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I studied Lucas for a brief second, wondering who Clara was and what had happened back in high school that made him so uncomfortable.
Granted, that period in my life was like a rollercoaster too.
Heartbreak.
Mortification.
Isolation.
The usual.
Thundering applause drifted over the room as I turned my attention to the front to see Charles wandering to his chair. He wore a green fedora, chinos, and a blue button-down shirt. He scanned the audience and looked happy to be here, which made it even more thrilling.
As he took a seat, he brought his eyes toward the audience and began speaking about his latest release.
I should be clinging to his every word, but I couldn’t. I snuck a peek at Lucas, and there was no denying that whatever baggage Lydia had handed him with these tickets wasn’t worth it.
My hand slid to his knee in a comforting gesture as I tried to keep focused on Charles. The crowd laughed, and I realized I couldn’t pay attention because I just wanted to make sure that Lucas was okay.
Lucas linked his hand with mine and smiled as I rested my head on his shoulder. If anyone glanced over, they might think we were a couple.
The ease of his hand in mine and the closeness we shared had always come easily. I could effortlessly tease him while simultaneously pushing down my feelings for him.
Just like tonight.
But it was because we’d been instant friends and nothing more. The moment his cousin dated my sister, we just bonded. Sometimes over silliness and one-line insults, but it was a bond, nonetheless.
So, Clara wasn’t my business. However, I couldn’t pretend that I wasn’t interested. Whoever she was, she struck a nerve with Lucas, and I hadn’t ever seen that before with him.
Very little ever ruffled his feathers. I think that’s why we hit it off so well and was precisely why our friendship grew so strong so quickly. He didn’t get offended by my observations.
A lot of people did.
Perhaps, that was why I preferred fictional men to real ones.
But it didn’t help that Lucas was easy on the eyes and could even make a nun’s imagination run wild.
Honestly, it was for the best that he was a player. It protected my heart before it ever had a chance to get scuffed up a bit.
Friendship was easy.
But right now, I wanted to know more than anything what made Lucas so uptight.
I forced myself to listen to my favorite author of all time since it was my fault that we were here in the first place.
I slid another look at Lucas and could tell his mind was a million miles away.
The crowd laughed, and I watched the author stand up, adjust his hat, and smile before pointing at a stack of his books.
“I know how hard it was to get tickets to tonight’s event. Thank you for that, but it also tells me you’ve probably already read my latest release. So, spoiler alert. The nurse pulled the trigger.”
I gasped in horror, and the entire room went silent, turning their attention to me.
I had three chapters left.
Three!
“Miss, are you okay?” Charles asked.
