Page 76 of Company Ink

"Well, the gods were so happy that they ascended everyone up to the heavens in the form of stars. But because of her vanity, Cassiopeia was bound to a throne, so that when she revolves around the north celestial pole, she's sometimes upside-down, an 'M' instead of a 'W'. And if she lets go of her chair, she'll plummet from the sky into the ocean, and get devoured by the Nereids that she insulted."

"Damn," I say in a long-drawn-out breath. "The gods did her dirty."

Adrian smiles. "Yes, they did."

"How do you know so much about astronomy," I ask, leaning against the railing.

"My older brother put me on to it when I was younger," Adrian sighs, his deep eyes scanning my face. "My father used to travel a lot for business, I'd hate it. I was a... needy child. Every time he'd leave, I'd just break down into these pathetic sobs."

I frown. "I think that's normal. Children always want to be with their parents."

"I suppose." Adrian lets out a long breath. "Anyway, one night when my father left, my brother took me outside, pointed to the sky and he said to me 'when you miss him, just look up at the stars, they're the same stars Dad sees'."

The pained look on Adrian's face causes my heart to clench. "Sounds like you have a really good big brother."

"I do." Adrian briefly closes his eyes. "I would do anything for him. He basically raised me."

"He did a good job," I whisper. "You turned out okay."

Adrian's face softens. "Just, okay?"

I shrug coyly. "No one's perfect."

Adrian's eyes flicker between mine. "Are you sure?"

My chest expands as my heart skips a beat. "Yes," I murmur, a chill tingling my spine, forcing me to shiver.

"Oh," Adrian says, shaking off his jacket. "Here, take this."

"Or we can just go back inside?"

Adrian drapes the jacket over my shoulders. "I didn't bring you out here to show you constellations, Cassie."

"You didn't? Why are we here then?" I ask, gripping his blazer.

Adrian pulls out his cellphone and types a quick message. "You'll see in about ten seconds." He grabs my shoulders and twists me around, so my back is against his chest. "Look."

"What am I looking a—" My question is cut off by two glowing spurts shooting up into the sky, exploding into thousands of red and white sparks, tumbling over themselves like waterfalls. "Oh my God! Fireworks!"

"You missed the Fourth of July," he whispers quietly into my ear.

I crane my neck, my eyes wide with disbelief. "You did this? How?"

"It doesn't matter how," Adrian smiles. "Just enjoy it."

I turn my head slowly and watch the cascading and swirling lights fill up the night sky, dancing together, creating breath-taking shapes and patterns. I subconsciously lean into Adrian's chest, he doesn't touch me for a few minutes but then he gives in, wrapping his arms around my waist as we watch the fireworks together.

When the last spark fizzles, I realize that we're intertwined. I spin myself around, taking a step backward. "That was amazing," I whisper, feeling embarrassed. "Thank you."

Adrian tucks a wayward piece of hair behind my ear. "It was nothing," he says softly.

He takes a step closer towards me and my breath hitches.No."Adrian—" I grab his hand and lower it. "You can't do this to me."

"Do what, Cariño?" he asks quietly.

"This!" I point to the smoke in the sky. "And the shoes and the flirting—" I take a deep breath. "You just can't. It's not fair."

"Life's not fair, Cassie," he says mournfully, his eyes strikingly sad. "But it's the only one we have."