By some miracle, I was able to find parking, and got in the door just after five. I scanned the bar which wasn’t very big, and saw Declan sitting in one of the leather chairs over by the window. He stood when he saw me.

“Hey,” I said as I approached.

He held out his hand. “You can see for yourself,” he said as we shook, “That I’m still in one piece and upright.”

He was dressed in business casual, with dark khaki pants and a button-up shirt in light blue that made his eyes look even icier. They glowed like beacons.

“That makes my lawyer heart beat a little easier,” I said, sitting down across from him.

“Hey! You were supposed to leave the homework at the office,” he laughed.

“Trust me, I did.”

“I hope so. I took the liberty of ordering you a Manhattan, but you are under no obligation to drink it,” he gestured to one of the drinks on the small table.

“Oh, great! Thanks, I love these,” I said.

“You’ve been here?” He picked up his drink and sat back in the chair.

“Yeah, I have a friend who loves this kind of place,” I replied, thinking of Xavier.

“These are some of my favorites,” he said as he sipped his drink.

I took a drink, and I felt it wash down my throat and into my stomach, where it started to warm me immediately. The Rye was famous for barrel aging their Manhattans. I’d brought Xavier here before and he nearly fell over at how good they were.

Tibby had to drive us home that night, too, I thought.

I was glad she’d badgered me for info tonight, I realized. Now it was time to get a little more.

“Since I was so busy running into you, I didn’t ask what you do,” I said. I kept it casual. I could feel the work side of me gear up for interrogation, and I didn’t want to do that.

He grinned. “I’m a water consultant.”

“A what?”

“A water consultant.”

“What does that entail?”

DC was always interesting in the many kinds of jobs that brought people here. It was one of the reasons I loved living here. I was glad that Tibby hadn’t wanted to move after she got married. I would die here.

“It’s a good job for a public service and engineering double major. That was the important point as far as my mother was concerned,” he said, still smiling. “You know, put that degree we paid so much for to use, and all that.”

I laughed with him. I would have gotten the same response had I gone into any other field than pre-law.

Declan continued, “We look at how to make water more readily available to communities. Not just water, but how to get rid of waste, and all the aspects of water needed for daily life.”

“That sounds interesting.” I’m not sure whether it is or not, but he’s so passionate about it, I find myself interested.

“It is. DC is an old city and figuring out how to upgrade and maintain the water systems here is always a challenge. I’ve been doing some travel in Europe this year for better ideas. People still have to live, and God knows they’d whine and carry on if too much of life gets disrupted,” he rolled his eyes. “So I—” then he stopped. “I’m sorry. I get a little carried away.”

“You love your job. That’s not a bad thing,” I said.

“I really do. I do a lot of work around here on my bike, too, which is good. Except when people run right into me,” he grinned.

“Well, you’re getting a good drink out of it at least,” I said. “Speaking of which, next round is on me. So how long have you been in DC?”

“I just relocated here about four months ago. You?”

“I’ve been here my whole life.”

We talked a little like I remembered you do when you’re getting to know someone. I still couldn’t tell if this was a date, so after trying to analyze it for the first ten minutes, I gave up.

We’d been there for about an hour when Declan said, “You hungry?”

“What, now you want dinner too?” I asked.

Oh, shit. That was definitely date-like.

He clutched his knee. “Yes. It dulls the pain,” and made a face.

“If that will help you on your journey of healing,” I said.

We ordered, and before I knew it, it was after ten.

Declan was the first to openly glance at his watch. “I’m not totally sure that I’m fully healed, although I suppose I can admit I’m on a healing path. But if I don’t get to bed, I’ll relapse, so I’m going to head out.”

“Well, I wouldn’t want to see that,” I said, feeling shy.

I wasn’t sure how to end the evening. I hated this, hated it. Not only the lack of which way to go, or what to do, but the complete lack of control.

“Then you’d better check in with me,” Declan said. “I have a ride scheduled tomorrow, but I’m free for dinner tomorrow night.” He raised his eyebrows. “On me, this time.”

I’d picked up the tab after the first round.

“Okay, that sounds good,” I said.

“Give me your cell number,” he said, pulling out his phone.

