were on him again. He smiled. It was an innocent move, but it flustered her, so he did it again. She smiled this time, and there was a mischievousness to it. He practically jumped out of his seat as her bare toes traveled up the inside of his leg.
“You okay?” Jan raised an eyebrow at him.
His eyes narrowed on Aster as he said, “Fine. Just caught a chill.”
“In this heat?” Leah picked up a folder beside her and fanned her face.
“It is hot in here, isn’t it?” Aster smirked, removing her toes and shoving a full fork of lettuce in her mouth. A leaf fell from it and dropped onto her blouse, leaving an oily stain behind. “Crap.” She searched for a napkin.
Reese extended his to her.
“Thanks,” she said, taking it, the paper crinkling between her fingers.
By the way she was acting, nervously dousing the napkin with water from her bottle, Reese was confident she felt something for him. What he needed was to get her alone. But he wasn’t sure about the surprise date that Jan had suggested. Possibly, she’d agree to something simple. Whatever it was, he had to pick up the speed on this slow-moving romance train or he’d find himself six feet under in a few months.
“Since you’re busy tonight,” he said. “What if I pick you up after school tomorrow?”
Aster dropped the napkin onto her tray. The oily stain was now a massive wet spot. “Um…hold that thought.” She stood. “I have a quick date with a hand dryer.”
When she was out of earshot, Leah said, “You know, she had a bad breakup four months ago. There were drugs and another girl involved. Aster was heartbroken. You just have to give her time.”
I don’t have time, Reese thought, removing the crust from his stale roll.
“Just surprise her as I suggested,” Jan offered, shrugging a shoulder. “Show up at her house unannounced, so she can’t make any more excuses. Or you could do as I have done with Leah. Attach yourself to her like a starfish on a glass aquarium. It’s quite effective.”
Leah giggled. “It is. My mom is already picking out stationery for the wedding.”
Jan sobered. “She is?”
Her giggles turned into full-blown laughter. “Got you.”
“That wasn’t at all funny.” Jan tickled her.
“Whoa,” Aster said, approaching the table, “take the PDA behind the bleachers already.”
Leah pulled away from Jan. “That’s just gross. It’s probably unsanitary. I don’t get why girls would let guys take them back there for—”
The bell rang, causing the entire lunchroom to scramble to their feet. Reese followed Aster to one of the bins lining the front of a long window. She dumped her trash, then deposited her tray onto the counter, and turned to him.
“So I’ll catch you later?” Her lips pulled into a half smirk, half smile thing Reese was getting used to, but would never tire of seeing.
“You won’t have to catch me,” he said, smiling back at her. “I won’t be running.”
“Aww, that’s so sweet,” Leah squealed from behind them. “We should totes do a double date next weekend. A kickback with pizza and beer at your condo.”
“Right. And we have a hot tub.” Jan waggled his eyebrows.
Reese was all for seeing Aster partially clad in a bathing suit.
“I don’t think—” Aster protested, but Leah cut her off.
“No excuses. It’s a date,” she said. “Catch you two later.” Jan threw his arm around Leah’s shoulder and led her off to her class, leaving Aster and Reese to stare after them.
“It’s as if they’ve known each other a lifetime,” Reese said, bringing Aster’s attention to him.
“Yeah, they’ve gone from zero to sixty in a hot romance minute.” Aster worried her lip. “I hope he doesn’t break her heart.”
“Jan only breaks objects, not humans. He’s usually on the bad side of a breakup.” Reese took her hand. It felt small and warm in his.
Aster gently wrenched her hand free from his. “Well, I should get to class.”
At least I could kiss her good-bye again, Reese thought, closing the distance between them and grasping her shoulders. She placed her hand on his chest, stopping him.
“Listen, you can’t keep kissing me like that,” she said. “We haven’t even defined our relationship. Plus, we just met. I’m not Leah.” She sighed and shook her head. “Anyway, I have to go slower. See you at lunch tomorrow?”
He backed away. “All right. Tomorrow, then.”
She nodded and hurried off. Instead of going to his next class, he made a detour for the office. Seeing her once a day at lunch wasn’t going to work for the plan. He needed to get a class with her, and since she enjoyed physics, he’d impress her with his knowledge of it.
He wasn’t a monster like Henry. The girls Reese had been with fully understood there would be no relationship. His conscience nagged him day and night. Aster didn’t deserve his inevitable betrayal. But Jan was right. To get her to change his fate regardless of the consequences, she had to love him.
It would be better to fool her, but in order to change a cursed fate, she had to know how to do it. And that meant—just as the other fate changers had chronicled in his family’s records—she needed to realize the price. He couldn’t risk it. She had to care enough for him to do it. The cost to her was relatively small compared to his. Besides, she had only girls in her family. Since his family’s curse affected only sons, perhaps hers would be safe.
