Chapter 21
“Our Vivian has been horny!”Kiera gaped at me.
“It’s not that kind of app!” I defended myself, wondering why I put myself through this.
“Tell us about the app,” Audri said.
I told them how Heartstrings was created by a thirteen-year-old girl.
“One, Kaylee is a genius.” Audri held up a finger. “Two, that’s not dating, honey.”
“It’s not?” I asked, grabbing another throw pillow and tucking it behind my back against the edge of the couch for extra comfort.
Kiera laughed. “Not even close, babe. You were just chatting with a stranger who gave you an option to compare to Arrow. This dude helped you figure out what your heart wanted.”
“Why didn’t you ask to see his picture?” Audri asked.
“Because she feared it would be some pervy old dude who would ruin her fantasy.” Kiera grinned.
“Looks shouldn’t matter,” I protested.
“But they do.” Audri emphasized with her hand gestures. “Especially in the beginning. First impression is everything. You see a hot guy, and that sparks an attraction. Then once you get to know him, that emotion grows deeper. I don’t care what the books or therapists say. Looks matter to some extent.”
“You’re telling me you were attracted to Remi’s looks first?” I asked.
“I thought he was cute when we were teens. Then he grew into a handsome man I couldn’t resist. My impression of him was planted in my mind years ago. It became more as time went by.”
“Same here.” Kiera poked a meatball with a fork and popped it into her mouth. “I always thought Forrest was hot, but he was way out of my league.”
“What do you mean?” I’d never had this kind of conversation with anyone. It fascinated me how my friends started their relationships with their men.
“His girlfriends were all doctors or nurses. I wasn’t a science girl with several college degrees, so I assumed I wasn’t his type.” She reached for the tray of earrings and held up a glittering pair. “I want to buy this,” she said to Audri.
“Each of you gets to pick a pair from my new collection. It’s my gift to you.” Audri smiled. “Wear it and promote it for me.”
“Thanks! You know I will,” Kiera said.
“That’s so sweet, Audri. Thank you!” I reviewed her jewelry and chose a simple golden spiral earring.
Audri turned to me. “Life has an intricate plan full of twists and turns, taking you in circles. But you’ll eventually end up with the person you’re meant to be with.”
“Give him one date and see how it does,” Kiera said. “What should we call this Super Spy Girl mission?”
Oh, God.
“You thought we forgot about the SSG, didn’t you?” Audri winked and reached for the bottle of wine, but it was empty. “I’ll be right back.”
“I thought about giving him a date, but then I saw him with Sylvia.”
“Maybe you misunderstood the situation. Were they hugging? Kissing? Holding hands?”
“No,” I said.
Sylvia was waiting for him to kiss her at the restaurant and he didn’t push her away. I wouldn’t stand around watching it happen.
“Maybe they’re still friends. Why don’t you ask him?”
“On what grounds?”
“Just be straight with him. Ask all the questions.” Kiera grabbed a grape from the fruit bowl. “If his answers settle your nerves, then you have nothing to worry about, right?”
“He asked for a duel once,” I said.
“Go kick his ass. Loser pays for dinner.” Kiera elbowed me in the ribs. “He’s a great catch.”
“And smart too. Very thoughtful. Methodical.” Audri returned with two more bottles of wine. “He used to work for several companies creating their user interface.”
“What’s that?” Kiera asked the same question I had.
“He tests out strategies to help companies attract clients. Like choosing colors that people would most likely be drawn to, the shape of the buy-link box, where to place data that would have the most clicks. Stuff like that. He gave me some tips for my jewelry website and referred me to a former colleague when I wanted to hire someone to do it full time.”
“Forrest said he has a degree in enology too.” Kiera popped the cork.
I didn’t know too many people who studied the science of wine and winemaking. What prompted him to go that route?
For me, my dad inspired me to be a dentist. I remembered this little girl coming in with tremendous fear on her face. Dad had comforted her, transforming her fear to courage. From that day on, she always came in with a bright smile. Her fear had dissolved. I’d seen too many children and adults with that kind of phobia.
I slid a gaze out the door that led to the other room, wondering what Arrow was up to in the other room. If I had known he’d be here, I wouldn’t have come.
Ridiculous. Don’t give any one man that much power.
It wasn’t fear toward him . . . It was fear of me seeing something I wanted but not having the courage to go after it. A relationship would disrupt my responsibilities.
“Anyone want a tarot card reading?” Audri asked, waving a colorful deck.
“You read tarot?” I asked.
“Not really. But there’s a little booklet that’ll give us the interpretations.” Audri took out the deck and began shuffling. “I just got it yesterday. One girl on my design team had a reading with The Silver Rose—some well-known psychic—and bought her deck. I hear it’s hard to get a reading from her.”
Audri gave me a few cards to look at it. The art was mystical, dreamy. I’d gotten a fortune reading one time during the Lunar New Year at a temple, but that was based on Chinese Astrology where each year carried the energy of a certain animal. I loved how different cultures had unique ways of interpreting life. Life was unpredictable and not set in stone. It was all about our choices and how we lived our lives.
Choices. What should I choose? A chance at happiness or to stay annoyed and unhappy?
I’d never had a tarot card reading before.“Sure, why not? I’m open to see what the universe has to say.”
“Me too.” Kiera glanced at the cards. “It better not be anything bad.”
“Nothing is truly bad. It’s how we look at it.”
Kiera arched an eyebrow. “What are you, some kind of witch?”
Audri chuckled. “If I’m a witch, you’re all witches too.”
“And bootiful bitches.” Kiera snorted, making me laugh.
