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Glad to see she was in a good mood, I motioned to Melody. “Ms. Barrett would like to sign up to volunteer to help with the fall festival.”
“Well, perfect timing, darlin’,” she mused. “I was just about to turn in the roster.” She gave Melody a friendly smile and passed her a clipboard. “Fill that out for me, dear, and we’ll get you added.”
“Thank you,” Melody said, taking the clipboard and pen Bonnie offered.
“Did you need anything else, Mel—Ms. Barrett?” I asked, catching myself trying to use her first name.
She looked up at me just as I’d intended as I stood at the cusp of the hallway that led to my office. “I think that’s all I needed, Mr. Phillips.” The way she said my name had me wishing we were alone. Her tone was soft, voice breathy, and I had to remind myself we had an audience. I didn’t dare look to confirm, but I could feel Bonnie’s eyes on us, watching the interaction.
“Great, let me know if that changes.”
“I will.”
“See you around,” I promised, but little did I know just how much I’d be seeing her.
“Here’s the full list of volunteers,” Bonnie said, handing me a photocopied sheet of paper a few minutes later. I looked down at it in confusion, wondering why she’d given it to me. “I’ll make sure Mrs. Smith gets a copy too so you can coordinate who you need and when.” I glanced up at her, and she gave me a sympathetic smile. “No one told you, did they?”
“Told me what?”
“The assistant principal and the art teacher always plan the annual fall festival.”
“Nope. No one informed me.”
She misunderstood my reluctance as nerves and placed her hands atop mine in a comforting gesture. “Don’t worry, hun, you’re gonna do great.”
But I wasn’t concerned about that. I was worried what spending so much time with Melody would do to my rapidly crumbling resolve.
Chapter 12
Melody
“Did you get the email from the school about the fall festival?” Brynlee asked before biting into her sandwich. We’d met for lunch like we did every week. Today we were eating at her favorite bistro. “Mmm,” she groaned as she chewed her food. “So good.”
“I did,” I confirmed. “We have, what, four weeks to pull this thing together?”
“That’s not important,” she said, and I shot her a questioning look. “Did you see who was cc’d in the email?” Of course, I had. It was like his name was written in Broadway lights. It practically jumped off the screen and demanded my attention. I couldn’t believe he didn’t mention it when I told him why I was there the other day.
I shrugged, pretending to be unaffected. “Yeah.”
She rolled her eyes and set her sandwich on her plate. “Are you ever going to tell me what happened between you two?” she asked, referring to Gavin.
“There’s nothing to tell.” Nothing I could tell, at least. I wasn’t about to share that secret, especially when it wasn’t just mine.
“Bullshit.” She leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest. “The tension between the two of you is practically suffocating. That day at orientation, you looked like you’d seen a ghost. You ran out of there like the hounds of hell were hot on your heels.”
“I did not,” I said defensively.
“You did,” she countered.
I let out a sigh as my shoulders slumped. “It doesn’t matter what happened because it can’t happen again.”
“Why not?” she asked, her voice softer.
“I don’t know. It’s a conflict of interest?” It was more a question than a statement. “Besides, I kind of ghosted him after, and that pretty much ruined any chances of anything ever happening again.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”
I perked up, straightening my spine. “How does he look at me?”
