Free Second Hearts (The Wishes Series) by GJ Walker-Smith

guess.”
    “Translate what you said,” I demanded.
    “I said you look absolutely ridiculous in that costume and your halo’s not straight.” Ryan leaned across and attempted to straighten my headband, smiling as crookedly as my halo.
    “I know who you are, Ryan,” I said gravely.
    He abruptly withdrew his hands and leaned away from me.
    I couldn’t expect him to have any clue what was going on. I took in a deep breath, having no choice but to try explaining it to him.
    It was the longest story I’d ever told anyone and I kept my eyes locked on his the whole time. Ryan’s expression didn’t waver as he tried to process the information.
    “So you’re small-town-hick-girl?” he asked finally.
    “The one and only,” I confirmed.
    “You’re Charlotte?”
    “Charli, yes,” I corrected, unwilling to give him licence to use my full spidery name.
    “And you came all the way to New York for him?” I nodded. “And Gabrielle ponied up her apartment so you could stay?” I continued nodding as he whittled down the story I’d just told him. “And seeing dim Whit with him changed your mind?”
    “Adam is doing just fine without me. He’s moved on.”
    “Is that what you think?” he asked.
    “Yes. What do you think?”
    Ryan laughed hard, once. “I think I’m glad I didn’t sleep with you.”
    “Be serious, please,” I whined.
    “I’m totally serious. That could’ve been really awkward.”
    I shot him a poisonous glare. “I’m not talking to you about this any more.”
    “Look, if it’s sensitivity you’re after, you’re talking to the wrong brother. Go down and talk to the right one,” he suggested, pointing to the ground floor.
    I refused to give him the satisfaction of looking at Adam. “It won’t change anything.”
    “Don’t you think you should let Adam decide that, Charlotte?” He said my name painfully slowly as if it was a difficult word to pronounce. “You could be the girl who saves me from having to endure dull little nieces and nephews in the future. If you stick with him, I could eventually be the uncle to a small pack of criminal masterminds. They’d be cute little weapons of mass destruction.”
    “Are you done?”
    He grabbed my hand. “Not quite,” he replied, thrusting me forward to the balustrade.
    I tried to step back, but Ryan stood behind me, mercilessly blocking my path. Not content with having me on show, he called his brother’s name. Adam tilted his head upward, chasing Ryan’s voice. From that moment on, I focused only on his face.
    Even from a distance, I swear I saw the colour blanch from his cheeks. Adam rose as if I was pulling him by an invisible string. He began weaving between other tables to get to the stairs, and I was thankful the restaurant was packed to capacity. It hindered him long enough for me to deal with the self-appointed devil’s advocate standing behind me.
    “You have no idea what you’ve just done,” I said bitterly.
    A tiny hint of remorse flashed across Ryan’s face. “He’d want to know you’re here.”
    “That wasn’t for you to decide.”
    For some reason, Ryan suddenly had a change of heart. He stepped away, allowing me to move. “There are service stairs at the back, if you want to leave.”
    I didn’t waste a second, bundling my dress in my hands and making a run for it like a cracked-out Cinderella.
    The back stairs on the mezzanine led to the kitchen. Paolo collared me before I’d even made the bottom. “Your table has been seated for half an hour!”
    “I know,” I replied, pulling the ridiculous dress over my head. “I’m sorry, Paolo. I know the timing’s not great, but I quit. Tell Ryan I quit.” I threw the dress at him, grabbed my coat from the cloakroom and bolted.

7. Ebbs and Flows
    It was going to take a lot longer than the twenty-minute walk home to wrap my head around what had just happened. Working out my next move was going to take even longer. Making sense of why I had run was probably never