I could tell the wine was getting to my friends.
“Audri’s right though.” I shrugged. “What could seem bad at the moment may actually be perfect in the long run.”
Kiera poked me in the ribs. “Witchy bitch!”
“You’re drunk,” I teased.
“I’m not. And even if I am, it’s fine. It’s been a while since you joined us. Tonight we celebrate Vivian!”
“Celebrate what?” I asked, my brain growing foggy.
“Celebrating your SSG mission,” Kiera said. “What should we call it?”
I shook my head. “You seem more excited about it than I am.”
“That’s how it is.” Kiera waved a hand. “When it was my turn, I was so nervous. There wasn’t room for any excitement.”
“It’s normal.” Audri bumped shoulders with me. “I felt the same with my License to Kiss.” She told me about her sumo wrestling with Remi.
“My mission was called Opals are Forever, and Michelle was From Iceland with Love,” Kiera said. “And Natalie had The Man with the Golden Angle.”
I couldn’t hold in my grin. “A ninety-degree angle is pretty hot.”
Audri tilted her head and considered me. “Your mission should be The World is Not Enough or A View to a Kill.”
Arrow’s kiss resurfaced in my head. “How about A Kiss is Not Enough?”
“Something you need to share?” Amusement gleamed in Kiera’s eyes.
“We kissed once,” I admitted.
“How was it?” Kiera asked.
“Exceptional.” Heat bloomed in me just remembering that moment.
“We want all the sexy deets.” Audri wiggled her eyebrows.
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t know the details about the ‘mission’ yet.”
The mission needed a purpose. What would it prove?
“That can come later,” Audri said.
Kiera refilled her wineglass and topped mine off too. She lifted her glass. “Tonight we’re going to let everything go and just be happy, okay?”
“Okay.” We clinked our wine glasses.
I couldn’t help but see love beaming from Kiera. It was contagious. Love could change a person inside and out.
“It’s time for your reading, girls!” Audri shuffled the cards again and spread them out on the rug. “Just a warning—I’m not a psychic. I’m following directions from this booklet and using my intuition to help with the interpretation.”
Kiera reached for a cheese cracker while I tried the apple tart. I needed something sweet to contrast the recent bitterness in my life.
“Each of us is going to pick a card and see what message it has for us.” Audri nudged me. “You get to go first.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re the only one who’s unattached right now. We’ve got our men, but the world is limitless for you.”
“I don’t define my world by a man.”
“Neither do we,” Audri said. “But they help us see our potential and therefore, expand our world. You’ll understand soon.”
I didn’t know what she meant. I was still irked at Arrow for making me believe something that wasn’t true. And that stupid clown from yesterday had terrified me more than I’d like to admit. So my mood was all over the place.
I inhaled a breath.
What do you want me to know, universe?
I skimmed my fingers along the cards while keeping my mind blank. Then I randomly chose a card and flipped it over.
“Woohoo!” Audri beamed at the Lovers card.
My heart drummed for no reason. “I should pick another card. I wasn’t thinking about anything.”
“No!” Kiera stopped me from taking another card. “They say you receive the most accurate reading when you’re not expecting anything.”
“How?” I stared at the two lovers inside a golden ring.
“Because that’s when your mind is most open to opportunities,” Audri said. “Because you’re not clinging to a specific outcome.”
The Lovers card scared me.
Did it mean I was hoping for love? Needing love? Receiving love? Or was love out of reach?
Maybe the card picked up my thoughts from days ago. Before I saw him and his ex.
“I don’t think it’s true.” I dropped the card on the rug.
“Let’s check out the meaning.” Audri flipped through the booklet, found the page, and read it. “When this card shows up in your reading, it signifies a relationship is on your mind. Communication is paramount right now. You can safely share your feelings with someone you trust. That’s us.” Audri gestured to herself and Kiera. “It’s time to make an important decision. Consider your choices carefully. Open your heart to opportunities.”
“That’s a great reading!” Kiera beamed.
A relationship was on my mind. It was time for me to decide. Heat bloomed on my cheeks for no reason. Or was that the wine?
Audri gave herself a reading and got the Six of Wands, which signified recognition. She was receiving an award for her volunteer work and donation to an animal charity. She was creating a pet accessory line soon.
“Where’s Ignis?” I asked Audri about her adorable cat. The last time I came here, he ran off somewhere.
“He’s upstairs in his little condo. Getting neutered isn’t fun, so he doesn’t like people right now.”
“He’s such a little fluff. I love him,” Kiera said as she picked a card and flipped it over.
She got the Three of Cups, which foretold a time of celebration. Kiera was engaged, and a wedding was in her future. Seemed pretty accurate.
I swayed and shook my head. “I guess I had a little too much wine.”
“Let me get some jasmine tea,” Audri said and looked at Kiera. “Stop giving Vivian wine.”
Kiera held up her hand. “Wasn’t me. She poured it herself.”
“Stop her then.”
“Kiera can’t stop me. I’ll attack her with my snake form.” My fingers formed and mimicked a snake’s head. “Sssssseeee?” Why did I sound strange?
Kiera laughed. “Oh my gosh. She is drunk.”
“I’m not. Just sleepy.” I snuggled into the massive throw pillow, wanting to sleep.
Audri laughed. “She’s definitely not driving home.”
“I know who should take her,” Kiera whispered to Audri.
“What are you guys talking about?” I asked, only half-hearing them.
Another voice joined their conversation. But I wasn’t paying attention because the pillow was so soft. I loved how my face fell onto it, making me so comfortable . . .