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  "More talk of destiny."

  She laughed. "Karma."

  "Fairy dust sprinkled on our star charts."

  "They would consult astrologists from six belief systems until they found the one decreeing any two people born on April nineteenth are handfast by the gods."

  "Hang on," Evan said. "Are there six different astrological belief systems?"

  "Western zodiac, Chinese, Incan, Mayan, Druidic, and Native American."

  He whistled. "You had all those on the tip of your tongue?"

  "To be honest, I'm not aware of any Native American astrology, at least not in the whole Scorpio and Capricorn way. But there are plenty of tribes with stories about the gods and the stars. And the ancient Mayans and Incans were astronomers, not astrologists."

  "Here I was ready to be impressed."

  Natalie closed down her computer and slid a sheaf of printouts into her orange waxed cotton satchel. "Never fear. When it comes to looking for astrological proof of our predetermined happily-ever-after, my mom will locate a Mayan star sign reader."

  "Not if mine finds one first."

  She liked the teasing tone in his voice. It was sweet how much he adored his mom, even when she, like Elaine, was pressuring him to form an unwanted attachment. "Well, I think we're safe. My mom definitely told Marisa and Koray we were taking the Turkey trip to celebrate our recent thirtieth and sixtieth birthdays. If my actual birthdate didn't come up in that conversation, it's not likely to until April rolls around again."

  "So we have ten months to get this notion out of their heads."

  She flipped off the office lights and let the door swing closed behind her. "It'll be an effort, but I'm stubborn. I'll make sure it works."

  "Natalie East speaking."

  "I was wondering if you could recommend a dentist?" Evan asked. One of the admins was passing his office and pointed to his chest to ask if he should respond, so Evan waggled his phone in negation.

  "Well, hi to you, too."

  "Hello, Natalie. My crown's loose. Do you have a good dentist?"

  "I do, but she's near my house. There's no point you getting set up with someone out of the way of your home and office both, when I know there are plenty of options closer to you."

  "You live that far from me?" He didn't need to know where she lived. He was merely employing the kind of polite chit-chat he'd been conditioned to make after years of working with clients.

  "Not exactly, but my place is between yours and my dentist's practice."

  "So if I go see her, and she hurts my poor sore tooth, I can knock on your door on the way home to complain."

  Even when she was probably rolling her eyes on her end of the phone, Natalie's light laugh had the bite of caramelized sugar.

  "What's between my place and yours?" he asked.

  "No dentists I can think of. I'll check my resource list and send you a few names."

  "Thanks, Natalie." He was out of things to talk to her about, so he returned to analyzing the prospectus of a South American oil company.

  A few minutes later he got an email from the admin with a list of dentists on his plan within a five mile radius, the ones accepting new patients asterisked, and a note that a least a few people in the building went to a practice a couple of blocks over.

  "I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time?" Natalie asked when Evan picked up.

  "Nope, I'm just leaving a lunch."

  She nodded, as if he could see. "Well, this is convoluted, unless of course you know my mom, in which case it makes sense."

  "Tell me everything."

  "Ha. You asked for it. So, your father's birthday is coming up." Nat drummed her fingers on her desk, glad no one was in her part of the office to overhear her inanities.

  "Two weeks. I thought you were telling me things I didn't know."

  "No, I am. The point is, my mom, Elaine, has some photo of your parents in Turkey she framed, and wants to send it in time for Koray's birthday."

  "Sweet. Tell her he'll love that."

  She rolled her eyes. "That's not the convoluted part. She wants it to be a surprise, for both of them. Since she doesn't have their address, she was hoping I could get it from you."

  He laughed his bell-tolling laugh. "Still sweet, and not all that convoluted."

  "And," she paused, "she wants me to bring you by her house to see the picture before she ships it off. She thinks if she can see your face when you get a look at it, she can tell if it's a good enough present for Koray, and she'll know if he'll like it. Marisa, too. You're proxy for them both."

  He didn't say anything for a moment.

