Free My Destiny by Adrianne Byrd Page B

either.”
    “Good point.” She drew in a deep breath and exhaled. “I was trying to catch someone before they left the building.”
    “Altman?”
    She frowned. “How did you know that?”
    “You said so earlier, plus I saw him before I left.” He shrugged. “So, what did you do—scare the devil out of him looking like that?”
    “You’re being an ass again.”
    “I’m just being me.”
    He flashed her with another smile and damn if she couldn’t help but return the gesture. “To answer your question—no. I didn’t scare him.” She paused. “At least not too badly.”
    They shared another laugh, but Miles’s curiosity didn’t fade.
    “Then I take it, you two had an argument?”
    All traces of Destiny’s joviality vanished as a jolt of remorse returned. “Not exactly.”
    Her answer hung in the air while she was suddenly barraged with uncertainty again. When her moment of reflection was over, she was startled to find Miles studying her.
    “What?”
    He shrugged. “Nothing.”
    “That didn’t look like a nothing.”
    Miles shrugged again, but continued to look like he wanted to say something.
    “Come on. What is it?” she goaded.
    “Well, it’s not like it’s any of my business...”
    “But?” She rolled her hands as a gesture for him to just spit it out.
    “But I was just wondering what on earth you see in Jefferson Altman— boring Jefferson Altman.”
    Destiny fell back against the chair with a boisterous laugh. Then, she couldn’t seem to stop. Tears trickled down her face and soon she heard him join in with her. Suddenly, Destiny could feel something was happening between them. When she wiped at her eyes, she knew what it was—they were becoming friends.

Chapter 10
    A s the night rolled on, Miles and Destiny laughed and swapped stories as though it was the most natural thing in the world.
    For Miles, he never thought the day would come when he’d consider Destiny Brockman a friend, and he was pleased to have been wrong. Throughout the night, he smiled at her funky hairdo and wrinkled pajamas, but her ethereal beauty fascinated him.
    A few times she caught him staring and they would go through a small vignette of her asking, “What?” and him responding, “Nothing.”
    While she talked, he felt there was a wall guarding certain areas of her life and he became equally interested in what she said as well as what she didn’t.
    To make her feel more at ease, he’d turned on an old battery-
operated radio and they listened to the Quiet Storm program on the city’s popular R & B station.
    Had it been another night with a different woman, one could easily mistake the intimate setting as a romantic interlude equipped with soft music and candlelight.
    “A few minutes ago you said your brother was a lawyer. Is he no longer practicing?” He handed her a half-filled glass of wine, and then returned to the sofa. When he sat down and looked up at her, he was moved by her profound look of sadness. “I’m sorry. Did I say something wrong?”
    One side of her mouth lifted in a poor attempt at a smile. She cleared her throat and lowered her gaze to the blush-
colored wine. “My twin brother passed away quite some time ago.”
    “I’m sorry to hear that.” Miles heard and read so much in her simple statement, but he practiced restraint and didn’t voice any of the questions that filled his head.
    She sipped at her wine. “You know I’ve been thinking a lot about him lately,” she went on to confess.
    “Were you two close?” He felt safe in asking.
    She nodded and a genuine smile came into focus. “Actually, he was my mentor, my hero and my best friend. I can’t begin to tell you how much I miss him.”
    He smiled. “I think you just did.”
    When she laughed, Miles could tell by her expression that she was still reminiscing about another time, but there was something else—something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Then, just as suddenly, she pulled out of her deep reverie