by Brenda Drake
She looked back up at him. “What kind of game?”
“One where I tell you something about me, then you tell me something about yourself.”
“Sure, why not?” She twirled around and padded across the beach, lifting up sand with her toes and flicking it into the air in front of her. “You go first.”
“All right, then,” he said, keeping pace with her. “My family lives in a castle just outside of Amsterdam, complete with towers and turrets. It’s been in the family for generations. We only live in a few rooms. The rest of the place is open for tours. It helps pay for the upkeep and taxes.”
“Really?” She knotted her fingers behind her back. “Does that mean you’re royal?”
“No. But my father is a count.” He hated talking about his lineage. “It’s just a title,” he said, as if it wasn’t a big deal, which it wasn’t, at least to him.
“That’s pretty awesome,” she said.
“Now you.”
She bent over and picked up a half-buried seashell. “My dad left my mom for an older woman… His boss.”
“That’s fucking brutal.”
Her mouth dropped open.
“What?” he said.
“I’m impressed. I thought your kind didn’t swear.”
“My kind would be uptight and polite, possibly?”
“You could ease up a little,” she said, laughing. “Your turn.”
“My accent and slang is a mixture I picked up from the various boarding schools I attended around Europe. I sound nothing like my parents.” He wanted to grab her hand, but thought better of it. She seemed more relaxed around him now, and he didn’t want to push it.
She tossed the seashell into the ocean. “You must’ve been lonely without your family.”
Rather, happy to be away, actually. Should I tell her I couldn’t stand to watch my parents suffer? That I was tired of pretending that I didn’t know their secret?
“It was difficult, at times,” he admitted. “You’re next.”
“Okay,” she said. “I’ve had three serious boyfriends. All bad-boy types. I’ll spare you the details, but they totally broke my heart.”
“Hence, the walls,” he said.
“I don’t have walls. I just promised my mom I’d choose more wisely next time.” She stopped, and Reese went in front of her. “Relationships suck,” she said. “I want to find someone like my grandfather. He loved Gram so much his heart couldn’t contain it. He had a heart attack on the way to the beach for his morning swim. This was his beach,” she said, glancing across the silky sand and then down at her feet, her face forlorn. “I feel close to him here. I miss him so much.”
Reese cupped her cheeks with his hands, tilting her face up to look into her eyes. Tears sparkled on her lower lashes. “You’re amazing, Aster. I want to kiss you, but I can wait. We don’t have to rush it. I just hope you’ll give me the opportunity to show you who I am.”
She swallowed hard before pulling away and turning to go back to the house.
Shit. I blew it. I should have just kissed her.
But she wasn’t walking away. She lowered her head and sighed before facing him again. He waited for her to say something, but she just stared into his eyes. She took two quick steps to him and slid her hands around his neck.
“I do want you to kiss me,” she whispered and raised her face toward him.
He wrapped his arms around her and lowered his lips to hers, kissing her gently. Her lip gloss tasted like strawberries, and her skin held a spicy floral scent—a mixture of nutmeg and rose petals. Their kiss deepened, and his body tensed under the heat of it.
Her heart beat hard against his chest, matching his with every aching thump. His hands traveled down her back and over her bum. Her toned body was soft in all the right places. He much preferred a curvier body like hers than one that looked starved. A quiet moan escaped her lips, and he brushed his tongue over them.
“Excuse me,” a woman’s voice broke in, tearing them apart.
“Mom,” Aster croaked out and backed away from him.
“I tried to text you.”
“I don’t have my phone on me,” Aster said. She resembled her mother. They had the same auburn hair, hazel eyes, and tanned skin.
“We’re about to serve cake,” her mother said.
“Okay,” Aster said.
“I’m Selina,” the woman said. “And you are?”
He straightened. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Reese.”
“Nice to meet you,” she said. “All right, then. Hurry back. We’re lighting candles.” She nodded and went back the way she had come, but didn’t get far before calling over her shoulder, “I sure hope he’s against type.”
