Page 105 of Archenemies

“I had that exact thought a few hours ago,” said Hugh. “We’ve gotten a lot of last-minute sponsors and it’s pulling together to be a nice event. Live music, fully catered. It’ll be fun. Anyway, you haveto come. You know, Nova, a lot of the people in the organization are starting to look up to you—the young ones especially. It would mean a lot if you were there.”

Nova forced a close-lipped smile, though her heart was sinking from the implications of his words, and what she had become in the eyes of the Renegades. Someone to admire, to respect, to emulate.

She was Nova McLain. The superhero, and the fraud.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

NOVA REMEMBERED LITTLE ELSEabout the conversation over dinner, most of which revolved around the Council’s plans for ongoing community outreach programs. Finally, Hugh and Simon got up from the table and starting loading the dishwasher, moving like a well-rehearsed team. Nova watched them for a minute, unable to fully align this simple domestic chore with the superheroes who had defeated Ace Anarchy.

“So,” started Adrian, pulling her attention back to him. He seemed more relaxed now and she suspected he was relieved that the meal was over. “You probably need to get home?”

She blinked at him and nearly started laughing.

Home.

Right.

Smiling tightly, she said, “How about that movie we never got to?”

Which is how Nova found herself back in Adrian’s den, seated on the worn sofa. The entertainment industry was one that had ground to a halt during the Age of Anarchy and had been slow to getstarted again in the years since, so Adrian’s entire movie collection consisted of thirty-year-old “classics.” Nova hadn’t seen any of them.

Adrian selected a martial arts film, but it didn’t really matter to Nova what he picked. She wouldn’t be watching it anyway.

Adrian settled down on the couch. Not touching her, but close enough to suggest there could be touching, if she wanted there to be. Or maybe there was no ulterior motive and he just had a favorite spot, a preferred cushion.

Nova chastised her heartbeat for increasing. It almost felt like a stranger had hijacked her body. Someone who had forgotten who she was and where she came from. Or more important, whoAdrianwas.

This attraction had to stop. She was an Anarchist. She wasNightmare.

What exactly did she think would happen when he found out? Because he would find out eventually. It was inevitable. Once she had the helmet, and that Vitality Charm, and she no longer had to play this game anymore.

Drawing in a stabilizing breath, Nova inched closer to Adrian and settled her head on his shoulder. He tensed, but it was brief. Then he slid his arm around her and she sank against his side. She urged her body not to get comfortable. Not to enjoy his warmth or the subtle strength in that arm, or the smell of pine that might have been soap or aftershave.

This time, her own calculating thoughts were louder than his heartbeat. The ticking clock in her mind was faster than her pulse.

The movie scrolled through the opening credits. A man appeared on the screen trudging through a blizzard. High on a mountain stood a foreboding temple.

Adrian’s hand was resting on his leg. Nova, as casually as shecould, started to reach for it. She was moments away from lacing their fingers together when Adrian pulled away, shifting his body so fast that Nova nearly sank into the dip between the cushions.

She straightened.

Adrian had turned to face her, lifting one knee onto the couch. His expression was worried, but his shoulders were set. Nova withdrew from him, her defenses rising like castle walls.

“The gala tomorrow night,” he blurted, the words spoken so fast they blurred into one unwieldy statement.

Nova gaped. “Excuse me?”

“The gala. If you’re going and I’m going and… Would you like to go together? As a date, I mean. Officially, this time.” His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. “I know I wasn’t clear with the whole carnival thing, so I’ll just put it out there from the start. I would like you to be my date. I would really like that a lot, actually…” He paused before adding, somewhat self-consciously, “If you want to.”

Nova’s mouth hung open. Her mind had gone blank and she was trying to formulate a response based on logic and strategy, and what would Ace want her to do, and would this be good for her cause or not, and how would this change anything, but all she could think about was how adorable Adrian was when he was nervous.

And also…

He still likes me.

Despite all the rejected advances, all the awkward silences. She’d been so sure he had moved on after the painful end to their non-date at the carnival, and yet… this. Not just to ask her to be his date, but to look so downrighteagerabout it.

“Okay,” she whispered.

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