Page 106 of Stroke of Fate

Pia is busy fussing over the flowers, and when I show her the gift cards, she practically vibrates with excitement.

“Please tell me he has a brother or a cousin? I’ll even take a step-something at this point.”

“No,” I laugh. “I promise, I’m not holding out on you.”

She asked me the same thing last night when Levi insisted on carrying her luggage from the car to the apartment. She had one carry-on suitcase. On wheels!

Pia chats on about how we should go to the salon first, so we’ll be back in time to meet the girls who are coming over to getready before the party. I nod and hum along to her words, but my attention keeps drifting toward the roses.

I’m a lucky girl.

After last night, I didn’t expect more gifts from Levi. And then he goes and does something sweet and thoughtful like this. I’m floating on cloud nine right now, but I can’t help wondering when the other shoe will drop.

He’s just so…perfect. And in the beginning, Hunter was too, until he wasn’t.

“Do you want to go first, or can I?”

“What?” I blink slowly, realizing I completely missed the last thirty seconds of our conversation.

“Do you want to shower first, or can I?”

“Oh, you go ahead,” I say, forcing my face to relax into a smile.

I’m happy—I really am—but the part of me that’s been hurt and let down before can’t help but wonder when it will all go wrong this time.

No.

I refuse to let my thoughts go further. Levi would never do that, especially after learning about what I went through with Hunter. I’m giving this relationship a chance because I see the good in Levi, and he hasn’t given me a reason to think otherwise.

I meant what I said about trusting him. And now I have to learn to trust myself.

While I wait for Pia to finish in the bathroom, I text Levi to thank him for the gifts and wish him good luck today.

He doesn’t respond, and I don’t expect him to. I’ve seen how focused he gets when competing, and I don’t want to distract him right now. Knowing I’ll see him tonight where I can thank him properly is enough.

***

“What do you think of this one?” I hold up a baby pink mesh-like mini skirt between my fingers.

Fingers that are now sporting painted fingernails courtesy of our impromptu trip to the salon before coming here.

Pia purses her lips in thought. “Perfect. I think it’ll look good with the corset.”

“Yeah, I think so too.” I grab my size and drop it in the basket. “That’s it for me.”

This year's costume is a sexy ballerina. It might be a little unoriginal, but I already have a pink corset top that works perfectly as the bodice. To complete the look, I only needed to order a few items online.

Except the skirt never arrived in time. So now we’re doing some last-minute costume shopping the day of Halloween, which is as stressful as it sounds. Half the shelves are already empty, and it’s by sheer luck that I even find what I’m looking for in my size.

I follow behind Pia, who’s making a beeline for the accessories. For someone with such short legs, she moves surprisingly quickly.

“Oh, thank goodness,” she mutters, spotting a single pair of black wings poking out between white ones.

She wriggles the wings free, a giant grin on her face. “I didn’t have high hopes when we walked in, but I feel better now. Can you imagine a black angel without her wings?”

“Disastrous,” I agree. “Do you need anything else?”

“Nope, I fit everything else into my carry-on, but I didn’t want to risk ruining the wings if I stuffed them in there too.”

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