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“And I don’t know… James Winchester just sounds like it should be delivered with an accent.”
He made a grunting noise that resonated with amusement. “My middle name is Wilfred.” His shoulders relaxed a bit. When I first approached, they’d practically hiked to his ears. He was so tense that his poor shoulders must be sore every night.
It took me a moment to realize that Mr. Surly was engaging in a bit of comedy. I gasped dramatically. “No.”
“Yup. After my grandfather.”
I winced. “Yikes. When you use your full name, you sound like a stuffy old man.”
He flashed me the tiniest smile, and I almost clutched my chest. When his flinty features softened, he was doubly handsome. “Hence, I prefer Jamie.”
“But only your friends can call you that, and I’m not your friend. You were very clear about that yesterday.”
He looked down at the path as we walked and said nothing for a few seconds. “You can call me Jamie.”
I smiled. “Are we friends now?”
As Jamie held my gaze, my smile almost melted away. He took so long to answer that I thought he’d be rude and embarrass me again. I was a little perplexed when he glanced back at Lincoln, who wasn’t too far behind. He then swallowed and nodded. “Sure.”
The gleam of worry in his eyes caught me off guard, so it took me a moment to gather my thoughts to form a response. “Sounds good. So, now that we’re besties…”
A tiny smile lifted his lips.
“Care to tell me what that was yesterday?”
He glanced at me. “What are you talking about?”
“The tortured look on your face when we met. I assumed you hated me on sight or something.”
His eyes widened slightly. “God, no… Charlotte… that wasn’t… I was just…”
My eyebrows popped up as Jamie stuttered.
He then blew out a long breath. “I’m sorry about that. I was a little off yesterday, that’s all.”
“Why’s that?”
Jamie stared ahead. As I studied his profile, the tightness of his jaw told me that he was debating sharing with me or not. I hoped he decided to because after learning that he wasn’t really the snooty, rich prick I’d pegged him to be, my interest in him grew.
“Well, it wasn’t just yesterday. I suppose I haven’t been myself for a few days. My?—”
“Hey, what are you two whispering about?” Lincoln interrupted, coming up behind us.
I’d been so engrossed in Jamie and in what he was about to say that Lincoln’s voice was like a thunderclap. I even jumped and almost clutched my chest. Jamie moved away from me—it was subtle, but I noticed it—as if we were caught doing something naughty.
“Nothing important,” Jamie muttered.
I watched with disappointment as he withdrew, his expression shifting into serious mode once again. Goodness, it was like Jamie fled the scene and James was back. Maybe it was my imagination, but the warmth that had been building between Jamie and me cooled in an instant… as if the connection we were about to make severed.
I couldn’t help but feel irritated by the interruption. However, I forced a smile for Lincoln. “Yeah, nothing important,” I said, as I swallowed my disappointment.
Perhaps it was for the best that I didn’t learn more about Jamie Winchester because I’d probably get to like him too much and that was a bad idea. For one, he was my ex’s close friend and what was the point of getting to know him better? He’d vanish from my life in an instant. Plus, I wasn’t looking for anything serious with a guy right now… Yet, I couldn’t help stealing glances at Jamie as Lincoln fell into step beside me and threw his arm around my shoulders.
I knew he didn't mean to make me uncomfortable—I wouldn’t be in a typical scenario—but with Jamie on my other side, it was awkward. Jamie didn’t even glance back in my direction for the duration of our journey back to the resort, and I thought that maybe he had the right idea. We should stay away from each other because something was brewing between us that spelled complicated. The smart thing for me to do would be to avoid him.
7
CHARLOTTE
