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“I just…I’ve never thought about taking painting classes.”
“So why not start now?”
She shrugged. She liked drawing in private, in sketchbooks no one would ever see, but a class…?
“Hey.” Jake tilted her chin up so she had to look at him. “I’m sorry. I thought you’d appreciate it. I didn’t think you wouldn’t want to take a class.”
“No, I do want to.”How ridiculous was it to be scared of a little hobby class when he’d just made risky decisions that would change his entire career?She put her hand on his jaw. “It’s a lovely idea, and thank you. It wasn’t what I expected, that’s all.”
He kept his gaze on hers, a strange light entering his eyes. A second passed before Callie realized he might be thinking she’d been expecting an engagement ring. Horrified embarrassment scorched her face.
“Oh, no!” She shook her head and managed to laugh, though it came out rusty. “I wasn’t thinkingthat, Jake. Not even close. My God, we’ve been dating for…what, three weeks? And me a professor and you a movie star…that would be completelycrazy.”
She laughed again and turned away so she wouldn’t have to look at the sudden hurt and darkness descending over his face. Her heart was beating too fast, her stomach knotting.
“Thanks again for this.” She placed the flyer on her desk. “I should get over to the lecture hall now.”
“Yeah.” He backed toward the door. “I gotta get back to the bookstore. See you later.”
“Congratulations again.”
“Thanks.”
Then he was gone, and the air temperature dropped by several degrees. Or a few dozen.
Pulling in a breath, Callie picked up her satchel and hurried to the lecture hall. She put questions about her and Jake out of her mind as she delivered her lectures and led discussion sections.
This was how it should be, right? A comet like Jake fired through the sky, brilliant and blinding, before disappearing into a vast galaxy of luminous stars. Callie, comfortable and safe in her little town, her little job, her little world, stood there exhilarated for a brief moment. Then she watched him go.
Were comets like rainbows ending in a pot of gold? Did people ever leave home and follow them? If so, what did they find where the comet landed? Was it a coveted treasure like diamonds or stardust?
Her heart ached. Even if people did find something precious on a comet’s journey, they would still have to go back home at some point. And the glittering comet would fly back toward the sun and spiral across the sky, far away from everything ordinary.
