She nodded.
Their server returned and asked if they wanted refills.
Rune looked at Astra. “Do you want another drink, or do you think you’d be willing to risk dinner with me?”
Astra pretended to think about it for several moments, long enough for him to sweat a little, before she said, “There’s a fantastic Italian place nearby. Would you like to try it?”
A grin spread across his face. “Absolutely.” He pulled out his wallet and handed two twenties to the server. “Keep the change.”
The young man looked pitiful as they both got to their feet. His eyes stayed glued to Astra as she walked around him.
“Thank you,” she said to the waiter.
“No problem,” he mumbled.
Rune actually felt sorry for the kid. But not sorry enough that he didn’t throw a glance over his shoulder as they walked away. This time with his fingers resting on the small of her back.
ChapterThree
Despite getting home after ten and not being able to sleep until midnight, Astra woke up at five-thirty, ready to take on the day.
Her body was revving with energy. Which was a good thing because she was meeting her youngest sister, Sylvie, for a workout this morning.
She arrived at the gym, her hair pulled back in a braid and wrapped into a bun at the base of her neck. Sylvie liked to fight dirty and grabbing a loose ponytail or braid was one of her favorite tricks, so Astra wanted to nip that in the bud. She wore a pair of leggings and a snug longline sports bra as well because another one of Sylvie’s favorite moves was to yank the t-shirt over someone’s head, trapping their arms, and then pound on them for a little while. She claimed she picked that one up watching hockey.
Still, Astra didn’t mind so much because it prepared her for just about anything. Assailants on the street wouldn’t hesitate to try to drag her around by her clothes or her hair. She also fought dirty.
She wanted her baby sister to be ready for anything, too.
Astra walked into the gym and Sylvie already had her music blasting as she did pull-ups. Astra winced. While she liked all kinds of music, hard rock and metal at full blast at six a.m. wasn’t her usual style.
She dropped her gym bag by the wall and walked over to the stereo, turning the music down a notch.
Sylvie dropped to the ground and turned to face her sister. “Hey! Hands off my music.”
“I’m just turning it down, so I don’t have to scream at you to be heard,” Astra said, facing her sister.
Instead of bickering as she usually did, Sylvie stopped, propped her hands on her hips, and tilted her head to one side as she studied her older sister.
“You’re glowing,” she said, her tone almost accusatory.
“I slept well last night,” Astra said as she rolled her head in circles, warming up the muscles of her neck.
“This isn’t a good night’s sleep sort of glow,” Sylvie argued. Her eyes narrowed. “That’s more of anI got laidglow.”
Astra rolled her eyes and huffed. “I did not have sex last night.”
Now, that was the truth.
But she did have a wonderful evening and if the next few dates went the same way…well, she would be having sex very soon. She hoped.
Astra began her warm-up, rolling her shoulders, circling her hips and knees, and finally going to pick up the jump rope. She spent five minutes with the rope until her muscles were warm and pliable and her breath was coming a little bit faster.
“Let’s do a quick strength session before we spar,” Astra suggested.
Her sister grunted in response but followed her through a series of push-ups, pull-ups, and core exercises.
After fifteen minutes, Sylvie finally said, “Enough. Or are you hoping I’ll be too tired to kick your ass properly when we get to fight training.”
