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Is he always this intense? I was burning up. “Well, it killed the cat.”
“The what?”
“You never heard that saying? Curiosity killed the cat?”
Rafe shook his head as he forked some of the egg off his plate onto another one, his eyes never leaving mine.
I cleared my throat. I wanted to ask him if he colored his hair. There was no possible way those perfect blond streaks were natural.
He then handed the plate to me.
I held my palm out. “Oh no, I’m good. You don’t need to—”
“Eat up.” He walked toward his table and waved me over. “Come sit.”
Still feeling dumb for having been caught licking his scraps, I followed him and sat down.
“Well, thank you,” I said, taking a bite. I spoke with my mouth full, “This is delicious.”
We ate in silence for a minute, the tension in the air growing thicker by the second.
“How often do you pretend?” Rafe tilted his head.
I stopped chewing and covered my mouth. “Excuse me?”
“Like how you pretended not to want breakfast, but you really did. How you pretended to be interested in the private jokes Calder and I were throwing back and forth earlier. And how you pretend to be happy about moving here.”
Feeling exposed, I licked the corner of my mouth. “Why do you assume I’m not happy?”
“Your smile doesn’t reach your eyes. That’s always a dead giveaway.”
“I see.” I swallowed.
He rested his chin in his hand and leaned in, one of the golden pieces falling over his forehead. “Am I totally off base?”
“You’re not, actually. The move was bittersweet. I left my mom and sisters behind in Montana, and my father passed away recently.”
“Oh no. When did that happen?”
“About six weeks ago now.”
“Wow. I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you,” I whispered.
How was this virtual stranger able to see something in me that Calder hadn’t? I had been trying to hold it together so as not to make Calder feel worse when he was already under a lot of stress.
“It isn’t just your eyes, though,” Rafe added. “You were quiet when Calder and I were mouthing off earlier. In my experience, people who let others dominate the conversation usually hold the most inside.”
There was no sense in denying the truth. Not to mention, he looked at me like he could see through me anyway. I certainly hoped he wasn’t perceptive enough to tell what kind of an effect he had on me.
I cleared my throat and pushed my plate aside. “On top of missing Montana, I’m a bit nervous about the editorial job I took. I don’t start for a few weeks though.”
He nodded. “That’s a lot of change at once, Talia.”
“It is.”
“What will you be doing there?”
