I caught myself checking the time. Again. For the fifth time in twenty minutes.
"If you stare at that hourglass any harder, you'll turn the sand to glass," Noriko said, not looking up from the ancient text she was studying. My oldest sister had the annoying ability to notice everything while appearing to notice nothing.
"I'm not staring at it," I muttered, forcing my eyes away from the ornate timekeeper. "I'm just... making sure I'm not late."
"Late for your third 'casual garden stroll' with Death Boy this week?" She flipped a page, still not looking at me. "You realize it's only the third day of the moon cycle, right?"
I felt heat rush to my cheeks. "We're supposed to get to know each other before the wedding. That's the whole point of this... arrangement."
"Mmm." Noriko's entirely b
