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"Jeez, help make this easier, why don't you?" Zoe punched the pillow on the far side of the bed

"But none of those things ist twin said

"Whoa Nobody said anything about love" Except Ryan last night

He hadn't said he loved her, but he'd mentioned possibilities She'd pushed those words aside because they scared her

Love?

No

Everything inside Zoe resisted the notion No ood he ith his hands, and no matter how excellent he felt buried deep inside her body, they weren't talking about love Not even if he was kind and decent and protective in the best possible way, she thought

"I don't trust in the idea, at least not for me If Moue, can you ihts that would be in store for two people as different as Ryan and ine the sparks," Ari said

"Well sparks aren't enough I certainly don't believe two such different people can make a relationship work"

Ari snickered into the phone, leaving Zoe with the uneasy feeling her tasn't about to come down on her side

"And why not?" Ari asked

Zoe had a sneaking suspicion her sister was leading her down a tricky path, but she answered, anyway "Well first, have you ever met anyone more unsettled than me?"

"Give me a break, Zoe Up until recently, you had a steady job and a place to live What's unsettled about that?"

Before last night, Zoe had never expressed her feelings about the life she'd chosen, but now she was discussing it for the second time within twenty-four hours "Even I can face facts I'm thirty and I still live at ho up a new career Chances are I'll be living off s for a while, especially after Iout of Mom and Dad's?" Ari asked, obviously shocked by the news Zoe hadn't yet shared

Perhaps because she hadn't even made a real effort to find an apartment of her own "Eventually When I find a place Or even have ti herself for the last month, even before Ryan had complicated her life

"The point is my life is at a crossroads and I told Ryan as much"

"Hmmm And what else did you tell Ryan?" her sister asked

Zoe thought back to their conversation "Just that I need to settle down and find myself before I can ever think about a serious relationship Or so like that"

"And you had this conversation with Ryan A man hom you claim there is no future" Ari yawned, an obviously fake, forced sound, us "If that's what you want to tell yourself, go ahead And h that Ryan ait around until you decide you're ready"

"And maybe Ima will fly," Zoe said