  "Evan? I know it's bonkers, and unnecessary. I'm more than prepared to get the address and cut off her notions before she has a chance to think up even crazier schemes."

  She hoped it wasn't with a hint of a sigh that he replied, "No, let's do it. I've never met you mom; it's about time I thanked her for being such a friend to my parents on the trip."

  "I feel like I should apologize about seven times in advance for this." And seven or eight times afterwards, if she was predicting her mom correctly.

  "Why, is she a gorgon?"

  "Ha. Again. No, and I think you know perfectly well this is another attempt to manipulate us."

  "The return of the Facebook photos."

  "The night of the living dead Facebook photos."

  "Facebook photos from the black lagoon."

  "Giant mutant Facebook photos...of doom."

  Damn but she liked the ring of Evan's voice when he was amused. "Should I bring a camera crew along? We could make a mint selling shaky handheld footage of your mom chasing us through the woods. Does she have a coil of rope she could carry?"

  "We might have to provide our own rope."

  "Can she at least laugh maniacally?"

  Natalie glanced at the photo of her sedate, elegant mother sitting on the credenza behind her desk. "Hmm. Doubtful. Also, she'll be wearing heels, so she won't be chasing very fast."

  "Right. You'll have to screech and grab at me, tripping us both up, so she can catch us."

  "Hang on. Why do I have to be the screechy one?"

  "You're the girl. Everyone knows the girl is the screechy one."

  "Oh they do, do they? Well, I’ve got news for you, pal. When I rescue myself--after you're clumsy enough to get us caught--I'm leaving you behind."

  "You can't abandon me. It's the cardinal rule of the buddy system. Leave no man behind."

  "For that, I might even use the remnants of my rope to reinforce your binds."

  "This is never going to play on the B movie circuit."

  "I think there's an audience out there for it. Get with the times."

  He must have gotten into his car--the background noise faded so all she heard was his words. "If I cry 'uncle' are you going to call me sexist again? I promise, I'll be the one to trip in the woods, even though it does bruise my dignity."

  "Deal. So are you sufficiently prepared to walk the gauntlet and meet my mother?" Oh, damn. They kept blurring the line between wordplay and flirting. She cleared her throat. "I could bring her, and the photo, by your place sometime this weekend. I don't want to put you out. Too much."

  They arranged a time. Natalie knew Elaine would make it work, because, joking aside, she very much wanted to examine the air between her daughter and Evan to see if it sparked as she hoped.

  She would be disappointed, which would give Natalie a chance to remind Elaine, again, that she was happy being single, and did not need romance in her life.

  "Do me a favor," Evan said before hanging up. "Wear sensible shoes when you come over. In case we have to make a break for it."

  Chapter Six

  Saturday morning, Evan swung through his place, grabbing his workout bag and tossing it in an otherwise empty closet. Most of his closets were empty. He'd shipped a few boxes from Tampa, but beyond clothes and some books and pictures of his family, Evan had managed to reach the age of thirty-one with very few possessions. His b
ike and his laptop were his treasured items. Besides those family photos, which were easy enough to replace if necessary. The married siblings were great archivists.

  So cleaning up his furnished corporate two-bedroom was a breeze. Getting over himself so he could invite in the East women without it feeling like a supervised date was a little tougher. Blame it on Natalie and her constant warnings about the matchmaking mother. Knowing full well neither of them was interested in being coupled off, he and Natalie had become quick friends, despite the pressure from all their parents. Maybe even because of it.

  And his parents were just as invested in the relationship. Non-relationship. They adored Natalie, asking about her almost every phone call, mentioning her in the emails to their kids. Which meant Alice, Ben, and Danny joined in. Only Chloe seemed capable of understanding he and Natalie were only friends. And Chloe wasn't exactly polite about the superficial things she found wrong with Natalie. Evan had protested a couple of times that Natalie was attractive as well as sharply smart and fun, but that only backfired from all sides, so he was trying a silence is golden approach in hopes the entire Lee clan would find a new favorite topic of conversation.

