Libra Ascending: An Epic Urban Fantasy Romance (Zodiac Guardians Book 1) by Tamar Sloan (adult books to read .TXT) 📗

Marie slides a glance at Brielle, the brief glare slashing through her. Marie already hates her. Why is Brielle even bothering to fight for acceptance? It’s a lost cause...

Brielle shakes her head. “I’m sorry Sister, but I don’t know anything about how the wine bottle broke.” This is Brielle’s first lie ever, and she internally applauds herself for how well she pulls it off. She hopes her voice and posture are as convincing as she thinks they are. She clears her throat. “Besides, I’m pretty sure I saw Marie in her bed last night. Kinda hard to miss her snoring.”

Marie visibly relaxes, and Sister Agatha frowns as she leans back in her chair. “Very well, you may go, Marie.” She dismisses the girl with a wave of her hand.

Marie eagerly stands up and skips out the door, throwing Brielle a knowing smile as she passes.

But Brielle didn’t do it for her. Well, not just for her, anyway.

“Thank you for your honesty, Brielle,” Sister Agatha begins once they’re alone. “I know I can always count on you to tell me the truth. I’ll miss you when you’re gone.”

Brielle doesn’t point out Sister Agatha has said that the past five times adoptive parents showed an interest in her.

“If I go,” she adds, unable to keep the tone of self-doubt out of her words.

“Oh, come on now, your chances of getting adopted this time look very good,” Sister Agatha chides. “Are you ready for the Pierces’ visit this afternoon?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Brielle says with little confidence but ample determination. “I hope they like me.”

“They already like you.” Sister Agatha smiles warmly. “That’s the reason they want to meet.”

Yes, she and the Pierces did seem to click right away when they stopped by for the Meet and Greet last week.

After the fiasco her last potential adoption had turned into years ago, she’d been metaphorically benched from these events for some time. And now that Brielle’s seventeen, she’d all but given up on getting adopted. So, for last week’s Meet and Greet, she’d opted to help the nuns keep the snacks and drinks stocked.

While she was pouring more lemonade into the dispenser on the snack table, there was a tap on her shoulder. Thinking it was one of the nuns, she turned around to see a handsome couple. The man looked like he was in his forties, with brown hair, green eyes, and a warm smile. He was tall, and his beige suit fitted him well. The woman on his arm was about the same age, her straight dark brown hair cut to just below shoulders left bare by her spaghetti strap dress.

“Excuse me, but what can you tell me about those girls?” the man asked, pointing to three of the Brady Bunch girls chatting against the wall. Clearly, he thought Brielle worked there.

Rather than correct him, she went along with it. “Well, the tall one is Marie. She’s a great conversationalist, but she can be prone to mischief. Ella is the short one, and she’s a wiz with numbers. And Sasha, the...er...voluptuous one”—she struggled to find a nice way to say fat—“she’s very sweet and loves all forms of art, especially painting.”

The couple both nodded, appraising each of the girls.

Brielle saw no reason to slander them. Just because they excluded her didn’t mean they deserved to be adopted any less than she did, and she wasn’t about to damage their chances. She had enough guilt to deal with without creating her own.

“Can I ask what you’re looking for?” After she asked the question, she felt stupid. They weren’t shopping for a piece of furniture, they were scouting a potential child to make a permanent part of their family.

The couple chuckled and exchanged uncertain glances.

“Well, we don’t really know,” the woman said.

“We just know that there’s something missing in our lives.” The man shrugged. “I guess we’ll know when we find it.”

The woman cocked her head at Brielle. “You seem young to be working here. Are you a volunteer?”

“Not exactly. I’m...one of the orphans,” Brielle confessed, her cheeks burning. “But I’m about to age out of the system, and I like helping, so I offered to help the nuns with the event.”

After that, the couple introduced themselves as Frank and Beatrice Pierce and talked to Brielle for the duration of the gathering. It was only an hour, but they...clicked. Mr. Pierce had a very corny sense of humor, and Mrs. Pierce seemed indulgent and affectionate. Brielle felt something she hadn’t felt in a long time.

Hope.

And the more days that pass, the more desperately she hopes things go well at their next meeting. This afternoon.

She’d been in this orphanage her entire life. She’d never known family. After watching the fellow babies she’d arrived with each find their forever home, she’d stopped making friends with the other residents. It was just too painful. Sister Agatha was the closest thing to family she’d ever had. Not quite like a mother, but maybe a very strict aunt, which is about as lame as it gets.

Brielle wants a family more than anything in the world. And she’s not going to screw things up.

Not this time.

“I’ll do my best to make you proud,” Brielle says, forcing her lips into a flat smile.

Sister Agatha scoffs. “If you want to do that, stay on as a nun.” She laughs, her belly bouncing with each rolling breath.

Brielle sucks in air through her teeth. “Not even as a last resort.”

Sister Agatha laughs even harder, so hard even the tight gray bun perched on her head wobbles. When her laughter subsides, she wipes her eyes and regains her composure. “Alright, now off to school with you. Don’t want to be late.”

“Yes, Sister.” Brielle stands, nods, then leaves the office, striding down the hall striped with the morning light coming through the vaulted windows. The orphanage is old, converted from a convent that’s been here since the eighteen hundreds. All