Kiss at Your Own Risk Read Free Page B

fingered the heart bracelet on her wrist. The one that had “believe” engraved on each charm. “I need to know I’m different. I have to know that I’m more. The only way I’m going to prove it to myself is if I can face the curse and have enough goodness in my soul to trump my need to kill. “
    Reina sighed. “I hate it when you manage to make the insane sound logical.”
    Trinity let out her breath. “So, you’ll help me get through this week? I’m not going to hide. I have to face it.”
    Reina shook her head in resignation. “Fine. I’ll help you, but I still think we should take a girl’s retreat at the cabin. Why risk being damned for all eternity just because you need to prove something to yourself?”
    “It’s complicated.”
    “I know. And I’ll support you, but I’m going to try to keep talking you out of it.” Reina took her wineglass back from Trinity, who hadn’t even considered touching it.
    As if she was going to lower her inhibitions with alcohol right now. Seriously.
    Reina took a sip of her wine, then set the glass down on the table. “Okay, well, I was going to surprise you with this, but I feel like maybe you need some inspiration. A proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. A kick in the pants to stop you from feeling all weepy and morose about what a bad person you are.”
    “I’m not weepy. I’m realistic. There’s a difference.” Trinity picked up a roll and pulled it apart. Steam rose from it, and she inhaled the scent of fresh bread. Reina had insisted on the nicest restaurant in Boston, and it was worth it for the rolls. “And your surprises scare me. You remember when you invited Death to be a stripper at my twenty-first birthday, and my mom thought he’d come to take me?” She rolled her eyes. “I had no idea my mom could throw a baseball that hard. She actually knocked him out.”
    Reina winced. “Okay, so that wasn’t my best effort, but this surprise is a good one.” She held up her iPhone, showing a silhouette of a man leaning against a telephone pole. The photo was dark, and Trinity couldn’t even make out his face in the shadows. “Assuming that you do manage to keep your hands off the jugulars of the opposite sex for the next week, I have a guy for you to meet.” Mischief twinkled in Reina’s pale blue eyes. “I already arranged a date with him, starting one minute after your curse expires. No time to waste, girlfriend. You deserve to live again.”
    “A date?” Instinctively, Trinity tensed up. Dates were such bad news. Even dating a misanthropic serial killer hadn’t been enough to keep her hands clean. Seemed like the bigger jerks they were, the more she saw herself in them and felt empathy. “I can’t—”
    “But you can. That’s the point. Come Sunday, you can date again.” Reina grinned. “For real.”
    For real. Trinity took a deep breath and tried to unclench her fingers. “It feels so weird to think I could actually let myself like someone.” The only dates she’d had for years had been guys intentionally picked for their degree of heinousness. The curse was ruthless in its quest for her to find true love, and she’d had to figure out how to satisfy the urges it created in her while somehow avoiding finding Mr. Right. Reina had been extremely helpful in tracking down the more scum-laden eligible bachelors for the occasional date. “How many tentacles does he have?”
    “None! And no horrific stench emanating from various body parts.” Reina wiggled her eyebrows. “I think he’s just right for you. He’s tall, really muscular, and can crush buildings simply by thinking about it.”
    “I don’t know. I’m not sure I’m ready for that yet.” Trinity took a sip of her tap water and rolled the cool liquid around in her mouth. A little ripple of hope quivered in her heart that maybe, just maybe, on Sunday she would really be in a position to date again. To trust herself. To believe she deserved the chance to be