  As it stood, they were bound to hear about this little tea party once Dad got his birthday photo, so he would do his best to convey the non-dating vibe to Elaine.

  Who was, it seemed, at the door. He went to answer the bell, smoothing his hair once more, then scruffing it up so he wouldn't look like he was trying too hard to be attractive. Then forcing himself to let it go lest he spend more time thinking about his appearance than he would if he was a fifteen year old with a crush.

  "Did I tell you I read people are more likely to fall in love if their partner's first name starts with the same letter as someone they already love?" Natalie's mom asked as they headed up the walk to Evan's front door.

  "Shame Evan doesn't have eight more siblings, then, so there's no 'N' love in his life." She normally curbed her sarcasm. Her mom didn't approve of it. But Natalie had emptied her portfolio of discussion topics on the way to this bogus set-up, and each time Elaine had brought the conversation around to Nat's single state, Evan's prime mate-ability, or her own need for a man to help her through the small trials of her life. The only reserves Natalie still had were deep down the sarcasm well.

  "True, but ’N’ is right next to Marisa, alphabetically. It's almost as good."

  "Who are you going to go out with then? Do you know any Nathans? Nicks? Nadavs?"

  Elaine stopped short a moment, then shook her head and reached for the doorbell.

  "Wait, Mom. You know a Nathan?"

  "Nadav. He's the new cantor. But he must be ten years younger than me. I was startled to hear the name."

  Too late to delve into that juicy tidbit. Making a mental note to attend services sometime soon, Natalie turned to greet an uncharacteristically untidy Evan. She'd never seen him out of a professional or highly social context; could be his hair stood on end every time he was without his cleverly knotted ties.

  "Hi, come in." He stepped back, revealing the most blandly furnished living room Natalie had seen since, well, since the time she'd been commissioned to sell off some corporate rental houses for a company that was outsourcing a lot of positions overseas. After staging three of them, her own house had ended up almost as stripped down as the rentals had started; she often used her own smaller furnishings and decor to increase the visual appeal of the places she was selling.

  Evan needed splashes of color, and a coffee table large enough for the couch. And something alive, which she was in a position to help him with. She handed him a potted ivy. "Welcome to town."

  He stared at it a minute.

  "It likes indoor lighting, so don't put it by a window. Water it when the soil feels dry. I just gave it plant food, so it should be set to grow almost ignored in a corner for a few months."

  "Oh. Thanks."

  She stepped past him, clearing the way. Evan could finally see the petite, elegant, well-shod woman who'd been hidden by her larger frame.

  "And this is Elaine. Mom, Evan Lee." She didn't say, "Come on, man, it's a plant. You're supposed to be working with me here on polite and neutral. There's nothing in the world more politely neutral than an ivy."

  But she thought it, and he was mind reader enough to regroup and tuck the pot under one arm so he could shake her mom's hand. "Great to meet you at last, Elaine. Can I get you two a drink? Soda, coffee?"

  They circled past a staircase to the kitchen and dining area, where Evan deposited the plant on the small table. He set them up with coffee, apologizing that it wasn't as good as Black Gold's, and Natalie refrained from nudging his shin as a reminder they shouldn't be chatting about extracurricular time spent together.

  "How do you like Houston? It's a warm time of year to move here, but I suppose Florida was no picnic in the summertime, either." Elaine took one of the incongruously huge gulps of coffee she tended towards. "Of course in Florida I bet you didn't have a cute young friend like Natalie to show you around town."

  Now Natalie was refraining from nudging her mom's shin. She should move from the table before she lost the ability to control her feet. "Show Evan the picture."

  "We were just getting to know each other. I'll show him in a moment. Evan, you remind me so much of your mother. Doesn't he remind you of Marisa? She has such a beautiful face. His cheekbones and chin are identical."

  "Mom, I have clients in an hour." She didn't. Not for ninety minutes. But the last thing she wanted was to listen to her mom detail Evan's attractive qualities.

