ra''s ankle was still aching a bit, so she quietly found a seat and shook her head when someone nced her way.


    Dn leaned over to the manager and quietly asked them to bring up some fruit wine.


    Nichs watched it all in silence, his mood written all over his face.


    When the bottles finally arrived, Nichs couldn''t hold it in anymore. "Why''d you bring her here?" he blurted out.


    ra had just raised her ss when she heard Dn''s calm reply, "I wanted you all to meet her."


    No one needed to spell out what it meant for Dn to bring a girl to meet his friends—everyone in the room knew exactly how serious that was.


    Nichs knew too, and shot out of his chair, his voice rising. "But why her? She


    Richard reached out, grabbing his sleeve with a steady hand. "Sit down."


    Nichs pressed his lips together, scanning ra from head to toe, looking for any reason to shout that she wasn''t good enough for Dn. But after a long, hard look, he had to admit-she really was annoyingly pretty.


    Giving up, Nichs let out a frustratedugh and changed the subject. "Tara called me tonight. She''ll probablye by in a bit. Dn, is it true? People are saying you and Tara are getting married in three months. What''s really going on?" Richard just shook his head, thinking there was no saving Nichs at this point. The atmosphere turned heavy, just as the door swung open and Jackson walked in.


    He froze when he saw ra, looking caught off guard-and a little awkward, since Tara was right behind him. Apparently, they''d run into each other on the way


    over.


    Tara asked quietly, "Why aren''t you going in?"


    Jackson stepped aside, and Tara''s eyesnded on ra. For a moment, she looked surprised, but she quickly smiled and nodded politely. "Hi, ra."


    Last time they''d met hadn''t exactly gone well.


    ra didn''t say a word. She barely knew anyone here, so she just kept her head down, staring at her drink.


    Jackson slid into a seat next to Richard and said in a low voice, " swear, it was an ident. I ran into


    Tara on the way here-how was I Tara on


    supposed to know ra would be


    here too?"


    Tara sat down next to Dn,


    She knew exactly what cherry blossoms meant, and she knew Dn would get the message.


    Everyone else in the room had heard of that famous temple-except ra, who was still struggling with her lost memories. She nced at Dn, confused. When did he go to the temple?


    Cherry blossoms?


    Oh, right—it was spring, so of course the cherry trees were blooming. Did he go see them with Tara?


    ra looked back down at her ss, feeling like a total outsider.


    Suddenly, a warm hand covered hers, his fingers wrapping gently around her hand.


    She instinctively tried to pull away, but Dn leaned in, his voice soft. "You don''t like it?"


    ra froze, ncing at Tara before she could stop herself. Was Dn doing this just to make Tara jealous?


    She quickly slipped her hand out of his, not wanting to be part of anyone else''s drama.


    Dn''s hand fell away, hisshes lowering. "Want something else to drink?"


    ra felt all eyes on her and wished she could disappear.


    She stayed silent, but Nichs couldn''t hold back his irritation. "What, you can''t


    talk now? Dn''s asked you a bunch of times."


    Dn shot him a look, his voice cold. "What''s with that attitude?"


    "Hey!" Nichs snapped,pletely exasperated. He was trying to help! What was up with ra, just sitting there like she was a million mites away? Who was she even thinking


    about?


    It just didn''t seem fair. Why should Dn have to go out of his way for her?


    Did she even deserve it?