But even though his reasoning made sense in his head, it couldn’t change the pull on his heart. He genuinely liked her. She tended to linger in his thoughts more often than not, and he found himself anxious for the next tim
e they’d be together.
Chapter Nine
Aster
Aster yawned and wiped the sweat from her forehead. The first day of school had been challenging, and resisting a kiss from Reese at lunch had added to the suckage. Her head throbbed from wearing the mask Miri had given her to put on while attending her readings. It was after ten, and if she didn’t get to bed soon, she’d be useless at school tomorrow. She dropped her keys on the counter and grabbed a juice pack from the refrigerator, stabbing the straw into the pouch.
Reaching for a cheese stick, she thought about the evening at Miri’s card table. Aster had tried to change a few fates, but no freaky magic had happened. It wasn’t until the next-to-last customer’s reading that the pyrotechnics had shown up. A woman was planning a trip to pick up a child she was to adopt in Colombia. Aster saw the delayed travel, the anguish the woman would go through, and the loss of the baby. The woman’s story upset Aster so much that she’d wanted to help. And that’s when the magic happened.
The card trick had freaked the woman out, but Miri assured her it was normal and that her fate had definitely changed. Aster knew it had shifted. She’d felt it. Her mark even lit up—it was a faint red glow. That was when she figured out how fate changers work. They had to feel for the person on the other side of the card.
“Hey, it’s late. What have you been up to?” Aunt Roselyn asked as she crossed the kitchen, rubbing her large belly. “My little man is hungry.”
Aster stepped out of her way to let her inspect the shelves. Their hands touched as they went by each other, and an electric shock passed between them.
“Oh,” Aunt Roselyn yelped, startled. “You shocked me.”
Gulping down the cheese chunk in her mouth, Aster choked. She quickly slurped down some juice.
“Are you okay? Don’t panic.” Aunt Roselyn moved behind Aster, readying herself to do the Heimlich.
Aster waved her off. “I’m okay. I’m okay.”
“Don’t take such big bites,” she said, reaching into the refrigerator and grabbing a Greek yogurt. “Night, sweetie.”
“Night.” Aster stared after her. That jolt was bigger than a normal static charge, and it concerned her. A similar charge had happened between her and Iris the night Aster had changed Leah’s fate. And right afterward, Iris had gotten back together with Josh, who was definitely the wrong match for her. She should be with Wade. Just like Leah should be with Henry and not Jan. Still, it was probably just a coincidence. There was no way Aster had made it happen.
Aster didn’t know why she was worried, but she felt like something bad was about to happen. But really, Aunt Roselyn was due to have her baby in a few weeks. She didn’t have any travel plans.
You are so cray, Aster. Miri is tricking you. She just wants the extra money fate changing brings in. Aster resolved to stay away from the reader. Her gram was right—it was all a scam, and Aster was a fool for going along with it.
…
Aster was surprised when Reese strolled into her physics class. He hadn’t been in it yesterday. Did he change classes to be with her? No. That was silly. His schedule must’ve been messed up like hers had.
How the hell am I supposed to concentrate with him in my class? Reese’s soft T-shirt hugged every one of his muscles like a surgical glove. He flashed her that smug smile of his that said “I’m sexy and I know it” before taking his seat. His back tapered down into a perfect V-shape, and his jeans tightened around his ass just as he sat down. Thankfully, she had the advantage of sitting behind him. If he’d been behind her, she’d be self-conscious to the point of insanity.
Shelby Black and her mini-me entered the classroom. The two girls had the same hairstyle and wore almost matching fashionable outfits. The only difference was that Shelby was nearly six feet tall and her minion (for the life of Aster, she couldn’t remember her name) was barely five feet. Every guy in school had a hard-on for Shelby. She could be a cover model for Maxim if she wanted. The two blondes sauntered their way down the row of desks, Shelby coming to a halt at the sight of Reese.
“Is it me or did it just get a whole lot hotter in here?” She pretended to fan herself. “Hi, sweetie, I’m Shelby, and you are?”
“I’m Reese.” He straightened in his seat. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
A small storm rose inside Aster. Really? Typical. No hot-blooded guy could resist Shelby’s charms.
“Oh, you’re foreign.” Shelby made to sit on his desk and he pretended not to notice, flipping open his book and blocking her move. “Let me know if you need a tour guide.”
“Thank you, but I already have one,” he said.
Shelby looked around to see if anyone noticed her crash and burn with Reese before continuing to her seat. It was going to be a very bad day for Mini-me and anyone else who crossed Shelby’s path. The vixen wasn’t used to rejection.
