Page 2

Now it feels like there's a chance for all of us. Sort of.

"Cassian? Wow, you look good!" Valentina's in the kitchen when I enter, busying herself with an old recipe she's been trying to nail ever since she lost her memory. The downside of losing things is that the secret ingredient to her pasta dish is one of the few things that didn't come back to her, and she's spent hours in here trying to work out exactly what it was.

"You think?" I smooth one hand down my shirt. "It's not too much?"

"It's different," she says with a glance at me. "But you look good. Silver on your skin is beautiful."

"You don't think I look like some weird antique candle?"

A loud snort of amusement rises from the nearby dining table where Bradley sits, taking up most of the space while studying several documents laid out before him.

"Do you think I look like a candle?" I ask.

Bradley looks up and runs his eyes over me before he snorts again and returns to his work.

"Someone tell me if I look like a weird candle!"

"No, you don't." Valentina laughs. "Are you really that nervous about tonight?"

"Well, as Raven pointed out," I say while moving past her to the fridge, "I haven't been on a date for a really long time."

"You're seeing the girl from the restaurant, right?"

Grabbing one of my smoothies from the fridge, I wince inwardly and shake my head. "No."

"No?" Valentina's brows lift to her hairline as she turns to me, spatula in hand. "I thought you were crushing hard on that pretty chef?"

"I am."

"But your date isn't with her?"

"No."

"But you're going there to have a date?"

"Exactly."

Her eyes narrow. "What game are you playing?"

"No, it's nothing like that." I flash her a reassuring smile. "Listen, I'm not denying the fact that I like the chef. She's pretty and sweet and really funny, and I like how she makes me feel like I'm the only one around when she talks to me."

Valentina's face shows no more understanding. "Want some pasta before you go?"

"No, we're having dinner there. But that's why I can't ask her out. I really like her, and we all love eating there. I don't want to make it awkward by ruining the best Italian restaurant within ten blocks, and I also don't want to risk making it awkward by having her reject me and then I lose her as a friend."

"So instead," Valentina says slowly as she leans back against the counter, "you're going there on a date with someone else?"

I sigh deeply and take a long drink of my smoothie before I talk. "Yeah. But I didn't pick that place to eat. My date did."

"Honestly?" She smirks at me. "I would rather walk into a gang war unarmed than deal with any of that."

"You're speaking from a place of safety," I remind her. "Diego loves you. You don't have to worry about the dating pool or risk losing your favorite place to eat because you have a crush."

"True." She smiles and laughs softly. "All I can do is wish you luck."

"Thanks," I say while another amused snort rises from Bradley. Flipping him off, I kiss Valentina's cheek and head out of our home.

In my dreams, I throw all my caution aside and ask my crush out with the confident comfort that she will say yes. Then we make sweet love together on the counter surrounded by flour and marinara sauce.