  "I thought you weren't meeting them until one," the not-so-handsome man offered.

  She tried to glare at him with the side of her face her mom couldn't see. His smirk told her she wasn't very successful. It also made him go from possibly-a-bit-handsome to completely unappealing.

  "Well then, Evan can answer my question about Florida summers and how they compare to Houston's. You were in Tampa for three years, right, Evan? Your dad told us all about the merger."

  His sonorous peal of laughter wasn't as compelling as she'd thought, either. Evan said, "My dad told me about the merger--what they're still calling a merger--before the bank did. For a tax accountant, he keeps a pretty close eye on corporate gossip."

  "Your brother helped him set up alerts for all your employers. As soon as one of them hits the internet, he gets an email." Natalie caught herself feeling guilty for telling, although Koray hadn't said it was any kind of secret. The jumble of tight lines and lifted eyebrows in Evan's face said her words held some real significance for him.

  "He did?"

  She nodded. "He, um, also got me to set up a new one for your new job. Or modify the other one, I should say, with the name change."

  Evan shifted his jaw a minute. "Well. That's par for the course."

  She couldn't quite figure out how to ask if he was upset by his dad's virtual tracking. Not her business, she decided. Natalie was uncomfortably aware that the emails she'd exchanged with Evan's parents since returning from the trip crossed the line into gossip about their son. Not as thoroughly as Elaine crossed the same line, based on some of her mom's reports, but Natalie definitely played a part in spying on their son for Marisa and Koray. Just in arranging this flimsy pretext of a meeting, she'd given all three parents plenty of fodder. After too long a silence, Nat said, "Sorry," and hoped it conveyed her resolution to keep him off the virtual table.

  Evan's smile might have said he understood. "Dad has a tendency to want to live our lives for us. Could be because I'm the youngest, I think I get it the most. I have high hopes my nieces and nephews will steal my limelight soon."

  "You sound like a man with a plan."

  The smile turned a little smug and a little evil. "I might have mentioned a lot of school districts these days have online portals so parents--and grandparents--can log in and see grades and upcoming assignments. I might have asked Alice and Ben in a family email if their kids' schools had implemented any
thing similar."

  "And?"

  "Ben texted me some impressively rude things, considering he's a responsible parent and the big brother who was supposed to be such a good example to me my whole life."

  Natalie toasted him with her coffee cup. "Nice."

  Elaine's cleared throat reminded Nat she was trying to avoid fodder. "It's lovely to see how close your family is. I was never able to give Natalie that. Siblings, a clan. She gets along so well with people, too. I hope someday she belongs to a large tight-knit family like yours."

  Subtle, Mom. Real subtle. Nat caught Evan's gaze and narrowed her own eyes at his glinting amusement. "Let's see your photo, Mom."

  Undaunted by the failure of her bait, Elaine reached into her tote bag and unboxed the framed picture. "I know your parents told you how much they loved those anniversary flowers you sent, Evan, but you should have seen their faces light up when they were showing them off. You're such a good son. I had some lovely shots of them on that day, between the flowers and the little blessing ceremony we had. But this one, from when we were at Ephesus, really struck me."

  Marisa and Koray were bathed in a golden afternoon sunlight as they stood in front of the marble-columned ruins of the Library of Celsus, the clear blue sky glowing through each window. Evan's parents weren't looking at the camera. They were turned toward each other, hands clasped, smiling. Their faces spoke of familiarity, of happiness, of understanding. Of love. Forty-five years of love.

  "Oh, wow," Natalie said softly.

  Evan reached out to take the picture. His gaze scanned Natalie's for a moment, then dropped back to take in his parents' faces. "Oh, wow," he agreed.

  Elaine stayed quiet, watching them both. She slid a copy of the print onto Evan's table, and he used a fingertip to slide it his way.

  With his softest smile yet, Evan handed the frame back to Elaine. "Thank you. They'll treasure it. You've got an amazing eye."

  "It was more luck than skill, but I like to think I can recognize magic when it's right in front of me."