Fire Stones - By Kailin Gow Page 0,17
heart.”
So Vesta had broken two men's hearts.
“And Varun thought Jana was Vesta, you think?” I was treading as carefully as I could.
Haven nodded, and then shrugged. “Maybe,” she said. “But it wasn't just like that. Varun loved Jana for herself, too. He's big-hearted, you know. Like a big teddy bear. He just falls for someone real quick and then – bam – he's in love. He falls in love easily.” She gave me a significant look, and I knew that Haven was talking about me as much as Vesta.
“So, do you think she's real, then?” I asked Haven. “This Vesta”
Haven sighed. “I don't know,” she said. “Whoever she is – I hope she stays hidden for good. I'm glad Jana wasn't Vesta – whatever Chance brainwashed her to think. Vesta sounds like a real piece of work to me. If I ever met the real Vesta,” she said darkly, “I'd kill her. For what she did to Varun.”
I colored and stammered out some excuse about a stomachache, looking for any reason to end the conversation. “Do you mind dropping me back at the hotel? Their on-site nurse supplies me with aspirin – we're all out back home.
Haven agreed, looking a little confused at my sudden about-face, but – as far as I could tell – not suspicious. I'd kill her, she had said. Did she mean it? Haven might have been only joking, but after my attack in the locker room, I wasn't so sure.
Once I arrived at the hotel, I asked around for Chance. Was he around?
“I think I saw him in the gardens,” the receptionist told me. “He usually does his homework out there.”
It was getting late. The moon was visible in the sky; the dusk spread its shadows across the gardens. The torches had all been lit; the dark-blooming flowers were illuminated by their fire. It was a beautiful night. My heart ached for Chance.
I felt a drop of water. I looked up, another raindrop falling squarely on my face. I reached for my hood but it was too late. The skies had opened up at all once – a thunderstorm pouring out of the sky.
“No!” My shopping was still in my bag – and it was about to get terribly soaked. Within seconds, my clothes were sopping. I rushed into the hotel, in search of a linen closet stocked with towels.
Instead, I found myself bumping into a wall. A warm, muscular wall.
I looked up.
“Varun?”
Chapter 7
It was indeed Varun – in the flesh. And plenty of flesh. Varun's shirt was wide open, revealing his taut, tanned chest. He was drenched far worse than I was; his long blonde hair dripped water onto the hotel carpet, and his shirt was see-through, his trousers tight with moisture. “Sorry,” I muttered, flushing. I wasn't interested in conversation – I couldn't let myself look at him again. Would he try to tempt me once more? I thought back to what Haven had said about him – how much he'd lost, how much he'd suffered. Was I really to be so surprised that he was trying so hard to regain his Vesta in me? If she really had left him high and dry, broken his heart, then no wonder he was so insistent on getting her back.
Come on, Varun, I thought. Was Vesta really worth it? I couldn't imagine leaving either Chance or Varun – how could she have left them both?
“Mac,” Varun smiled at me. “I've been hoping to see you.”
“Swimming?” I looked Varun up and down. Water from his trousers was pooling on the floor.
“No,” Varun shrugged. “I got caught in the storm. I was helping serve cake at the party outside when the storm came, and I had to salvage the cake before getting inside. The garden and the chairs are soaked through – but the cake is free. Our priorities are in order, at least. Can't say that I mind, though. I like the water, as you no doubt have figured out by now. And sweet old Mrs. Sonderheim can eat her 80th birthday cake.” He grinned at me, and I couldn't help smiling back at him. This was the old Varun, the one I remembered – the one who made a trade out of helping sweet old grannies and awkward new girls like me. This was the Varun I had first been attracted to, so many weeks ago. Not the insistent, frightening Varun I had seen on the beach. This was the Varun who had been my