Unexpected Fate by Harper Sloan Page A

never be enough. However, that doesn’t mean I’m going to sit on my thumbs and let her show that sweet body off, work herself in preparation for someone else.
    I do not think so.
    “That isn’t any of your business,” she huffs and pulls her arm out of my hold.
    “You don’t think?” I ask, narrowing my eyes to slits.
    “I don’t think. I know.”
    “That’s where you’re wrong, baby.” I step into her space and wait for her to make the next move.
    “I’m not wrong, Cohen. Realistic. I’m not the one who’s afraid. I haven’t been afraid to admit how I feel for a long time. You, on the other hand, well . . . I’m sick of waiting for you to come to terms with it. Time to move on.” She crosses her arms, and I want to groan when it brings attention to her tits. I’ve always been a breast man, but even though she isn’t huge, there is more than enough to fit perfectly in my palms and I’ve been thinking about it for way too long.
    “I’m not afraid of you,” I scoff.
    “You’re terrified,” she challenges.
    “You’re delusional.”
    “Ha! As if. Have a good workout, Cohen.” She reaches up and pats my cheek, still trying to play off this indifference. If her palm didn’t linger a little too long on my stubble, then I would possibly believe her.
    What happened to my sweet Dani-girl?
    I watch with a slack jaw as she turns, her long ponytail slapping me in the face, and struts out of the gym. My sisters, Maddi, and Stella all trail behind her, laughing.

MY BODY IS SHAKING SO badly that, once we clear the gym’s front doors and get out of sight of the windows, I almost collapse.
    “I am so proud of you,” Lyn says, reaching out to take my black heels out of my hand so I don’t drop them. You do not drop Louboutins on the ground. Ever.
    “Holy crap, that felt . . . amazing! I mean, I kind of feel like I’m going to puke, but holy crap!”
    “Told you. Confidence. It means everything when dealing with men.”
    “When did you get so smart?” I ask her, trying to calm my heart down after that showdown with Cohen.
    “When you started letting your hormones take over your common sense.”
    “Bitch,” I laugh.
    “Slut,” she smiles.
    That night, I’m pretty sure I am still feeling the adrenaline of my Cohen showdown. He sent me a text shortly after that simply read, “We need to talk,” to which I responded with a very mature, “No we do not.” He didn’t reply, but then again, that isn’t Cohen’s style. When he wants something, he just takes it. I have a feeling that, the next time I run into him, there will be a whole lot of taking.
    Daddy was up when I came home, but I’d left the heels in the car and pulled on some sweatpants and a hoodie over my normal workout gear. He narrowed his eyes, but didn’t say anything. I swear that man knows everything.
    It is most definitely time to move the hell out.
    “Dani?” I hear Mom yell from the kitchen.
    “Hey, Mom. What’s up?”
    “Nothing much, sweetheart. I just wanted to let you know your father and I are going up to the mountains next weekend.” She looks up from her dinner prep and gives me a smile.
    My mom, even at her age, with some gray hair mixed into her dark-red locks, is beautiful. You would never guess that she has two children. She’s just a little taller than I am, but where I got all slim and small, she has the curves. I’m pretty much an exact replica of my mom—which is why Daddy has called me his little princess since the day I was born. Mom is his princess, so it makes sense.
    “And you’re letting me know this because you’re worried Nate will starve?”
    She gives me another smile. “No, my smartass daughter. I’m letting you know this and telling you that there are some boxes in the attic that you can use and giving you a heads-up that I’ll have your very loving but overprotective father hours away and unknowing for four days. Plenty of time for you and the girls to get you packed up and moved into