“Out with it,” Fi said.
Glory fiddled with her yellow satin skirts. “It’s nothing…”
“Please.” Fi aimed her gaze toward the plaster-decorated ceiling. “Not only am I a trained professional, but I also happen to be your bosom friend. I can tell something is afoot. Does it have to do with last night? I stopped by Charlie’s earlier, and she filled me in on your adventures.”
Not all of them.
Glory hesitated. While she didn’t know quite how to bring up Mr. Chen, she did want her friend’s advice. Charming and popular, Fiona understood males better than anyone.
“Fi…do you think there’s something, um, wrong with me? As a lady, I mean.”
Her friend’s gaze thinned. “Why would you ask such a thing? If that horrid Lord Lyttle said something—”
“He didn’t,” she said in a rush. “I was just, um, wondering. Since all I seem to attract are gentlemen of his ilk.”
Fi canted her head. “Do you want the truth, Glory?”
She nodded.
“The main problem is that you don’t flirt,” Fi said. “You don’t act in ways that would invite male attention. And, frankly, you have never seemed interested in putting forth the effort.”
Glory couldn’t argue with that.
“Furthermore, when it comes to your charms, you sell yourself short. I’ve always said that beauty is ninety-nine percent presentation. Take me, for instance: I make use of every asset.” With a charming lack of false modesty, Fi flicked a hand at herself. “This doesn’t happen on its own, you know. It takes cultivation.”
“If I were to put in more of an effort at flirting and presenting myself,” Glory ventured, “do you think gentlemen would find me attractive?”
“Without a doubt,” Fi said promptly. “You are a lovely young lady and delightful company. Any gentleman worth your time would see it.” Her expression turned shrewd. “Do you have a particular fellow in mind?”
“Um, maybe?”
“It’s Master Chen, isn’t it?”
As Glory’s cheeks burned and she tried not to squirm, Fi squealed.
“I knew it,” she crowed. “Livy and Pippa each owe me an ice from Gunter’s!”
“Hold up.” Glory drew her brows together. “The three of you were wagering on whether or not I liked Mr. Chen?”
“Oh no, dear.” Eyes twinkling, Fi clarified, “We were wagering on how long it would take for you to recognize the fact. I said you would come to your senses before your fast-approaching birthday. Livy predicted by summer, and Pippa went for autumn.”
Glory blinked. “My feelings were that obvious?”
“Only to your bosom friends, who have been through the mill themselves.” Fi’s smile was understanding. “You all figured out that I was in love with Hawk before I did, remember?”
“I suppose that is true.” The fact that even Fi, who understood the male psyche better than most, had had her blind spots made Glory feel better. “But I am not certain that I am in love with Master Chen. That is, I like spending time with him, and being around him feels, well, different than being around other fellows.”
“Different in what way?”
In every way.
When he was near, she felt a breathless, quivering tension. Her blood seemed to quicken, her heart raced, and she ached in unmentionable places. And those were just the physical sensations. She experienced other novel desires as well. She wanted to dig beneath Mr. Chen’s calm austerity and discover what lay beneath. She wanted to learn from him and teach him how to play. To have adventures with him and feel the warmth of his approval. In sum, she wanted to discover who he was not just as a shifu…but as a man.
“We kissed,” she blurted. “To avoid getting caught during the mission, we had to pretend. That we were lovers.”
“I am familiar with that ploy,” Fi said demurely. “How was it?”
“The kissing, you mean?”
