Wren:So it IS about him. What are they conspiring?
I sighed, staring at the ceiling.To push us together. Location scouting tomorrow. Just the two of us.
Three dots appeared. Disappeared. Appeared again.
Wren:And the problem is...?
Leigh:Wren!
Wren:Leigh! You haven’t stopped thinking about him since that first night. Maybe it’s time to stop running.
I put the phone face-down on my nightstand without responding.
Because she was right.
And that terrified me more than anything else.
Chapter 10
DEX
Ipulled up to Jasper’s house at exactly nine a.m., which gave me no time to sit in the driveway and question all my life choices.
I’d barely slept. Kept replaying the meeting yesterday, the way Leigh had looked sitting beside me, the smell of her perfume, the careful distance she’d maintained between us.
The way that distance had felt like torture. But not as much as those accidental grazes of her arm against mine. I’d found myself looking for any reason to move, any reason to feel that briefest of touches. I was like an addict searching for any reason to binge on my favourite drug.
This was a terrible idea.
But I couldn’t back out. Couldn’t disappoint Trace and Delaney, couldn’t make this weird by refusing. Couldn’t…
The front door opened.
Leigh stepped out, and my brain short-circuited.
She was dressed casually in jeans that fit her perfectly, a simple tank top, sturdy boots for hiking. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and her camera bag was slung over one shoulder. She looked beautiful and practical and completely unaware of what she did to me.
Or maybe shewasaware. Maybe that was worse.
Jasper appeared in the doorway behind her. “Dex! Good to see you.”
“Good to see you too, Mr. Farrington.” I got out of the truck, suddenly grateful for the buffer of her father’s presence.
“Call me Jasper, please.” He smiled warmly. “Thanks for showing Leigh around. She’s been photographing the town, but I know you know all the hidden spots.”
“Happy to help.”
Leigh was walking toward the truck, and I moved to open the passenger door for her. Our hands brushed as I took her camera bag to store it safely behind the seat.
That same electric shock. That same impossible awareness. Just one more thing to crave.
She pulled her hand back. “Thanks.”
“Ready?” I managed.
“Ready.”
I closed her door, said goodbye to Jasper, and walked around to the driver’s side, my heart pounding harder than the situation warranted.