We exchanged numbers, and then he met my eyes. “So it’s a date, then.”

I opened my mouth, and for a moment, nothing came out. The attraction I’d felt when I first saw him, and then when I saw him tonight rushed in and hit me with the force of a freight train. His eyes were like lasers. They glowed even in this semi-dark bar.

I could feel my entire body respond, and it took me another minute to speak. “Looks that way. I can’t let you collapse,” I added.

“No, you cannot. Say seven?”

“Sounds good,” I managed. His eyes were boring into me, and I could feel all the hormones that had fallen off my radar over the past couple of months come screaming to life. Holy shit, this guy was like live electricity. I’d looked at him while we’d been talking, and nothing like this hit me before.

I wondered if he’d just decided to put his interest out there. If so, I was glad. Every part of me was glad.

He stood and held out a hand. I stood and took it, and the jolt of electricity I’d felt looking into his eyes intensified.

I’d never felt anything like it before. My God.

“Thanks for dinner tonight,” he said.

Did he sound breathless? God, I hoped so. I hoped I wasn’t the only one.

“It was my pleasure.”

“That makes two of us,” he said, and his fingers gripped my hand longer than a normal handshake.

“Well, good night,” he said, finally letting go of my hand. He took a step, and then stopped, looking back at me. “I’m glad you bumped into me.” With a smile, he turned away, and headed out of the bar.

I sat back down, shaken at the strength of my response to him.

This was not the response of someone pining for their lost love, and thinking of Graham, I immediately felt guilty.

The drive home seemed to take longer than normal.

Maybe it was just me.

When I got home to the dark house, I didn’t feel like doing anything. I texted Tibby.

I’m home, Mom. Everything’s fine.

Thank you. You never know. Tibby sounded like me.

Well now you know I’m safe.

Call me tomorrow.

Will do.

I went to bed. I didn’t like the mixed up way I felt, in spite of the intense attraction I felt for Declan. Right now, I was too tired to examine it or beat myself up further. Time for that tomorrow.

* * *

When I got up, the sun was shining, and I stretched in bed, feeling good.

The events of the night before hit me and immediately enveloped me in all the feelings I’d gone to bed to ignore.

I checked the time. Nine a.m. It was too early to call Tibby and ask what the hell this all meant.

I almost called Matt, but decided that while he was pretty chill about me coming out, perhaps he wasn’t up for discussing the minutia of dating just yet. Tibby had known forever, and to her, it was no big thing.

Damn it.

I was restless, and rather than sit around and stew, I got up and went for a run.

DC has the reputation of too much traffic, shit parking, and potholes that swallow buses. All of which are true, but Georgetown was something special. I loved running along the canal, and since it was Saturday morning, there weren’t the normal crowds you saw during the day.

We grew up close to American University, so this wasn’t my childhood neighborhood. But it was my forever home.

I could feel myself calm as I ran along the canal, following my route that took me up one side and back down the other toward home.

Away from Declan, and the fact that his eyes and touch were mesmerizing, I could analyze things. Why was I even looking at the guy? My whole goal was to win back Graham.

Even though he hadn’t called.

My thoughts wandered to Graham. Why would he make me wait like this? There was only one answer that kept coming to the forefront, and I didn’t like it.

Because he never planned on calling me back.

Or was I being fickle, listening to my body, and my racing hormones?

“Damn it,” I muttered, startling the older woman I passed walking her dog.

She muttered something herself, but I’d run past her by the time she got it out. Oh, well. Lots of people talked to themselves. I’d heard such people were the smart ones—crazy, too, but smart.

When I made it back home, I’d come to a decision. I would call Graham. I really enjoyed last night, but I needed to have Graham in a place in my head where things were settled between us. Either we were going to work on it together, or I was going to move on.

I had no illusions, either. Graham had been the man I loved more than anyone else I’d ever dated. Duh. I’d asked him to marry me. No one else before had inspired me to do such a thing.

So while Declan was fantastic, I couldn’t hope for more than enjoying time with him. I knew, in the clinical side of my brain, that I needed to process the grief that one of these men would no longer be part of my life.

In spite of where I found myself at the moment, I’d never even allowed myself to think that way.

Wait. I stopped as it hit me.

