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She scratched her head. “A thousand dollars.”
“Really?”
Teagan bit her bottom lip and smiled. “Yes.”
“That’s somewhat doable, at least.”
“You’re not serious, are you?”
“I don’t know. I might be.”
She shook her head and returned her attention to the computer screen. “You’re crazy.”
If she only knew all the ways I was scheming to come up with that money.CHAPTER ELEVEN* * *TEAGANI hadn’t intended to spend Saturday afternoon out with Archie.
When I woke up this morning, I realized Caleb had once again spent Friday night at Veronica’s. Archie had been eating breakfast in the kitchen alone when I walked in. He’d asked me if I felt like showing him around. Unsure of how to get out of it, I’d agreed.
I took him to all of the typical places: The Public Garden, The Museum of Fine Arts, Copley Square. As I talked to him, I realized he was just as charismatic as Caleb. Maybe there was something in the water where they grew up that made them that way. Archie made me laugh a lot. Not to mention, he and Caleb were equally gorgeous—Archie in a slightly darker, more mysterious way.
The only difference, I suppose, was that I didn’t quite trust Archie the way I did Caleb. I mean, sure, we’d just met, but it was more than that. I couldn’t put my finger on why. Sometimes it’s just a feeling you get. Oddly, spending the entire day with his friend had made me miss Caleb.
By the time we returned to the house, it was late.
“Thank you for agreeing to be my tour guide,” Archie said.
“No problem. Anytime.”
He ran a hand through his thick mane of black hair. “Yeah? I’d love to go out again sometime then.”
Is he asking me out?
Unsure of what to say, I answered, “Maybe, yeah.” I turned to walk away. “Well, I’d better go check on my…room.”
My room? Did I just say my room?
“Ah, yes. The room can be very needy.” He grinned.
I smiled and went downstairs, feeling like a total moron.***The following morning, I knew my dad, Maura, and Shelley had gone to an early church service. My family wasn’t particularly religious, but a few years back, Maura had started volunteering at a liberal congregational church and began attending services there as well. My dad and Shelley went along with her.
Sundays were therefore typically quiet in the mornings. I was just about to head upstairs to grab some breakfast when I overheard two voices in the kitchen—two British voices. Caleb must have come home from Veronica’s either late last night or early this morning.
“Didn’t expect to see you this morning...” I heard Archie say.
Caleb’s tone was bitter. “Why is that? I live here.”
“You’ve spent the past couple of nights at the girlfriend’s place. I didn’t think you came home last night.”
“Yeah, well, I did. It was late.”
“I must have been asleep. I was tuckered out after a long day of sightseeing.”
“Sightseeing with whom?”
“Teagan showed me around Boston.”
I braced for his response, but it didn’t immediately come.
“Did she now...” Caleb finally said.
“Yeah. She took me to a few of the touristy places. It was a really nice time. She’s a great girl.”
Caleb said nothing to that, and without seeing his face, it was difficult to surmise whether he was angry or unaffected.
“How come I haven’t met your girlfriend?” Archie asked. “You hiding her from me or something?”
“No. I just don’t bring her to the house. I don’t invite friends here.”
Not sure if Archie understood that was a dig, but I certainly did.
“We should go out sometime,” Archie said. “I’d love to meet her.”
“Oh yeah? You like being the third wheel?” Caleb taunted.
“No. I’ll ask Teagan if she wants to come along.”
Again, another pause.
“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea,” Caleb said.
Oh?
“Mind telling me why?”
“Teagan is not your type.”
What the hell does that mean?
“Not my type?”
“That’s right.”
“She’s beautiful and sweet. Why is that not my type?” Archie asked.
Before Caleb could answer, I heard the sound of additional voices. My family had returned from church, interrupting the conversation.
Damn it!
Why wasn’t I Archie’s type? Was I not pretty enough...sexy enough? Why wasn’t I dateable?***That entire afternoon, I obsessed over the answer to Archie’s question. I couldn’t exactly ask Caleb what he’d meant when I wasn’t supposed to have heard their conversation.
But I was hurt. I was hurt that he’d discouraged his friend from asking me out—not because I wanted to go out with Archie, but because I cared how Caleb felt about me. And if I wasn’t the type of person who was worthy of being asked out on a date, what type was I? The type of person you befriend but don’t covet, don’t respect, don’t love? What did he mean?
Kai knocked on the outside door to my bedroom just as I’d nearly been swallowed by my own anxiety.
She frowned when I opened the door. “What the hell is going on, Teagan?”
