Page 55 of Lovesick
“Yes.”
This didn’t add up. If a guy like that couldn’t pull off romance, the rest of us lowly suckers were clearly doomed.
“Why?” I asked.
“I don’t know.”
She said it with such desperation, such soulful despair, that I couldn’t stop myself from setting aside my coffee and closing the distance between us. She stood there, bottom lip between her teeth, and watched me approach.
I stopped a foot away. “Why are you so sad?” I whispered.
“Becausethatshould have been the most romantic date of my life. It was classic, storybook romance. Straight out of one of my favorite novels.”
“And you didn’t like it.”
She nodded, then ran a hand over her eyes and collapsed into the chair behind her. “It’s ... frustrating. I’ve had two veryromantic experiences recently, and neither of them felt the way they were supposed to.” She faltered for a moment before adding quietly, “They were just toorealto be romantic at the time. It’s disorienting.”
“Please tell me that one of them wasn’t seeing your cabin free of mice for the first time?”
Her lips twitched. “That wasn’t it.”
“Good.”
A hint of her usual lightness reassured me. Somehow, I suppressed the urge to ask what her other romantic experience was. Instead, I crouched in front of her. The feeling of her skin on mine when I put a hand under her chin sent a little shiver through me.
“It was just one date, Lizbeth. You don’t have to give up on romance because of one date.”
“Says you?”
“Says me.”
A half smile teased her lips. “I’m not giving up on romance. I’m just frustrated that it hasn’t felt the way I wanted it to. But maybe that’s just reality.”
“That’s fair.”
“When I lived with my dad, romance books were the only things that felt safe. He’d be drunk. I’d hear him breaking things. Threatening to hurt Ellie. Screaming Mama’s name. Sometimes he’d come after us. Sometimes he’d go after Ellie, but I’d get in his way. The only thing that really took me away from him was my books.”
“Where you felt safe,” I whispered.
She nodded.
Well, that totally sucked. Love wasn’t just some breezy distraction for her. Romancehadactually saved her life. The revelation of life with her father was new to me. It explained so much.
When I imagined a bruise coloring her porcelain cheeks, I forced myself to take a deep breath. I needed to climb. Rise above this rage and get it out in a safe way so she didn’t see it in me.
This was about her.
A hint of color pinked her cheeks, and she chuckled self-consciously. “Sorry. This is ... I’m sorry. I just couldn’t stop thinking about it and ... had to let you know that maybe you’re right.” She drew in a deep breath and met my gaze. “I fully concede a point to you in our debate, JJ.”
With that, she withdrew. Her warmth and smell drifted past me before the back door closed. I balled my hands into fists and let out a long, steady breath.
That was one point I’d give back all day long.
19
Lizbeth
Avery pale version of myself peered back at me from my compact mirror. Did it mean something that I didn’t try to hide my pale eyelashes in front of JJ? Normally, I stressed about wearing makeup. With the Bailey boys, it didn’t seem to matter.
