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“So, basically, you want Carter to come on the trip so that we can use him as a ploy to keep Marshall away?” Jeremy asked. His face was a hard line. He seemed almost uncomfortable, which rubbed me the wrong way. Friend or not, roommate or not, I wouldn’t stand to associate myself with someone who had done what Marshall did.
I looked at Penelope, and she looked at me. Both of us were attempting to read the other, looking for permission. “Think of it as a work trip,” Macie said to me.
“I wouldn’t mind going down to visit Dom,” I said to Penelope.
“You and Dom still talk?” she asked.
I nodded. “I don’t see him as often as I’d like, though.”
She chewed on her lip as she considered things. “Okay, I guess we’ll go.”
Macie cheered, and I smiled. Jeremy took a sip of his beer as if he didn’t feel any particular way about the plans.
“I’ll find us a rental,” Macie said.
“What day does the conference start?” I asked.
“It’s just one day. It’s next Thursday,” Penelope said.
“How about we fly out Wednesday morning, then? Come back on Friday?” I asked. Macie frowned. “We’re going for Pep. The less time we’re there, the more money we save.”
Macie nodded and pulled out her phone as she began searching for a place to stay.
Chapter Thirteen
Penelope
ITECHNICALLYHADTHEAISLE SEAT, but I asked Carter if we could switch because I like looking out the window.
He obliged without hesitation. I settled in my seat and laid my head against the window. We somehow both got upgraded to first-class, and our seats were next to each other, while Macie and Jeremy were back in coach. He slipped into the seat next to me and I realized for the first time our proximity. Even in the larger sized first-class seats it was difficult to be comfortable without our knees and shoulders colliding. It was slightly painful, the way the chills shot through my body as his arms grazed my thigh. He wasn’t even touching me on purpose, and yet I shivered.
Just being in Carter’s presence set a fire deep inside my gut– below it. I could smell the fresh scent of rain on him and the warm mahogany undertones of whatever body wash he used. I glanced at his arms, the way they sat hesitantly at his sides. His forearms flexed and I realized how smooth his skin was. I studied his hands and wondered what it would feel like to be touched by them. How they’d feel dragging along my skin. He seemed bigger now than he did at eighteen, and I wondered if his hands would feel different, if he grabbed me now, than they did back then.
He cleared his throat and my eyes shot up to his face. He was grinning at me. I realized I’d been checking him out.Again.The morning sunlight shone through the window of the plane, making his eyes appear particularly green. “Pep?”
“Yeah?”
“Who’s James?”
I blinked at him a few times. “How do you know about James?”
He chewed the inside of his cheek and looked as if he wished he hadn’t asked. “You said something about him a few weeks ago. The night you got wasted.” I threw my head back against the seat of the plane and sighed. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“No, it’s fine,” I ground out. “He’s my ex, I guess. We dated for a while back in England, but things ended before I moved back here.”
His brows furrowed. “So, James isn’t still in the picture, at all?”
“No,” I said. “Not at all.”
He was quiet for a minute before he asked, “Were you in love with him?”
“No,” I said too quickly.
He nodded, as if that was enough of an answer. We sat quietly as the rest of the plane boarded and the flight attendants gave the safety presentation and took drink orders for us. The only thing I was able to focus on was him, though. I kept my eyes glued to the window, afraid that if I looked at him, I’d again ask him to tell me all the thoughts running through his mind.
Allowing myself one quick glance, I turned my head toward him. I was pinned by his hazel eyes. They were blazing, and it wasn’t just because of the sunlight. He had thoughts brewing behind them, and I needed to know what they were. I opened my mouth to ask him what he was thinking about when he asked me instead, “Have you ever been in love with anyone?”
My breath caught in my throat as I considered his question.Just you,I wanted to say. I tried to untangle his words, read his face, and understand what he was truly wanting to ask me. “I’ve only…beenwith James, if that’s what you’re asking.”
