Page 18 of Not Quite Perfect

“You don’t think it’s weird?”

“That you’re fucking your sister?” He could barely hold back his laughter.

“Go to hell. First, I’m not fucking her anymore; and second, she’s not my sister.”

“I know,” he said, his laughter dying out. “I’m just giving you shit.” His tone sobered. “The way I see it, you aren’t related. You said it yourself. You’re two consenting adults. You’re not doing anything illegal.”

“No, not illegal. But it is weird, right?”

“Only if you make it weird.”

“So, I should bring her to the lecture then?” God only knew why I was asking for Hank’s advice. He was terrible with women, his current girlfriend included.

Hank laughed again. “Dude, I think you already decided you’re going to, and nothing I, or anyone else, says matters. You want to see her again, and this is the perfect reason to do so. And like you said, maybe it turns out she’s not as hot as you remember.”

“Yeah, maybe …”

Even as I agreed it was possible, I knew deep in my gut that she would be. No matter how many times I’d tried to forget her, when I closed my eyes at night, I saw Victoria’s face. She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, but it wasn’t just about her looks. I adored her personality, too, and the way her mind worked. She was the perfect package. One I wanted to spend the rest of my life unwrapping … over, and over, and over again.

Now, all I had to do was convince her that being with me wasn’t wrong.

“Thanks for the talk, man. I’m going to give her a call.”

“Anytime, and good luck.”

“Thanks,” I said again as I hung up, striding back to my desk where I went in search of the email Roni had sent for that first dinner almost a month before.

Copying Victoria’s email address from the list of recipients, I started a new message. After several false starts, I finally came up with something that was short and to the point. A message I hoped wouldn’t scare her off. I went back and forth several times on how to sign off, but in the end, I simply put a dash and my name. Reading over the message one final time to make sure there weren’t any typos, I hit send.

I pushed back from my desk, intending to throw on some workout clothes and head out for a run, when abingalerted me to an incoming message. I hadn’t expected an immediate reply, but as I rolled my chair back over, my heart raced with anticipation. When I saw the message was from my dad wanting an answer about Sunday, I barely suppressed a groan.

Yes, I’ll be there, I typed and hit send. This time, when my screen jumped back to my inbox, I saw Victoriahadresponded.

And it was music to my ears.

Sounds fun. Meet you there?

My fingers flew over the keyboard as I gave her directions to the hall where the lecture would take place. Once the message was sent, I shut down my monitor.

Now I really did need that run. Because in less than forty-eight hours, I was going to see her again, and just theideaof it had adrenaline coursing hot and thick through my veins.

It was going to be a long two days.

Nine

Victoria

I rootedmy hand around the bowl of popcorn in my lap and shoved a handful of buttery, salty kernels into my mouth. It was Thursday, which meant it was our weekly mother-daughter date night. As always, it was fueled by Shonda Rhimes and copious amounts of wine.

“I’m so glad you’re coming on Sunday,” my mom said, blowing on her nails. While I was stuffing my face with carbs, she was refreshing her manicure. “This will be the first time all you kids will be here at the same time. Richard and I couldn’t be happier.”

I almost choked on my popcorn. Reaching for my wine, I gulped down a few mouthfuls of Bordeaux.

“You okay dear?” she asked patting me awkwardly on the back to avoid smudging her polish.

“I’m fine. It went down the wrong pipe.” I banged on my chest with my fist to help dislodge the stuck popcorn.

She raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow. “Don’t lie to your mother, Victoria. It’s not becoming.”

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