A girl with long strawberry-blond hair jogged by with an eager bloke on her heels.
Aster fisted her hands. “Iris, what the hell are you doing with Josh?”
Iris turned around and continued jogging backward. “We made up. Isn’t that great? And just in time for my birthday.”
“That’s suicidal,” Aster yelled.
“Don’t be an ass. Do you even have a filter? Sheesh.” She spun back around and continued on to the house. Josh flashed Aster the middle finger before grabbing Iris’s hand.
“Ugh,” Aster huffed.
“Hey, you all right?” Reese drew her into his arms. Her heart was hammering again, but clearly for a different reason.
“She doesn’t get it,” she mumbled against his chest. “He is so not nice to her.”
He rubbed her back. “You can’t change her. Some people live a fool’s life.”
She pulled away and regarded him. “The fool…?”
“What’s the matter?”
“Um…” She shook her head. “Nothing. Let’s do cake.”
Chapter Seven
Aster
Aster wasn’t a hundred percent sure how she managed to get back to the boardwalk. If she’d had anything to drink other than water at the twins’ party last night, she would have thought someone had spiked it. So many thoughts and images clouded her head—she was on autopilot. She glanced at the raised mark on her wrist. It was so not normal how fast it had healed. Only a light scar resembling an infinity symbol remained. The symbol was too perfect. It was as though someone had branded it into her skin.
Added to the fact that her Sleepless in Ocean City nights were filled with pornographic dreams of Reese and mad images of tarot cards flipping across her mind, she was beyond tired. She could just curl up somewhere and die. Instead, she found herself peering into the darkened windows of the tarot reader’s house.
The early morning was chilly. The smell of baked goods hovered over the boardwalk as the café prepared for the breakfast rush. She slipped her sweater on before checking the time on her phone. Her mom expected her in the shop by nine. It was the last Sunday of spring break, and her mom had booked a wedding. It was also a big day for tourists on the boardwalk. Aster had hoped the reader’s shop would already be open.
Giving up, she turned to leave when the door was suddenly yanked open, startling her.
“It’s you,” the reader said. “Hurry. Come in. I don’t want people thinking I’m open for business.”
The woman was in her pajamas. Or it could possibly be a yoga outfit, but Aster doubted they put rabbits on yoga pants. Plus the woman was totally free-boobing under that T-shirt—an image Aster feared would forever be burned in her memory. “I’m sorry if I woke you,” she said.
“You didn’t. It takes me many hours to get going.” She shut the door behind Aster and locked it. “My name is Miri.”
“I’m Aster.” She took a step forward, glancing back at the door with a gulp. Oh, you should not be here, she told herself. But I have to know. She took a deep breath and moved completely into the room. “I suppose you’re wondering why I’m here.”
“I know why you’re here. I called for you.” She sat at the scene of the pyrotechnic burn crime. A royal-blue tablecloth had replaced the ruined
purple one. Picking up a deck of cards, she ordered Aster to sit.
Something gold on the carpet caught Aster’s eye, and she picked it up. It was a pin. It looked to be a family crest of some sort, with a lion and swirly initials on it. “This yours?”
The woman took it. A strange expression crossed over her face before she dropped the pin in a candy bowl on the window ledge behind her. “A customer must have lost it.”
Aster sat in the chair across from Miri. “What do you mean, you called me?”
“It’s a ritual my grandmother taught me.”
“Does it have to do with flashing images of tarot cards keeping me up all night?”
The cards slapped together as Miri shuffled them. The backsides were purple with a green vine design on them. “That was all you. I just gave you clarity and a need to seek answers. Cut the cards.” She placed the stacked deck in front of Aster.
“I’m not touching those.”
“Nothing will happen this time. You can’t change your own fate.”
“Have you been huffing or something?” Aster snapped. “I can’t change people’s fates. And whatever it is you did to me, the calling thing, I want you to take it back.”
