Uncover

Two

The sound of my name on this gorgeous girl's lips is enough for me to lose my train of thought, but I dig in. I'll never forgive myself if I don't solve at least some of the mystery surrounding her.

"So, is it Taylor Cisneros? Or Michaela Ward?" I ask, staring into the girl's deep green eyes. When she doesn't seem able to answer, I pull her license from my pocket and give it a look. "Or is it Kirstin Maldonado?"

Her eyes widen and a look of indignation crosses her face. "You stole my license?"

I hand it over, having no personal need for it. "I would have figured a grifter like you would know better than to leave things like that lying around."

"Grifter?" she says, one eyebrow arched.

"What the hell else am I supposed to assume?" I ask weakly. I don't want her to know how much she has unraveled me over the last couple of months, but I'm not sure I can hide it completely.

"Running into you once was a fluke. Twice was an insane coincidence," she says. "Seeing you here...I nearly died inhaling some champagne back there, in case you didn't notice. I have no explanation for how any of this is possible."

I give up any pretense of being cool and sit on the little bench outside of the powder room. I put my head in my hands. "At the moment, the only explanation is that I'm supposed to go crazy and you're the one that is supposed to push me over the edge."

Through my laced fingers I can see her take a little step toward me and then pause. "Did you leave the table because you had to pee or did you follow me?" she asks abruptly.

I glance up at her. "What? No, I don't have to pee."

"Then come with me now, quickly. We've got maybe three minutes."

I want to ask where we're going and why, but she's already hurrying down the hall. Instead of turning left toward the dining room, she veers right and vanishes down a long corridor. I have to jog to keep up.

Walking beside her now isn't all that different from the first time we walked together. There's no snow, and she looks like a completely different human, but there's an urgency to her steps, and I am once again unable to stop stealing glances at her gorgeous profile. I'm desperate to ask where we're going, or at the very least how she knows her way around this house, when she pulls my arm and drags me into a dimly lit room.

I blink to get my bearings and see her stride confidently over to a desk with a computer on it. She switches it on and then reaches for the jeweled clasp at the side of her neck. For one wild second I think she's going to undo the fastening, and from what I can see, it's about the only thing holding the dress together. But no, concealed somehow behind the jewel is a tiny portable USB drive. Without a word, she connects it to the computer and taps a few keys.

"Is there any point in me asking what the hell you're doing?" I whisper.

"Not at the moment, no," she murmurs back, tapping a manicured nail impatiently on the desk. "But I will tell you."

"When?" I ask. "And why?"

"Why? Because clearly fate is throwing us together. Maybe you're supposed to help me."

"Help you do what?"

"I'll tell you later. After the dinner," she says, pulling the USB out and reattaching it to her dress.