Page 16 of Play the Field

“Well, I’mnottrying to talk to you.” Rolling my eyes, I started to work my way through the shelves. Maybe it was naive to assume she’d take the hint and give up. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time Cat quit on me.

Rolling her eyes, Cat followed behind me. “Cleo, come on.”

As she trailed behind me, I started to pick up my pace and zipped between the shelves. I was nearing a jog as we weaved between the shelves. When I thought I was starting to lose her in the fiction section, I slowed just a bit and took a peek behind me.

I stopped moving after seeing she wasn’t there.

Finally.I let out a deep sigh.

“This is ridiculous.” Cleo’s voice sounded behind me.

Whipping my head around, I gawked at her. She’d gone around the shelf to intercept me on the other side.

I turned on my heels. “Yeah, it is, maybe you should stop.”

She stood in place for a moment, trying to evaluate which way I would go. Hoping to fake her out, I rounded the corner tochange aisles. But as soon as I did, Cat’s head popped into view from the other side of the bookcase.

“Why can’t you just give me a second to speak?” Cat shook her head as she got closer to me.

Instead of facing her, I turned back the way I’d come.

But there was her face again.

I clenched my jaw, trying not to think about the way she’d broken my heart. “Because you’re a fucking asshole and I’m not doing this again.” If I let myself picture it too clearly, tears would roll down my face. And I wasn’t in the mood to give her the satisfaction.

I moved farther down to another shelf, putting some distance between us.

But when I reached the next corner, her face appeared again. “How long are you going to make me do this?”

Pivoting, I went back the way I came. This time, I could hear her footsteps picking up from the other side of the shelf. And just as I reached the corner, Cat materialized in front of me.

Groaning, I slammed the pile of books I’d accumulated into her chest. “Nothing can be this important.”

She winced as the heavy books slammed into her lungs. When I turned awayagain, I could hear her setting the pile on the floor. This time, the sound of steps quieted.

Was she finally taking the hint?

I let my shoulders drop as I rounded the corner of the farthest bookcase. At the back of the store now, the smell of old novels was inescapable. There wasn’t a single sound in the entire store.

Until she appeared in front of me, startling me back a couple of shelves into the corner bookcase. I was out of places to hide.

Something in her face made my heart warm. I knew I shouldn’t let it, that Bri would be disappointed I’d let her win me over with those green eyes. They were the same glowing emeraldI’d looked into at fourteen, at nineteen, at twenty-one. The same eyes I fell in love with and the exact same that broke my heart.

Cat’s chest heaved as her jaw tensed. “Everything’s on the line, Cleo. Please.”

12

CAT

I was still catchingmy breath when Cleo finally nodded. “What do you want?”

Not wanting to rub it in, I tried to keep my face from forming a goofy smile that I knew would piss them off. “I came here to apologize.”

“Well, that’s rich.” Cleo rolled their eyes and slowly brushed past me, no longer trying to escape me. As they moved, a waft of old books and fresh-cut flowers filled my nose. I still wasn’t sure how they managed to smell so intoxicating.

I followed them to the stack of books I’d set on the floor. “I’m serious. I’m sorry I ditched you.”

Cleo scoffed as they turned to look at me. “That’s the best you’ve got? Ditched me is an interesting way to describe it.”

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