“How is your friend? Was she open to the best choice for her?”
“What—?” Aster said but stopped, remembering Leah had chosen Jan over Henry.
“I assume that’s a yes.”
“Yes. No.” Aster shook her head. “What do you mean?”
“She received the reverse star card,” she said. “Which meant she’d choose the fool over the right lover. But it was changed when you touched it, and her eyes were opened to what was better for her.”
It’s true. You know it, Aster. This is insane. Okay, don’t panic. Shit. Just breathe. Just—
Miri picked up a pink crystal and placed it against Aster’s forehead. She held it there until it heated. A calm rushed over Aster, and she relaxed back against her chair.
“Better?” Miri asked.
Aster nodded. “Okay, what if I can change fates? How did this happen to me?”
“You were born with it,” she said.
“So, it’s like a recessive gene?”
Miri blinked. “I’m not one for the sciences. It’s simply a gift. Embrace it.”
“Embrace it?” The frustration Aster felt blew. “How can you embrace something you know nothing about?”
“Some things aren’t easy to explain,” Miri said. “They come as naturally as breathing. And now that you’re aware, you can do a lot of good with it.” She patted the deck. “Now, you cut.”
“I don’t want a reading.”
“This isn’t a reading. We pull just one card to determine what arcana your power is directed by.”
Aster knew it was batshit crazy to put any truth in Miri’s words, but she sort of did believe it. After all, Leah had done a one-eighty and had chosen Jan. She cut the deck, and Miri stacked them back together. She flipped over a card. The image on the card was of a woman with an infinity symbol above her head petting a lion.
“The strength card,” Miri said, smiling as though she’d just won something on a scratch lottery ticket. “It represents inner strength and the power to overcome obstacles. You are compassionate. See the lion here?” She tapped it with her finger.
“Yeah, it looks like she’s petting it or something.”
“You will tame the lion.”
Aster bit the inside of her lip, trying to calm the lion of frustration building up in her. “Which means…?”
“We shall see. You should sit in on some readings with me.” She returned the strength card to the deck and slipped the stack into a matching box.
“And do what?”
“Change people’s fates,” she said. “Try it out on some customers. If they pull a card from the deck and it’s a bad fate, you change it. If it’s a good one, you leave it alone.”
Aster glanced at her scar. “I don’t think so. It hurt last time.”
“That’s the mark of fate,” she said. “It only happens on the first change.”
There is so going to be a straitjacket in your future. Just as Aster thought it, she remembered her mom’s and Gram’s ban on tarot readings. If she had listened to them in the first place, none of this “out there” crap would be going down right now.
“I’ll charge twenty dollars,” Miri said. “You’ll get fifteen and I’ll keep five.”
“I still can’t do it.” Aster checked the time on her phone again. She had ten minutes to make it to the floral shop. “Tarot is forbidden in my house. If anyone spots me, I’ll be locked up for life.”
“You can wear a mask and use a different name. No one will know you.” She held out the box of tarot cards to her. “Take these and get to know each card. Unlike tarot reading, fate changers use just one card. Their meanings are actual. So the death card means death.” She nudged the box toward Aster again.
“I can’t get caught with those,” she said.
“You must take them. You’ve already imprinted on them. They will always seek and find you. Keep them hidden.”
Pushy, much? Aster grumbled but took the cards anyway.
“See you after school tomorrow,” Miri said, closing the door behind Aster and bolting it.
Aster texted her mom to tell her she would be a few minutes late. On the way to the parking lot, she spotted Reese across the mostly vacant boardwalk jogging in shorts and a tank top. His hair was damp and wavy. Sweat glistened on his toned muscles as they flexed and extended. He was perfect. She imagined doing all kinds of nasty things with him.
He jogged to a stop in front of her. “Hullo,” he panted.
“Hey,” she said. “What are you doing here?”
