He nodded. “She does.”

Joey leaned forward hard enough to make the table creak. “Kicked out by your own mother? I don’t believe it.”

Nathan shrugged. It didn’t matter if they believed it or not; it was true. But when he focused on Tracy, he read confusion in her eyes. She shifted nervously on her seat, then spoke, her voice coming out low but very clear. “The Hong Kong police think your mother runs a prostitution ring. They think you’re trying to branch out here in Champaign.”

On his left, Mandy gasped in shock, and Joey abruptly straightened. His eyes narrowed and his shoulders rose. But Nathan kept his demeanor cool, his attention completely on Tracy.

“I am impressed that you could learn that so quickly and from half a world away.”

She shrugged. “Gotta love it when those connections pan out.”

“Is it true?” snapped Joey, his grip on his plastic spoon had tightened into a fist.

Nathan sighed. “Prostitution is a thriving industry in Hong Kong. If it were true, I would not be worrying about money or about raising my brother and sister out of poverty. And Illinois is a long, long way to go to branch out one’s business.”

“It’s a long, long way to go just to escape a bad love affair, too,” drawled Tracy.

He didn’t respond. How could he explain that he wanted—needed—to put as much distance between himself and his childhood as possible. It was only because of her—because Tracy was a promising new tigress—that he had any communication with his mother at all.

Mandy was the one, this time, to continue the questions. “So why do they think you’re prostitutes?”

“They’re Tantrics,” Tracy answered softly. “They study sex as a path to…” She shrugged. “To more.” Then she shot her brother a sharp look. “And don’t go there, Joey. It’s not ridiculous. It’s just different.”

Joey pressed his lips together, but it was clearly hard for him to stay silent. Mandy, however, dimpled prettily. “I’ve heard about that. It’s cool—if a little weird.” She turned back to Nathan. “So you and your family study sex but the cops don’t understand so they think you’re selling sex. Except that you’re god-awful poor, and they don’t get it. But you do, so you’re here studying to get a good job so that you can support your mother and her temple. Cool.”

Nathan struggled to follow her rapid-fire English, but then gave up because she’d apparently come to her own conclusion. She was already standing up, tugging Joey along with her.

“Come on. It’s almost time for the movie.” She smiled at Tracy and Nathan together. “Thanks for the ice cream. It was cool meeting you, but we gotta go. See ya!”

Joey blinked, obviously dazed by his girlfriend, but she didn’t give him time to respond. She simply tugged him hard until he had no choice but to move. Within moments, they were out the door. Even before the glass door slipped shut, Tracy burst out laughing.

“Wow, does my brother have his hands full with her!” she said.

Nathan didn’t answer. He was still trying to understand what had happened.

Tracy grabbed and tossed their empty ice-cream cups out. It was apparently time to go, and so he opened the shop door and waited for her to exit.

She went through with a blithe smile, and they walked together to her truck. They were only halfway there when she turned to him with a fierce expression. “I admire what you’re trying to do. I really do. I understand the need to protect and support your family, but you’re going to have to get over it. You know that, don’t you?”

“What?”

“They’ve got to learn how to take care of themselves. The temple needs to be self-sufficient. Your brother and sister have to find their own way. If you pour everything you have into supporting them, then you’ll have nothing left for you. You’ll end up resenting them and frankly, you’re not doing them any favors. It’s good for kids to struggle a bit.”

He stared at her a moment, stunned by her audacity. No Chinese person would ever dare say such a thing to him. But then, Tracy wasn’t Chinese. “You know nothing of my family or my life in Hong Kong,” he said stiffly.

She shrugged. “Maybe not. But I know kids have to be pushed out of the nest eventually. Even you.”

“I am my family’s nest!” he snapped, startled by his sudden fierce anger. “Without me—”

“They’re without you right now, Nathan. How are they doing?”

He swallowed. Awful, truth be told. He had received another couple of e-mails, one from each of his siblings. Their mother was shopping again with money they didn’t have.

“Nathan? How are they doing without you?” Tracy pressed.

He sighed. “Go to the temple and find out for yourself.”

“Ha!” she crowed. “They’re doing fine, aren’t they? They’re working or going to school and so your big martyr routine is nothing of the sort.” She planted her hands on her hips, her eyes piercing even in the darkness. “So why all the way to the United States? Did you really get kicked out of the temple? Did you really fall in love?”

“Yes and yes.” He could see that she didn’t believe him. She had grown up with a loving family. She didn’t understand the emptiness of having people around, but no love. “Why do you push at me, Tracy? You have everything—a brother who adores you, a future as a great tigress. Ask me about life in the temple, ask me about what happens between partners. Those questions I can answer. They are your path, and you should want to know more about it.”

She started walking around more cars, cutting through a lane to get to the right aisle. He followed as fast as he could, but she was angry and moving very fast. “I’ll ask what questions I want, thank you very much.” She stopped abruptly beside a huge SUV and spun back to him. “What’s it going to take to convince you that I’m not a tigress? That I’m not going to your temple, that I won’t leap down whatever mystic path you think is so inevitable for me?” She straightened to her full height. “I choose my own path, Nathan. We all do. And I do not choose to be a tigress.”

He looked at her, hope surging within him despite what logic and reason proclaimed. Was it possible? Could she choose to be an amazing woman, not an amazing goddess? He wanted to believe, but his experience told him differently. “A few minutes ago, did you notice the man in the running pants as he wiped sweat from his brow? Did you see his chest muscles beneath his muscle T-shirt? And what about his legs? Were you watching the way his pants hugged tight to his bottom?”

Her jaw clenched but she ground out the words. “I saw, I noticed, but I don’t have to act on it.”

Nathan sighed. “Not today. But you will. Without training, you will act. You belong at the temple, Tracy. It’s where tigresses go.”

She glared at him; she tried to stare him down, but it didn’t work. Everything in him said she was a tigress and not someone who would ever form a lasting attachment with a man. Never. And so in the end, she curled her hands into fists and shook them impotently at her sides. “You are such a stubborn, arrogant prick! You think you know everything, and you don’t. You just don’t!” And with that she spun around and stomped away.

He was busy watching her shove her fists into her pockets, and she was busy controlling her fury. Neither of them noticed the pothole in the pavement until she had stepped in it, rolling her ankle out from under herself. He saw her hips shift as she lost her balance. With her hands deep in her pockets she couldn’t catch herself, so she fell hard against the corner of her own truck. He saw it happen, was already diving forward to catch her, but he was too late.

The side of her head caught the corner edge of her truck, knocking her in a different direction as she tumbled to the ground. While he was still a step away, she hit the pavement. Her elbow connected first, then she rolled onto her back, then her other side. He saw blood and hair whip past, but mostly he saw her face contorting in surprise and pain. Her teeth were bared and her jaw clenched. She didn’t even cry out.