»I didnât mean to fall for her. But love, as it turns out, never asks for permission. Especially when youâre running in circles.« - Gust
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»Are you coming to the beach at Amber Island tomorrow?«
»Why not? Itâs going to be so much fun!«
»But Iâve already said yes.«
I had no idea how to describe the past few weeks. The fact that my sister had suddenly gotten all sorts of ideas into her headâideas sheâd never shown any interest in beforeâcertainly didnât make my situation any easier.
First, Linda started actingâhow should I put it?âodd around me. She stumbled over her words more often than Oaks tripped over his own feet.
Then came that last-minute âvacationâ to Sandrock, where some so-called doctor was supposedly able to cure her.
Well, turns out Dr. Fang wasnât quite the quack I had taken him for, because his medicine actually worked, and Ginger could finally go out in the sun again without collapsing. Which probably explained her current behavior.
She suddenly started asking me questions completely out of context. Why had it been so important for her to know what kind of traits I liked in a woman?
I mean, what kind of sister asks her brother something like that?
Ah, rightâapparently, mine.
But even though her health had improved significantly, she really should have been more careful with herself.
Ginger, however, clearly saw things differently, and the sweet smile she gave me came across as almost smug.
I frowned in disapproval as she simply shrugged.
»Itâs going to be a fun day, Gust. Just relax. Besides...«âshe paused, probably to gauge my reaction, but my face remained as unyielding as stone.
She noticedâand gave a faint smile.
»Albert and Sonia will be there.«
»Albert and Sonia? Which of them invited you?« I had no idea what my best friend was thinking. Probably not much, from the looks of it.
If he seriously thought this double date idea would work out, he was sorely mistaken.
»Neither of them. It was Linda.« I blinked. Once, then again. Because I was skeptical.
»Linda?« I asked calmly, though inside, it felt like someone had thrown a brick into my mental filing system.
»Yes, Linda. And for my part, Iâm going.«
My brows furrowed. Why would Linda just hand out invitations like that out of the blue? It made no sense.
»Youâre not going there alone.«
»I wonât be, because youâre coming with me.« she replied.
»No, Ginger. Outings like that arenât my thing.«
»Then Iâll go alone. The others will be there anyway.«, she said with a shrug, as if my opinion didnât matter.
»Youâre not going alone, Ginger. At least take Russo orâ»
»No, Gust. Itâs either you or no one. Iâm going. And if you try to stop me, I still have the window, and I will climb out of it,« she threatened.
I sighed in resignation. The conversation was going in circles and getting us nowhere.
»Fine. Iâll go with you. But no more than two hoursâgot it?«
She nodded cheerfully and clapped her hands once.
»Oh, thank you, brother. You have no idea how happy that makes me.«
Ah, I had a hunch just how much.
Whether it would make me happy, thoughâI had my doubts. Especially given the look she threw at me, as if I had no clue what I was getting myself into.
And by the stars⊠how little I truly knew.
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