“Our flat is nearby. And you’re about early.” He wiped the sweat from his face with the hem of his T-shirt, exposing ripped abs. His low-slung shorts revealed a well-defined V-line leading to his hidden male parts.
Aster tried to divert her eyes, but her gaze kept going to his exposed belly. “Um…flat?”
“You’d call it a condo. Where are you heading?”
There was no way she could tell him where she’d actually been. “Uh…I was running an errand for my mom.”
He finally released his shirt, covering up and ending her torture. “I know today is family day, but I wondered if you were available after school tomorrow.”
She really wanted to spend time with him, possibly do some more lip locking, but… “Sorry, I have plans. Maybe we’ll have the same lunch?”
“One can hope.”
“I should go.” An awkward moment passed between them, as if they didn’t know whether to hug, kiss, or shake hands good-bye. “Well, see you later.” She opted for half raising her hand, then dropping it to her side. Before she could dash off, he caught her hand and pulled her to him, giving her a quick kiss on the mouth.
“Have a wonderful family day, and I’ll see you at school tomorrow.” He winked and jogged off, leaving her wanting more of his scrumptious lips and hot guy smell.
She couldn’t forget the first time he smiled at her with his blue eyes dazzling in the lights of the boardwalk. She couldn’t forget the adorable mock-shocked expression on his face when she slammed her bumper car into his. And she absolutely couldn’t forget the touch of his lips on hers and the number of tingles it ignited within her. She was so screwed.
Aster’s phone chimed, announcing a text from her mom. She was not at all happy that Aster was late.
A thought hit her as she unlocked the Bug. Are we together, together? Cause only boyfriends kissed good-bye. Right? She so needed to confirm this with Leah. She hopped into her car and slammed the door, driving off in the direction of her mom’s shop.
And there he was, in the distance, still jogging and looking every inch the thoroughbred he was. She suddenly felt panicked. Because it seemed he held the algorithmic key to solving the encrypted code locking her heart. And it scared the shit out of her.
Chap
ter Eight
Reese
American school hallways seemed like racetracks with how frequently the students had to change classes. With what they called zero hour, Reese had already attended four classes before lunch, and he’d spotted Aster only once. She had simply given him a wave, then practically run from him, which was confusing. Yesterday morning on the boardwalk, she had seemed attracted to him. He’d even caught her admiring his abs.
Exiting the lunch line, he inspected the subpar food slopped on his tray. The smell of fried fish sticks and ammonia hung in the air.
“Reese, over here!” Leah yelled from her seat beside Jan, waving him over.
They were alone. Aster’s absence from the table concerned Reese. How could he get close to her if she did everything she could to avoid him? Kissing her yesterday morning had been a shoddy move. She had been responsive to his kiss on the beach, which made him believe she fancied him. But his cheeky move in the parking lot must have scared her off. He balanced his tray and walked over to the table, sitting across from Jan and Leah.
Two overexcited girls rushed over and Leah stood to greet them, each of them taking turns going into long animated monologues about their summer holidays. American girls were much more dramatic than European ones.
Both girls eyed Reese, then whispered something to Leah. The group broke out in giggles, and he pulled his eyes from them to search the lunchroom again. Still no sign of Aster.
Jan leaned over the table. “Leah says you must step up your game. Aster’s smitten with you, but she’s had a recent heartbreak. I think you shouldn’t wait for her to agree to a date. You should stop by her home and surprise her with a picnic dinner. Take her to the beach. It’s her favorite place. And whatever you do, don’t bring flowers. She hates flowers.”
The girls hugged Leah and retreated for the lunch line.
She sat back down beside Jan. “How’s your first day so far?”
Reese opened his milk carton. “Is Aster miffed at me?”
Leah gave him a puzzled look. “Why would you say that?”
“She’s been avoiding me.”
“Who’s been avoiding you?” Aster said, placing her tray down and sitting across from him and beside Leah.