stare at the face obscured by the brightness of the sun.
“Whoa, sweetie, I’ve got ya.”
The deep drawl broadcasted he wasn’t a local, but I knew that already. I was the only lion in town.
If there had been another, especially a male, he would have found me years ago. He steadied me as he lowered me back on my heels. I was torn between bolting and standing my ground. The lioness instincts wanted to do one or the other. I compromised by stepping away, trying to force Yasmine back through the doorway.
“Happy birthday,” she whispered into my ear as she urged me onto the sidewalk. To the lion, she said, “It took you long enough. You were supposed to be here ten minutes ago.”
“You said about an hour, Yas. If you want punctuality, ask someone to drive you around who wears a watch.”
Betrayal was a bitter taste on my tongue. Whoever this man, this lion was, Yasmine had brought him here. Turning her around, I pushed her through the doorway.
“We’ll be right back, Luke,” she called over my shoulder as I kicked the door closed in his face.
“What are you trying to do?”
She looked down at me with a full pout. I frowned until she gave up the cute act with a heavy sigh.
“You’re lonely. I asked Kale if he knew any lions and he happened to have a friend…”
“Stop! You asked your fiancé to find me a lion? By all that’s holy, Yasmine, what were you thinking? Kale doesn’t even like me.” I threw up my hands and stalked into my waiting room to pace and think.
“Destiny, Kale does like you. He wants to see you happy and settled down as badly as I do.”
And there it was. What was it with couples in those first throes of passion and their need to pair all their friends off? Granted, Kale and Yasmine had been chasing each other around for years, alternating on who was doing the chasing and who was being chased, but they’d only recently established themselves. Yasmine’s pregnancy had been the catalyst to make things permanent
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
between them.
“I don’t want to settle down, Yasmine. We’ve been over this a thousand times. Just because you’re happily setting up house with the local pack doesn’t mean I need to find myself a pride and prostrate myself before the King Rex.”
“Fine. You still need a date for the wedding on Saturday. He’s come a long way to meet you, so at least give him that.”
“Funny, he got a glowing report and I got blindsided. Whose side are you on?”
“Mine.”
I pulled up short and turned to stare at her framed in the doorway. Her linen dress was immaculate and worth more than my car, though that didn’t say much. She had come a long way from the urchin at St. George’s. With a start, I realized I’d put enough distance between us so that we were barely friends. The only thing keeping us together was her dogged determination not to leave me behind.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what, Destiny? You’ve not done anything.” Her tone was so carefully neutral that I knew I’d hit the nail on the head. I tried to explain, wanting nothing more than to make things right between us.
“I’ve not been a good friend to you. When was the last time we had Saturday breakfast and gossiped over our week?”
“Since before I moved in with Kale. I’ve missed that. I’ve missed you. I know it was wrong to spring Luke on you, but I had this misguided idea that if we could get back on the same level in our lives, we’d be as close as we used to be.”
Yasmine had always been the one constant in my life. Shame replaced my temper. I pulled the drapes aside to see the lion leaning against the hood of the black sedan. Without the sun behind him, I could see him clearly. His cotton shirt stretched across broad, muscled shoulders. He was taller than my usual preference, but it made me wonder what kind of lion he could make. Size displacement can be a daunting prospect in relation to a
“Whoa, sweetie, I’ve got ya.”
The deep drawl broadcasted he wasn’t a local, but I knew that already. I was the only lion in town.
If there had been another, especially a male, he would have found me years ago. He steadied me as he lowered me back on my heels. I was torn between bolting and standing my ground. The lioness instincts wanted to do one or the other. I compromised by stepping away, trying to force Yasmine back through the doorway.
“Happy birthday,” she whispered into my ear as she urged me onto the sidewalk. To the lion, she said, “It took you long enough. You were supposed to be here ten minutes ago.”
“You said about an hour, Yas. If you want punctuality, ask someone to drive you around who wears a watch.”
Betrayal was a bitter taste on my tongue. Whoever this man, this lion was, Yasmine had brought him here. Turning her around, I pushed her through the doorway.
“We’ll be right back, Luke,” she called over my shoulder as I kicked the door closed in his face.
“What are you trying to do?”
She looked down at me with a full pout. I frowned until she gave up the cute act with a heavy sigh.
“You’re lonely. I asked Kale if he knew any lions and he happened to have a friend…”
“Stop! You asked your fiancé to find me a lion? By all that’s holy, Yasmine, what were you thinking? Kale doesn’t even like me.” I threw up my hands and stalked into my waiting room to pace and think.
“Destiny, Kale does like you. He wants to see you happy and settled down as badly as I do.”
And there it was. What was it with couples in those first throes of passion and their need to pair all their friends off? Granted, Kale and Yasmine had been chasing each other around for years, alternating on who was doing the chasing and who was being chased, but they’d only recently established themselves. Yasmine’s pregnancy had been the catalyst to make things permanent
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
between them.
“I don’t want to settle down, Yasmine. We’ve been over this a thousand times. Just because you’re happily setting up house with the local pack doesn’t mean I need to find myself a pride and prostrate myself before the King Rex.”
“Fine. You still need a date for the wedding on Saturday. He’s come a long way to meet you, so at least give him that.”
“Funny, he got a glowing report and I got blindsided. Whose side are you on?”
“Mine.”
I pulled up short and turned to stare at her framed in the doorway. Her linen dress was immaculate and worth more than my car, though that didn’t say much. She had come a long way from the urchin at St. George’s. With a start, I realized I’d put enough distance between us so that we were barely friends. The only thing keeping us together was her dogged determination not to leave me behind.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what, Destiny? You’ve not done anything.” Her tone was so carefully neutral that I knew I’d hit the nail on the head. I tried to explain, wanting nothing more than to make things right between us.
“I’ve not been a good friend to you. When was the last time we had Saturday breakfast and gossiped over our week?”
“Since before I moved in with Kale. I’ve missed that. I’ve missed you. I know it was wrong to spring Luke on you, but I had this misguided idea that if we could get back on the same level in our lives, we’d be as close as we used to be.”
Yasmine had always been the one constant in my life. Shame replaced my temper. I pulled the drapes aside to see the lion leaning against the hood of the black sedan. Without the sun behind him, I could see him clearly. His cotton shirt stretched across broad, muscled shoulders. He was taller than my usual preference, but it made me wonder what kind of lion he could make. Size displacement can be a daunting prospect in relation to a
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