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Prologue
From: [email protected] Sent: Saturday 2:51 PM
To: [email protected] Subject: Don't keep me in suspense
Dear Mr Zironoff,
Sorry to e-ain, but I was so excited to learn of the potential DNAfor ical parents, I'd love to hear back fro, but your voice h ator, so could you please respond?
Sincerely,
Natalie Porter
From: [email protected] Sent: Thursday 1:14 AM
To: [email protected] Subject: Response needed!
Dear Mr Zironoff,
I'ave me such hope that I would soon find s to you Anything
But I need you to respond
Sincerely,
Natalie
Sent: Thursday 1:15 AM
To: [e address(es) failed: [email protected] Mailbox is FULL
Chapter 1
"Mommy issues Serial cheater Huuy who entered the campus bar, I ticked off my initial impression to my drunken friends
I had an uncanny knack for sizing up ular "uys, well, they always accommodated
The girls at the table--several of my roommate's friends and a couple of mine--looked at me like I was a fun sideshow act, their carny pal Drinks were perpetually free
After the week I'd had,the spot
My best friend Jessica murmured at my ear, "You better be careful, you picky prude, or else you'll take your hy"
She alone knew that I'd never given it up--and why "Lo, Jess," I said without any heat Like her, it took a lot to get reat roommates
Other than that, ere as different as we could be Whereas she was leggy and tan with twinkling blue eyes and cropped black hair, I was short and top-heavy, with long red hair and pale-as-a-porcelain-sink skin
I was a workaholic studyaholic, pursuing my history PhD After years' worth of incompletes, Jess had finally dipped a toe into the core courses of her e was "a racket" for "wretched fucks" Though it wasout tomorrow for a tour of the Greek Isles with her wealthy family
Another round of tequila shooters arrived, sent by a trio of frat boys a few tables away We raised our glasses, then dutifully licked, pounded, and sucked The tequila, not the boys
While other wouys and see potentialheadaches Other girls got hot and bothered by their lines and pickups; I just got bothered
But I hadn't always been that way
"Do the frat boys, Nat!" our friend Polly cried She was a sturdy corn-fed Nebraska girl--her family's farm was in a small town outside Lincoln, just a few miles away from ours Well, not ours anymore, since Mom had sold out last year
"Too easy," I said, having already sized up the trio The first guy had been constantly checking sports scores on TV while his leg jogged The second was a bleary mess whose own friends rolled their eyes at his drunkenness The third one's groo were fanatically perfect, and he kept checking his appearance in the mirror behind the bar
"Froambler, habitual drunk, and--how should I put this?--the third is ill-equipped"
I sighed Yep, those guys were too easy to read Where was the excitement? Here I was at the same Lincoln bar I alent to, with the sa around I had an early work shift tomorrow at one restaurant, a late one at the other, and classes to take and to teach on Monday I'd been averaging five hours of sleep a night for the last feeeks What was I even doing here?
I guessed I could sleep when I was dead
"I've chosen ," beautiful Jess said "Ill-equipped is mine" As per her usual, she would pick up another conquest and take him back to his place--so she could leave when finished with him "His type," she continued blithely, "usually s with their mouths True story"
I told her, "And you better be careful, Jessebel, or else you'll collect another ads like lichen"
"I can't help it that this is the Beruys venture there, they tend to stay"
I tapped ht you called it that because it's sucked in lots of seamen"
Between guffaws, she said, "That's a completely fair statement!"
We could laugh about it now, but I'd lived with the afterht phone calls, the stalking
What was the point of all the dra, love, and sex were all overrated--as I'd repeatedly tried to explain to Jess She would get this secretive set blindsided one day I only hope I'm there to see it"
When the laughter died down, Polly said, "Do him," with a wave at the door
"Fine" Exhaling with boredom--earn your booze, carny--I turned toward the entrance And saw the baddest-looking man I'd ever encountered
His eyes were a vivid gold, stark against his thick black hair He wore it longish, the ends brushing his collar He had a roman nose that had likely been broken and a razor-thin scar that sliced down across both lips A fighter?
Yet that didn't fit with his expensive clothing: a tailored black coat and dress shirt, dark gray slacks, black leather shoes and belt Through Jess, I'd learned enough about fashion to recognize fine threads His outfit probably cost more than my entire wardrobe
When he stood at the bar and ordered a drink, I saw that he had three rings on one hand, a ring on his other thu out froed and street
He was tall, with a lean, muscular build, and loo
ked maybe twenty-nine or thirty, but his face eary, as an older edly handsome, yet not classically so
There was an aura of ennui about him, but he also seemed hyper-alert What the hell? My internal manalyzer whirred with confusion Does not compute!
I could feel ot nothing" Was he a brawler or a rich playboy or both? I was also sensing top notes of European--along with strong undertones of dangerous!
He was like a history book written in a script I'd never seen Fascinating
Jess pinched rin "You can close yourtone, she said, "Welcos are always in slo- 'At Last' repeats on a loop"
No, no, her world was angsty and overwrought So why had aze darted back to the man?
"That's one hot piece of tackle--in a cage-fighter/GQ o "Probably gets ot you to look twice, which makes him a rare and wondrous creature, this bar's very own unicorn Requires closer investigation, don't you think?"
I could question hihts of hio up and introduce myself?"
She nodded "Unless you're a twat Now, go forth with confidence, for you look cute-iful tonight"