Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
Adalyn
The next morning, I slowly opened my eyes. My head felt like a war was going on inside it. But that wasn’t the only thing. There was a man’s arm around me. I froze, too scared to move. What the fuck did I do last night? Everything was a blur. Taking in a deep breath, I slowly turned on my back and saw Harrison lying there. I let out a sigh of relief. He stirred and rolled over. I tried to put the pieces of last night together but couldn’t. How the hell did he end up at my place and in my bed?
I needed coffee bad, so I carefully climbed out of bed and headed to the kitchen. After popping a K-cup in the Keurig, I shook two aspirin in my hand and chased them down with a glass of water. Taking my coffee and sitting at the table, I brought my knee up and placed my hand over my head as I sipped from the cup.
“Morning.” I heard him speak.
When I looked up at him, he stood in his silk boxers, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Morning. Coffee and aspirin?” I asked.
“Please,” he replied as he sat at the table.
I got up from my chair, made him a cup of coffee, and gave him two aspirin.
“Thanks.”
“How did this happen?” I asked as I sat down and wrapped my hands around the warm mug.
“I’m not sure.” He threw the pills down his throat.
“The last thing I remember is dancing.”
“The last thing I remember is picking you up and telling you that you shouldn’t be doing that with your injured foot. After that, everything else is a blur.”
“Wow. I guess we had a great time last night and way too much to drink.”
“Apparently, we did,” he said.
He sat and stared at me, which made me uncomfortable.
“What? Why are you staring at me like that?”
“You have—” He brought his finger to his eye. “Looks like mascara.” He smirked.
“Shit. It probably is. If there’s no way I remember having sex with you, then there’s no way I remembered to wash my face.”
“I think it’s kind of cute.”
“Shut up.” I laughed.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
“Adalyn, it’s Athena. Open up, darling. I brought treats.”
“Shit!” Harrison spoke as he jumped up from the chair and went into the bedroom.
I walked over to the door and opened it.
“Gee, you look like hell.” She smiled.
“Athena, what are you doing here? And how the hell do you look so perfect?”
“I brought us some goodies from my favorite bakery,” she spoke as she stepped inside. She set the bag on the table and moved her head from side to side, sniffing the air. “I smell a man in here. In fact, I smell my brother.”
“Good morning, sister.” Harrison emerged from the bedroom, buttoning his shirt.
“Harrison? What is going on here?” She glared at him.
“Don’t even, Athena. What the hell does it look like?” he said.
“When I asked you to make sure she got home safely, I didn’t mean for you to stay the night. But I guess I’m not surprised. Sit down and have a pastry.” She gestured.
“I can’t. I need to get going. Thanks for the coffee and aspirin, Adalyn.”
“You’re welcome.”
He walked out the door, and Athena made herself a cup of coffee, brought it to the table, and smiled as she sat down.
“Well? How was last night?” She smirked.
“I remember nothing.”
“You don’t remember having sex with my brother?”
“No.”
“Ouch. That’ll hurt his ego.”
I sighed. “It wasn’t the first time we slept together.”
“What?” She cocked her head.
“Sometimes, we have casual sex.” I looked down at the croissant in front of me.
“And how do you feel about that?”
“Well, obviously, I like it if I keep doing it.” I ripped a piece of croissant off and brought it up to my mouth.
She wasn’t stupid. She could tell exactly what I was feeling.
“You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”
“I try not to be.” I gave her an unsure smile. “He’s only interested in casual sex. He made it perfectly clear where he stands regarding women.”
“That’s because the right woman never walked into his life.” She reached over the table and placed her hand on mine. “You are that right woman.”
“I don’t know, Athena.” I shook my head.
“Listen, I’m going to see Madame Lenoir today, and I want you to come with me.”
“Who is she?”
“She’s my psychic. I need some clarity about Pete.” She smiled. “She’s fantastic.”
“I don’t believe in that stuff.”
“But yet you believed that a ring you found caused your life to fall apart?” Her brow raised.
“Good point.”
“She’s on Long Island. Go get dressed.”
“I don’t know, Athena.”
“You know you’re curious, Adalyn.” She got up from the table, walked over to me, and lifted me from my chair. “Now go get dressed.”
We climbed out of the car and stood before a beautiful two-story home with white siding and black shutters. Walking up the three steps that led to the covered porch, Athena knocked on the door.
“Athena, darling,” an older woman with short black hair answered.
“Hello, Lenoir. I brought someone with me. This is Adalyn.”
“It’s nice to meet you, honey. Come in. I have the water brewing for the tea. Have a seat.”
“Your home is lovely,” I spoke.
“Thank you. It’s my pride and joy.” She smiled.
“Lenoir, I was wondering if you could do Adalyn first.”
“Of course, Athena. Have you ever had a reading done before?” she asked.
“No. I haven’t.”
She set down a cup of tea in one of the most beautiful tea cups I’d ever seen.
“Drink up.” She smiled. “You only need to take a few sips.”
I did as she asked, set the teacup back on its small round plate, and pushed it towards her. She took the cup and began looking inside it.
“You’re not from New York,” she spoke.
“No. I’m not. I’m from Seattle.”
“Something brought you here for a very specific reason.”
“I found a ring at the bottom of the ocean that belonged to Athena’s grandmother. That’s why I came to New York. To find the person it belonged to.”
“No. It led you here to find someone else.”
“What do you mean?”
She looked up at me. “You’re here because it’s your destiny. Everything you’ve gone through had to happen to bring you to New York. Both the good and the bad. There will still be forks in the road along this journey you’re on. Use your strength to get past them. What’s written in the stars shall be.”