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He was going to make her cry, right here in her favorite bookstore. It wouldn’t be the first time, but it would certainly be the most memorable.
“Indy, you’re the kind of special I never could have wished for. Because I didn’t think it existed.” He brushed her cheek so gently. Always gentle. “I had convinced myself that magic didn’t exist, and then this gorgeous woman came along, talking about fate and soulmates, and she was everything I ever wanted. And do you know what? It made mewantto believe.”
Maybe the psychic was wrong. Maybe Fate didn’t exist.
Or maybe destiny was what she made it. Fickle in its insistence that she participate. Make space for herself, declare her intentions. Forge her own path.
It would be scarier, for sure. On her own, without the safety net of a predetermined destination.
But maybe, she thought, looking up into Ethan’s handsome face, it would be more rewarding.
In the end, the decision was easy. Ethan. Real and unflappable, earnest and kind. There was no mystery, no big picture. Just a man standing before her, asking her out.
All she had to do was say yes.
But as she opened her mouth to speak, Fate intervened.
“Indy? Is that you?”
ChapterFourteen
It was a voice she hadn’t heard in fifteen years, sharpened with time, and even if she hadn’t recognized it, the way Ethan straightened and tensed would have clinched it.
“Hi, Nick. Long time, no see.”
She’d imagined this moment a hundred times. What she’d say, what he’d say, the way it would feel.
This was her destiny. It was meant to be easy, to slot into place as though it was what Indy had always been missing.
But looking at Nick now, Indy felt nothing. Except for a strong urge to yell at him for avoiding them both all this time.
And Ethan?
Being with him was easy, even if nothing she felt for him was simple.
It was so much more, an overwhelming sense of right combined with the knowledge that the choice was hers. If she wanted, Ethan could simply… go away, taking his fluffy hair, callused hands, and earnest affection with him.
Or he could stay. With her.
She never imagined anything more definite than Fate, but it was the only way to describe how sure she was. This wasn’t a path she was following, but one she was forging for herself. One Ethan, her anchor, her sidekick, was discovering along with her. She finally got it. The uncertainty of the future didn’t vanish. It simply made her more determined. Ethan was who she wanted, and she would storm every castle and undo the very rules of the universe to be with him.
Fate be damned.
“Hey, Nick.”
“Ethan? I didn’t realize you two knew each other.”
“It’s a long story.”
Nick looked as she’d seen before, polished and pristine. But that was it. Yes, his suit was expensive and he smiled winningly, but there was none of his cousin’s warmth. No teasing spark in his eyes, no dimple, no crooked tooth. The man standing before her cared about impressions, about himself above all else. He’d taken Ethan’s hard-saved money and spent it on the final blow to Ethan’s relationship. And then he’d avoided every chance of facing the consequences.
From the downturn of his gaze and the shuffle of his weight, it was clear Nick hadn’t planned on a confrontation. Indy huffed. As if Ethan was like that.
No. Maybe once there had been hope that Nick was the man for her, but if so, Indy was either too early or too late. Not that it mattered anymore. Ethan was who she wanted.
Fate had had her chance. Indy was taking the reins now.
“It’s been, what, fifteen years?” Nick stuffed a hand into his pocket, his attention firmly on Indy. The memory of Ethan calling him a coward in the lobby of his office returned to her now, and she shifted her stance so that she was shielding Ethan from Nick.
