Free Luck by Scarlett Haven Page A

personally don’t see the appeal. What is it they see in him?”
    Asher is kind of cute. But he’s weird. So I don’t see the appeal either.
    “You’re asking the wrong girl,” I say. “But if you are looking for your next girlfriend, my advice would be to loosen up. You’re always so serious. But I get to see the fun side of you. Maybe you should let other people see it too.”
    “I don’t want a girlfriend,” he says. “Besides, who says I don’t have one.”
    Huh. I hadn’t thought about that.
    “Well, you never talk about her,” I say.
    “You don’t talk about Damon that much,” he says.
    “Damon’s not my boyfriend.”
    “Yet,” he says. “He will be. In fact, he would be if you’d let him. Why are you holding back?”
    “Because I want to be his friend first.” Though I’m not sure why I’m explaining it to Tristan. He’s a boy. I don’t think he could understand. “What if I agree to date him and then find out he’s annoying?”
    “Duh, you break up with him,” he says.
    “I want my first boyfriend to be a good one,” I say. “Something special that I can tell my grandkids about one day. Or maybe I want the first guy I date to someday be my husband. I haven’t decided yet.”
    “You have to date to find out what you like.”
    “I’ll figure it out,” I say, shrugging. “Hopefully I’m better at picking out guys that my mum was.”
    Tristan chokes on his toast. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh. But that was funny.”
    “It’s funny that my mum married a terrorist?” I ask.
    “No,” he says. “Look, I’m just saying, you should date around. Just because somebody isn’t a terrorist doesn’t mean you want to spend your life with them.”
    “Thanks for the dating advice. Have you ever even had a girlfriend?” I ask.
    “I’ve date plenty of women,” he says.
    “Dated. Have you dated any of them longer than two weeks?”
    “No. But that’s because they’ve all annoyed me,” he says. “Constantly texting and calling…”
    I cut him off. “Tristan, that’s what a girl does when she likes you.”
    “Well, I guess when I find a girl who does those things but it doesn’t annoy me, I’ll know that I’ve found the right one,” he says.
    I roll my eyes and jump down from the stool.. “You’re such a guy. And if you want to find a girl, you should do it soon. All the good ones will be taken.”
    “This isn’t Russia. It’s America,” he says. “We don’t get married when we’re still teenagers here.”
    “I’m sure some do,” I say. “And what if the one you are meant to marry, marries somebody else because you were too busy dating your way through the alphabet?”
    He laughs. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I haven’t dated my way through the alphabet,” he says. “Besides, I don’t believe that there is just one person out there for everybody.”
    “I do. I believe in soul mates. Though, I don’t believe many people find theirs. But what if she’s getting tired of waiting for you? What if she decides to just marry somebody else because she thinks you’re not coming?” I ask.
    “Katerina, you’re an awesome girl. Don’t ever lose the spark that you have,” he says, not answering my question. He gets off the stool. “Leave the dishes. The maid will get them.” And then he walks out of the room.
    I’m pretty sure that was a compliment.
    I’ll take it.

    Change of plans.

    Tristan takes me shopping.
    I can tell it makes him uncomfortable to stand with me while I look at girl clothes. He can’t exactly leave me to do it alone, so I try to hurry.
    “How many changes do you think I need?” I ask.
    “Maybe five days, just to be safe. You can always do laundry if it’s not enough,” he says. “You wouldn’t even have to do it. The maid will wash anything you leave in the hamper.”
    Tristan’s phone starts ringing. I figure it’s somebody updating him on Damon.
    I so wish I could talk to Damon.
    “Hello,” he