“Dhameer!” I yelled. “This is some bullshit, man! I need to talk to you!”

My voice echoed through the house. No one answered.

“Shit,” I said, kicking off my shoes and heading for the kitchen. I was drinking a glass of water when I heard something, and then a puff of glitter exploded in front of me.

I nearly dropped the glass when I spit through the glitter cloud.

When I finished choking, I looked up to see Dhameer using one of my kitchen towels to pat at himself.

“Hey! That’s not going to be permanently glittered, is it?”

“You’re worried about the glitter?” He didn’t bother to hide the sarcasm.

“Among other things, yes.”

“How can I assist you today, Bryant?” His voice was smooth, almost hypnotic.

“You told me I needed to change, and then I would get what I wanted, my dearest wish.”

“Yes?” His eyebrows raised and I could tell that he was not sure what I was complaining about, but being polite.

“I changed. I did exactly what Graham wanted, and I told my whole family the truth about me.”

“That is excellent. Truth is far more comfortable to live with than deception.”

I stared. He was going to make this as difficult as possible.

“So why haven’t I gotten what I wanted?”

He sighed, and looked off in the distance for a moment, not speaking. Then he met my eyes, and I was struck by the latent power in his gaze.

“I cannot just make things happen—”

“Bullshit. I know what you did for Tibby, and Xavier told me that you put Olivia in his way, made sure they met,” I dismissed the details with a flick of my hand. “So why can’t you make this work for me?”

“What did I tell you needed to happen first?”

“That I had to make changes for my dearest wish—”

Now he cut me off. “And you have indeed made changes. You need to consider, however, why you made them, and whether they were the right ones.”

“What the…” my voice trailed off. Was he serious?

But Dhameer wasn’t done. “You also need to consider what it is you wish for—what you think is your dearest wish? Is that, in fact, your dearest wish? The one close to your heart that you don’t often say to yourself? I have set the things in motion that will allow you to realize what it is you wish for—but you must do your part.” Now he shrugged. “If you have not, then the things I have put into place for you will not occur.”

“You have got to be kidding me. This is your advice? This is even more vague and less of an answer than before!”

“Well, when people get involved in their own lives, in their destiny,” a smile sent the side of his mouth up, “Things get confusing, and muddled, and vague.”

I muttered something and turned away towards the sink, because I was mad, and I didn’t want to look at him.

“You might also want to learn a bit of patience.”

I whirled around, ready to tell him to fuck off.

“That’s a gift, a freebie, as you say. There’s nothing involved in that. Merely advice from one who has been watching humans try to sort themselves for a long time.”

“Were you this way with my friends?”

“Tabitha, yes. Xavier angered me, and so I made him forget our conversation, and didn’t offer him any help.”

Knowing X, this was interesting. Since it took my mind off my problems for a minute, I leaned against the sink and crossed my arms. The sun felt good on my back.

“What did he do to piss you off?”

Dhameer breathed deeply through his nose. “He told me that he was far more observant than I gave him credit for, and that he hadn’t found the right woman because he just hadn’t seen her. Then he demanded I drop her on him, essentially. Insisting one is intelligent and demanding work from others is not the way to endear oneself.”

I burst out laughing. “He’s maddening at times, I know. But he’s a good guy. Loyal to a fault and does anything for those he loves.”

“I watched him with Olivia. You are correct. However, he does not put forth that effort unless it is a very specific group of people. Which is what landed him in the situation he found himself in.”

The small smile made an appearance again.

“They are a great couple.”

“As are Tabitha and Seth. I would think, Bryant, that you might have a little faith.”

“Well, djinn don’t do anything for free—there’s always a catch. So what am I missing?”

Now he smiled widely, and I could tell he was enjoying himself. “That is for you to discover. I am a djinn, not a road map!” And with a whoosh, and of course, a shower of that damn glitter, he was gone.

“Well, that was just great,” I said, going to get my vacuum. “Totally helpful. Thanks, guy!” I yelled at the ceiling. Since he was such a lurker, I’m sure he heard me.

But he didn’t answer. What was it he’d said? That people needed to get involved?

“OK,” I muttered. “Then I’ll be in charge of my own destiny.”