“Why would she want to warn me about you?”
“She and I have history.”
Her eyes widened. “Is she the one…?”
“It’s over, baby. I’m not interested in her.”
“Are you sure? She’s beautiful.”
“She’s nothing compared to you. Please don’t believe anything she said about me. She’s lying.”
“She said I’d get hurt.”
“I’ll never hurt you, baby. I promise.”
It was a promise I swore to keep, no matter the cost.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Daphne
Why did I feel so safe when Brad Steel’s arms were around me? I barely knew him.
Fate.
That word kept humming its way into my mind.
“I guess I must have fainted,” I said. “Or something.”
“Are you sure? She didn’t touch you or push you?”
I swept my mind for information. “No, I really don’t think so.”
“I should take you to the ER,” he said.
“No.” I hated hospitals.
“If you fainted, you might have low blood sugar or something.”
“Then I’ll eat a candy bar. There’s a machine at the end of the hall.”
“That’s the least of my concerns. Fainting can mean other things. Worse things.”
I’d fainted before a couple of times. The doctor at home had said it was due to my anxiety, which caused me to hyperventilate. Seeing the beautiful woman at my door warning me to stay away from a man I was sure was my destiny had caused me a lot of stress. It made perfect sense. I just wasn’t sure I wanted to explain all this to Brad.
I also couldn’t explain why I didn’t want to go to a hospital.
I’d seriously have to be dying before I set foot in a hospital again. A hospital had taken nearly a year away from me. Yes, I understood physical ailments were different from mental ones, and I truly had no valid reason to fear a hospital, but I did anyway.
No one would steal time from me again. The faint was bad enough. That was stealing time as well, and I didn’t want to lose any more of the precious commodity. Especially now that I’d met Brad Steel.
I wanted to spend all my remaining time—which was a lifetime—with him.
The thought frightened me more than a little, but I couldn’t deny the truth of it. He was my destiny. I knew it so profoundly that I felt the knowledge had always been with me. I just hadn’t accessed it yet.
I couldn’t say these words to him, though. They’d scare him away. He was young, and I was younger still. Neither of us should be making decisions of such magnitude.
Of course, I wasn’t making this decision. Fate was.
I forced a smile. “I’m fine. Really. It was just a shock.”
“You did wake right up.” He massaged the palm of my hand with his thumb. “I’m going to call you first thing in the morning, though.”
“Okay,” I said. “I’d like that.”
He kissed me sweetly on the lips. “Tomorrow night. After you ditch your first nighter.”
“Absolutely,” I said.
As promised, Brad called me the next morning. I didn’t have a lot of time to talk, so it was brief, but I smiled all day because he cared so much. By the time Patty and I were done with dinner—my first dinner ever in the cafeteria, as I’d been to dinner with Brad the last three nights—first nighter arrangements were underway.
The bathroom on our floor was crowded with women all scurrying to look their best for their “dates.” I didn’t care so much about that, but I did want to look my best for my real date after first nighter. I was meeting Brad outside my dorm at ten.
Ten used to be my bedtime. I’d been on campus for four days, and now my bedtime was midnight at the earliest. Once classes began, I didn’t expect that to change. My guidance counselor had warned that college was not high school, and I wouldn’t be able to slide by on intelligence alone. I’d have to actually study for several hours each night. Oddly, I was looking forward to studying. I loved learning.
I put on more makeup than usual but still kept to a natural look. Then I donned the new burgundy dress with the same shoes I’d worn last night with Brad.
“You look amazing!” Patty gushed.
“So do you.”
She did. She wore an emerald prairie dress that flattered her green eyes. She was shorter in stature than I and wore higher heels, in gold. She’d painted her toenails and fingernails a neutral reddish brown that accented her coloring and clothing choice nicely.
I hadn’t painted my nails or toenails. I almost never did, but now, looking at how polished Patty was, I wished I had. But it was too late. First nighter would begin in a half hour, and we needed to get moving.
“I’m so excited!” Patty gushed. “Aren’t you?”
“Sure.” I smiled. A little white lie wouldn’t hurt. I was more excited about meeting Brad afterward.
“I hope I meet someone great.”