Read Online Tempting Fate by Amber Lin - Free Book Online Page A

didn’t need to be. He was used to having his implicit curfew obeyed, and I was used to following it.
    “Just meeting a friend,” I said, hoping I wouldn’t have to lie too much to get out of here. I wanted to come clean with Philip, but later. Once Drew and I were more solid, more sure, and not when I was on my way out the door to meet him.
    He frowned. “What friend?”
    “An old one.”
    “Why are you dressed like that?”
    “We’re going to work out together.” Sex was a form of physical exercise, right? Oh, I was going to hell for this.
    He seemed to consider pressing the issue, but he finally turned back to his book. “Don’t come back too late.”
    I mumbled something that would hopefully pass for agreement. If the night went according to plan, I’d come back very late. The plan was very simple. To have sex. Real, regular sex where something of his got inserted into something of mine. Dancing around the issue had been fun, but every ballet needed a climax.
    My ballet studio slumbered in the shadows as I drove past. Drew’s condo was only a couple turns away, which was a lovely accident. A complete coincidence, or had I once heard that he lived near Lincoln Park? Was that why this studio had seemed so enticing? But no, it was perfect all on its own. This was plain old good luck. Serendipity to sweeten the pot.
    Parking was dicey in this whole neighborhood, so I ended up across the street and one block away. The hems of my yoga pants grew soggy as I hurried along the sidewalk, but what really mattered was underneath.
    The doorman smiled when I told him my name. He’d been expecting me, he said. I rode the elevator to the ninth floor.
    Drew grinned as he opened the door. “Hey, you.”
    “Hey back. You…gonna let me in?”
    His grin remained steady. “Definitely. Just savoring the moment.” He waved me inside. “Never thought I’d see the day Rose Murphy showed up at my door.”
    I stopped still at the sight of a fully laid-out dining table. The table itself was small, but its dark wood surface was almost completely obscured by two elaborate place settings, candles, and a low, rectangular arrangement of carnations.
    “Wow.” I looked down at my yoga pants with their soggy hems. “I feel seriously underdressed.”
    He waved a hand in dismissal. “Don’t worry about it.”
    I looked dubiously at his slacks and rumpled shirt. Not a tuxedo, at least, but he clearly outshone me.
    “I’m sorry, Drew. Honestly. I know I should have told him by now.”
    “No, it’s okay. I understand why you haven’t yet. He’d just meddle. It’s nice to be with you…just the two of us.”
    “That’s exactly it,” I said, relieved that he felt it too. The sad truth was that if he were looking for a woman with sophistication and charm, that wasn’t me. I was just Rose, the sister of Philip, the silent dancer on the stage. I still wasn’t sure what he’d found in me of value, but I had enough faith in him to know he had. With him, I was worth more than how I looked or whose blood I shared.
    “Drew,” I said. “I’m not that hungry.”
    “God, me neither.” His expression made the words a lie. He looked hungry…starving…dying for a sip, and I felt it too. Ragged inside, empty. Waiting for something to fill me up, and there was the hallway. His bedroom was only ten feet away. All I needed was courage.
    “I have something to show you. But maybe more private.” I laughed a little, at myself. “Somewhere a little darker than this. I’m not sure I’m ready for a lit room yet.”
    He didn’t laugh. His face was somber, the lines of his face traced in charcoal shadow. His eyes, though. They were full of compassion, brimming with gratitude. Trust me, and I’ll never fail you , they promised, while my heart beat with my answer. He’d always been asking, I realized, with those sexy, soulful eyes, but he’d only moved forward when the answer had changed to yes .
    He took my hand and led me down the