Sasha’s mouth curved into a surprised smile. “Who are you and what have you done with my roommate?”
Indy blushed. “It was a trick Riley used when she snuck into the embassy in Tangier in book two.”
The buzzer sounded, marking another win for the Rebels.
Sasha turned to her, a frown forming. “Just promise me you won’t get your hopes up.”
“But the psychic said—”
“I know what she said. Just promise me.”
Sasha was a good friend. Before her, Indy had lived with a girl who couldn’t have fun until she was three drinks in and pouted like a toddler when Indy didn’t want to join her. When Sash moved in, she’d taken one look at Indy and said, “If you ever say the wordsboss babe, I’m moving out,” and they’d been best friends ever since. Sash liked things the way she liked them, and she wasn’t shy about it.
It suited Indy. Direct people meant no second-guessing, no twenty-minute volleys of “I don’t mind what we eat, you choose.” Sasha didn’t mind if Indy stayed up until two a.m. fighting her way off Dathomir or when she ate the pizza toppings before the crust, and Indy appreciated how graphically detailed Sasha’s dating stories were.
Indy hugged her. “Fine, I promise.”
“You know, you could go back to his office.”
“Oh no,” Indy said, pulling back. “I’m never going there again. I can’t chance bumping into his cousin.”
“You mean the super-hot guy you couldn’t stop talking about last week?” Sasha smirked.
“I never said super-hot.” The words she’d used were “incinerator levels of fine.” There wasn’t much of a distinction, but it was the principle of the thing.
“I noticed you haven’t been staring darkly at your computer lately. Dare I ask whether someone has inspired you?”
So she’d written a couple of notes after meeting Ethan. It was only a few hundred words. Like, twelve hundred, at most.
That didn’t meananything.
“Barely a coincidence,” Indy said.
Sasha raised a brow. “You don’t believe in coincidences, but okay. Tell me what the plan is.”
* * *
Nick’s brownstone loomed before her.
With her hands buried in the pockets of her shorts, Indy pretended to soak up the midday sun, when in reality she was freaking the fuck out.
What was Fate but calm in the face of uncertainty? What peace that offered. How beautiful it could be, to hand her destiny to a force greater than herself, trusting it to keep her safe and lead her in the right direction.
Indy needed to trust in that now.
At least Ethan wouldn’t intrude this time. And if Nick wasn’t home, not a single person would know who she was or that she’d come by.
Or witness the nervous pep talk she was giving herself on the sidewalk.
As Indy pushed open the entrance to Nick’s apartment building, it was pulled from the other side, making her stumble.
Straight into a mountain of a man.
Ethan. Because why wouldn’t he be here? Her mortification wouldn’t be complete without a witness.
“You,” she said, backing up.
“Hello again, Snoopy.”