“Technically? An asylum.” Our eyes met and we shared a laugh that shouldn’t have been funny but it was.
“You’re in good company then.” If she were here, and apparently family by the effusive way Ori and the rest of his brothers greeted her, then she was safe enough to be honest with.
“I’m not insane. Well, at least I wasn’t before I went in.” The thoughtful look on her face was one I was familiar with. She was silently questioning her sanity and whether what she felt was reality really was. I knew that feeling. The way minds could fracture once you were no longer in danger questioning if you were actually gone. It was a way of being institutionalized that haunted you forever.
“Pity. I thought I’d have a kindred spirit. It’s funny how things can change us from who we are or who we were.”
“You sound as though you were speaking from experience.”
I sighed and blew out a heavy breath, wondering just how much I should reveal to her in this ballroom. “You don’t know the half.”
“Jemma Marie Benoit.” I thought she would do the distinctly American thing and stick her hand out for me to shake but she didn’t. Instead, she smiled and gave a slight dip of her head.
“Ah, the name is decidedly French but the accent, that’s all from the Deep South. Creole is my guess?”
“Got it in one. I know you’re Ori’s fiancée and as much as I love my brothers I refuse to only acknowledge women by the men they are connected to.”
“I like you more already. Dr. Asha Avery.” I stuck my hand out for her to shake and she took it with a smile on her face and a teasing glint in her gray eyes.
We turned back toward the dance floor looking like an odd pair to anyone from the outside. Our differences in height and skin tone obvious to anyone who would’ve looked but our similarities hidden. There was a kindred spirit in the two of us and it seemed to solidify a friendship between the two of us there beneath the glittering crystal of the chandelier of the Warren Hotel ballroom.
“I like you for him already.”
Friendship over just that fast.
“That’s… well that’s a compliment I guess.” I didn’t want to insult her or her brother but I felt like there were expectations with the weight of her words and I didn’t want that.
“You’re about the only one who could even begin to handle all that comes with Ori. And I know you have to have tough skin to deal with his moody ass.”
“Not tough. I’m just tired of bickering with him.” Some of which was my fault but I wouldn’t tell her that.
“Maybe bickering will be your love language.” She smiled at me attempting to reassure me. Oddly, she did because arguingwith him made me feel… safe. He never once responded to me threateningly nor did he seem so angry that he would lose control. I felt okay being myself without fear of repercussions.
“Love plays no part in this.”
We avoided looking at one another and instead focused on the people around us either out of habit or not wanting to see the truth in one another’s words.
“Admiration at the barest of minimums. Listen, I know how all of this works and these women here are some of the strongest I’ve come across. Even the sweet little lamb Nyima is far tougher than she seems.”
I finally looked down at her again since she couldn’t have been more than 5’8 with her heels on and I topped six feet with mine. “Why are you telling me this?”
She kept her eyes on me but nodded toward the dance floor as she spoke. “Because those men are my brothers and I might be protective of them but I’m always a girl’s girl first. They complimented each of their husbands specifically. And I can tell the same is true for you and Ori.”
“There’s nothing like that between the two of us.”
She smiled at my rebuttal clearly not believing a word I was saying. “Not even admiration?”
“There’s a lot of that but not the other emotion you’re reaching for.” My eyes went to the floor to hide my blush since I couldn’t lie.
“Maybe not yet.”
I rolled my eyes at how hopeful she sounded. “Or ever.”
She grinned at my vehement refusal like she knew better than I did. “Stranger things have happened.”
“You want to tell me about why you’re here on the sidelines now or are you still feeling me out to see if I’m worthy?”
She smiled in a way that showed she was impressed that I understood what she’d been doing and was simultaneously unapologetic about it. Which made me like her even more.