Aster grabbed her purse and acted as if she were searching for a pencil, struggling to keep the corners of her mouth from rising. Maybe Reese was a nice guy. He had referred to her as his tour guide. But what if he’d meant someone else instead of her?
Am I playing too hard to get?
Mr. Jackson stood at the whiteboard scribbling equations. Aster wasn’t paying any attention to his lesson.
I’m an idiot. He won’t wait forever.
Reese turned around just then and winked at her.
She smiled back at him, relieved. She could do this. All she had to do was treat it as a fling. Not every relationship had to be a committed one. No strings attached. And she might even get to run her hands over his well-toned muscles and kiss those hungry lips of his.
Gah! Concentrate, Aster. She frantically wrote down the information from the board. With Reese in the class, she was sure she’d fail. And since failing wasn’t an option, maybe going out with him would ease some of the tension.
…
After school, Aster had avoided Reese and made it to her mom’s floral shop without any too-hot-to-handle incidents. Though if she was honest with herself, she’d admit to desperately wanting a close encounter with him.
When she got home a few hours later, she closed the front door and dropped her backpack on the bench in the foyer.
It sounded like a whale was dying upstairs when Aster walked into the great room. “Hi, Gram,” she said, plopping down on the couch beside her. “Who’s crying?”
Gram looked up from her knitting. She was making something blue. Most likely, a baby’s blanket. “Your aunt. She’s beside herself. Herman’s travel plans have been delayed. Roselyn was hoping he’d be here for the baby’s birth.”
“Oh, that’s horrible…” Aster’s thoughts trailed off to the chariot card she had changed for the woman the other day. Herman’s travel plans had changed?
“You’re home late,” Gram said. “Where have you been?”
“I was at the shop. It’s Tuesday. I had to clean the refrigerator.”
“That’s right. With all the drama around here, my mind is foggy.”
Another series of inhuman cries broke out.
Poor Aunt Roselyn. It’s all my fault. I made this happen.
Just when she was about to freak out, someone knocked on the front door.
Aster sprang to her feet. “I’ll get it.”
On the other side of the door, Reese wore a wide grin, a pink pastry box in one hand, a thermos in the other, and a blanket tucked under his arm. “Hullo.”
She recognized the box. It was from her favorite French bakery, Les Délices.
“Hi?” She eyed him, then the box, then the blanket.
“You rushed off the other day at lunch without answering my question, so I decided to take a chance and drop in.” He shook the box slightly. “I thought we could have dessert on the beach.”
“Are you for real?”
He looked down at himself. “I believe so. What’s the matter?”
“I just, um…” Stop it, Aster ordered herself. What could happen? It’s just dessert. A
very romantic dessert on the beach, she worried. No strings, remember? “Just a minute. I’ll get a sweater.”
“Certainly.” He beamed, and the excitement on his face was amazingly adorable.
She grabbed her sweater off the couch and kissed Gram on the cheek. “It’ll all get better soon, I’m sure. I’m going out on a date.”
“Does your mother know?” Gram strained her neck to see who was standing at the door.
“Just tell her he’s against type.”
Aster led Reese down the deck steps to the beach. She slipped off her Vans and socks. Reese removed his fancy ones. They left them on the bottom step and trudged over the sand to a spot a ways down from the house.
The familiar briny smell of the sea filled her nose. “Hello, Gramps,” she said under her breath.
“Hullo, Mr. Layne,” Reese said, grabbing her hand.
Her heart leaped at his touch. “He’s Mr. Froggatt. Layne is my dad’s name.”
“Ah, my apologies, Mr. Froggatt,” he called out to the waves.
She squeezed his hand. “Thanks.”
“Does this mean I have to behave myself? Surely he won’t stick around and watch us, will he?”
“He probably has better things to do,” she said.
They spread a blanket on the sand and sat on top of it. Aster pulled her legs into a pretzel. “So what’s in the box?”
“You aren’t the patient type, are you?” He undid the ribbon holding the package closed and flipped open the top, then handed her a napkin.
The wind whipped Aster’s hair across her face and she tucked it behind her ears. “Nice thermos,” she said.
“My mother sent it to us. She has an addiction to online purchasing.” He lifted out a cream puff.
It was her favorite pastry at the shop. “I’m impressed. You did your research. I’ll have to thank Leah later.”
He chuckled, handing her the pastry. “You will. She was very specific.”
She took a bite, the creamy, sugary goodness tasting like heaven on her tongue.
“Good, huh?”
She nodded, not wanting to speak and spray powdered sugar at him or something.
