Her shoulder collided with mine as she passed, causing me to stumble in my heels. I didn’t fall, but the cream puff bounced out of my hand and onto the cobblestone walkway, immediately gathering grit. Her heels clicked as she walked away—not toward Mimosa Morning, but away from it, toward the country club building.
I stared at the cream puff for a long moment. In the warmth of the sun, I felt the gloomy darkness creep closer, even as the sound of Raelynn’s heels faded. I couldn’t even pretend to be the good guy in her story—Ihadknown of Raelynn’s feelings for Jamie before we decided on the fake relationship. And that was crappy of me.
If I were her, I’d hate me, too. And that was a thought that made me sick.
I bent down and picked up the cream puff, squeezing it in the napkin until all of the cream squished out. Instead of going back to the brunch, I turned toward the main building. My feet carried me forward, through the double doors and into the air-conditioned building of Alderton-Du Ponte. I knew exactly which hallway to take, as if something tugged me there.
Jamie had his head bent over the book in his hand, reading the back cover. His glasses slipped low on his nose as the sunlight streamed in through the window at his left. His skin was fair, and the dark brown of his hair seemed lighter with the light threading through it. The sharp angle of his nose waseven more prominent, and in my mind’s eye, I couldn’t help but picture how the slope would feel as my pencil drew it.
Not as Kit. As Jamie.
My eyes traced his face over and over again to commit him to memory.
Jamie turned his head ever so slightly and only lifted his eyes, finding me immediately.
He looks at you like he wants to write about you, Dalton had said, but I wasn’t sure that was the case. I knew for a fact, though, that I was looking at him like I wanted to draw him. Because I did.
Jamie’s gaze dropped to the crushed napkin in my hand. “Did you bring me a treat?”
“Sorry. The cream puff didn’t survive the trip.” I dumped it into the trash can near the door.
Jamie eyed me closer as I walked over to him. “Need a breather from Mimosa Morning?”
My lungs burned as I nodded, trying to play it off. “If you’re trying to hide, you’re doing a bad job at it.” I scanned the library, pretending I wasn’t looking to make sure Raelynn hadn’t snuck her way in here before me. “Not very secretive. If I were to have looked for you anywhere, it’d have been in the library.”
“I used to hide out in random spots when I was younger. Away from all the people. My sister scolded me for it.”
“Nellie?”
“Destelle.” Jamie’s eyes followed me all the way until I stopped at the edge of his table, propping my hip against it. “She’d never take my book away, but told me I at least had to be around people.”
“People are overrated.”
“Some are.” Jamie tilted his head. “Some aren’t.”
I hadn’t seen him since Wednesday, when we’d gone to Downtown, and he’d driven me home. It was the first time that the first memory of that night wasn’t us dancing together—it was us in the car afterward.You have me wrapped around your finger, Daisy.
Jamie reached out, fingers gently grazing my hand where it hung at my side. “What happened?” he asked quietly, reading my expression easily.
I glanced around the library. The space was larger than the game room, where Nellie and I waited for Jamie after his book club the other week, but not by much. It was mostly a room for show, anyway. I doubted anyone other than Jamie came in here much.
Jamie, and apparently someone else. My voice was pouty. “What book are you and Raelynn reading?”
Jamie’s eyebrows slammed down. “What?”
“She said you were buddy reading a book together. That you rendezvous in the library at every event and talk about it.”
“We do notrendezvous.” Jamie gave a small sigh, leaning closer and swiping up my hand entirely this time. His fingers coaxed against mine, but didn’t fully entwine. “We started readingRomeo and Julietat the beginning of the year. She’s only halfway.Halfway. Do you know how long that play is?”
I was guessing not very long. “So you’ll read romance books with Raelynn, huh? That’s it?”
Jamie didn’t reply this time, knowing he wouldn’t win.
I hopped up on the table he sat at, dangling my legs off. “It’s fine,” I muttered flippantly, giving my legs a little kick. “I’m not jealous.”
Jamie leaned his elbow on the table near my hip and propped his head in his open hand, looking up at me. The glint of the chandelier reflected a little off his glasses, and some of his wavy brown hair fell into his eyes. “Are you still drawing people you know?”
Are you still drawing Dalton?His counter to my question about Raelynn. But was he asking for the same reason I was? Was he asking because something itchy crawled under his skin at the thought? “No.” I curled my fingers into a fist, fighting the urge to push his hair back. I dropped my gaze to the book on the desk, clearing my throat. “Is this another romance book? Mr. I Don’t Read Ro?—”
