Page 19 of Locking Down Qetesh

"It's going to be amazing." She let out a wistful sigh. "And it wouldn't be happening if it wasn't for you."

"You might have met Nadia another way," I said. "Or have found love somewhere else."

"Psssssshhhhh, don't tell me that you don't believe in soul mates?"

"I believe in good matches," I said. "And people who work hard to be a good fit for one another."

"Eurgh, you're so boring. What about the love of your life?"

"If there's a love of my life, then they've waited a long time to show themselves," I pointed out.

"Ah." She clicked her fingers. "That's because my brother hadn't been born yet."

I raised an eyebrow. "I thought your plan to set us up was a sneaky one?"

"It's taking too long."

I shook my head in amusement. "Okay, so why do you want to set me up with Jacob?"

"Then you'd be my sister." She threw her arm around me and kissed my cheek.

"Not a good enough reason."

"I don't know. Do you never just get a feeling about two people? I thought you'd get on well because you're kind of similar."

I froze, worry threading through me that I hadn't been as careful with my true feelings about some things as I should have been. It wasn't that I didn't trust Ella to know the truth about me, I just wasn't entirely sure how I was supposed to present myself to people when I was both ace and a supposedly a sex goddess. "Similar how?"

"I don't know, it's hard to describe. It's just something I noticed about the way the two of you interact with the world. When you touch a tree, you get the same look on your face."

"I didn't realise I had a look."

She narrowed her eyes at me. "You're a dryad, of course you know you have a look when you touch plants. It's fine, there's nothing wrong with it."

"And you think that's a good enough reason to set me up with your brother?"

"I'm not saying you have to marry him." She reached forward and flicked my nose.

"You're drunk."

"A little," she said. "But seriously, you don't have to marry him. But give him a chance, you might like him."

"I do like him," I promised.

"Good. Then you won't mind if I love ya and leave ya." She leaned forward and kissed my cheek with a little too much sloppiness for my liking.

I wiped it with my napkin just in time for the new arrival to get to me.

"It would seem that I'm going to have to fight my sister for your attention," Jacob joked as he took a seat.

I laughed. "Less than you think you have to, she spent most of the time telling me that I should give you a chance because I'll like you. Something about how you touch trees."

"I've never heard that one before."

I shrugged. "That's Ella. I suppose she has seen us both touch wood."

He snorted. "Please tell me that was purposeful?"

"Of course. Though I can assure you that she's never seen me touch that kind of wood."

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