Page 55 of The Sinner's Touch

“Then why are you mistreating your poor fingers?”

Lily looked down and let out a small chuckle. “I didn’t realize. I get anxious meeting new people, especially people who might want to touch me.”

Touch her? What was she talking about?

“I have a phobia of being touched,” she explained. “It used to be really bad until Nikoli. He helped me learn to deal with it. Before he came along, I couldn’t even hug my own mother or my little brother and sister. I’m not cured, but at least I can handle my family touching me now.”

That would explain the way Nikoli had come up behind her yesterday and waited a moment before he touched her.

“So, meeting his family has you nervous because they might want to hug you?”

“Yes.”

“Then talk to Nik about it. Have him explain it to them.”

“But I don’t want them to think I’m weird.”

“They won’t. You’re a good person, Lily. I barely know you, and I can see that. Anyone who doesn’t, well, they can just fuck right off. They aren’t worth your time.”

“I see why Nikoli likes you so much. You’re blunt and to the point.”

“He’s a good kid. I’m happy for you both.”

Lily blushed and stared at the ring on her finger. “I don’t know if agreeing to marry him was the right thing to do. It was spur of the moment right after the car crash.”

“Do you love him?”

“More than anything.”

“Then it’s the right thing to do. If he makes you happy, don’t worry about anything else. Life is short, Lily, and love is rare. That boy loves you. I see it every time he looks at you. Don’t doubt it. Just be happy.”

“What about you and Kade?” Lily leaned forward.

“The man who forgot he was married?”

“What?” Lily gasped. “He forgot?”

“Yup.” Angel snorted. “He forgot. Now he says he loves me, has always loved me. But if that’s true, how did he forget he was married?”

“Yeah, I’d be pissed too.” Lily looked so indignant it made Angel giggle. “So, what, he just expects you to forgive and forget?”

“In a nutshell, I think so. It’s not that simple, though. There’s a lot of pain there, on both sides.”

“I don’t know what happened between you two, but I’ll ask you the same question you asked me. Do you love him?”

She wished she could say no. It would be so much easier if she could, but she couldn’t. “Sadly, yes.”

“Then is it worth trying to sort through the pain to see if there’s something left?”

“I don’t know.” It was a question she’d asked herself all night.

“My mom is a huge believer in fate and true love. She says sometimes fate sets us down a path that will lead to what makes us the happiest but that, being human, we tend to fall off the road or sometimes get enticed down a side path. When we do stupid things like that, fate usually kicks us in the ass hard enough to land back on the right path.”

Was Lily really trying wise old lady wisdom on her?

“Look at me and Nikoli. We almost lost each other. He was a manwhore. Plain and simple. He threw women away like most people did leftovers. He didn’t respect them, and he had serious commitment issues. I made the mistake of falling in love withthe manwhore. He broke up with me, and it nearly killed me. We stayed away from each other. If it hadn’t been for me walking in on him at a party and seeing him groping some blonde, I would never have run away from him and gotten kidnapped. His fear made him realize how much I meant to him. We fell off the path. Whether his kick in the ass was me seeing him making out with another woman or the crazy guy who threw me in a trunk, I don’t know. But fate got what she wanted.” Lily waved her ring finger at me. “We ended up on the right path.”

“So, you’re saying me seeing a serial killer is fate’s way of kicking me and Kade in the ass and putting us back on the path we fell off?” Oddly, it made sense. Weird and bizarre, but it made sense.

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