Page 32 of Shy Girl
She wasn't about to stop her chase.
All I had to do to help him was everything I’d dreamed of doing with Jayson for the last ten years. Laugh with him. Joke with him. Be so close I could smell him all the way in my sleep. Being hisgirlfriendcould provide some level of protection against Victoria so he could enjoy the break and the time with his friends.
You against me, Victoria,I thought.He will never be yours again.
I might lose my heart in the process, but at least it would break for the man I’d always loved.
10
Jayson
There was no reason to panic, but I couldn’t help the way my chest tightened.
Where. Was. Dagny?
Every woman that walked by and wasn’t her or Victoria sent me into another little spiral. Had Victoria found her? Had she run off for some reason? I kept an easy expression on my face and a beer in hand as I skirted the edge of the party. Sand slipped through my toes. Waves crashed. People laughed. My heart sped up even as I tried to calm it down. We were on a literal island—there was nowhere for her to go that I couldn’t find.
Aside from that massive ocean.
Thoughts of Victoria so close by were not reassuring.
Regret for not immediately introducing Dagny to my friend Jameson, and then pulling her to my side to keep her anchored near, kept me on high alert. Maybe Victoria got to her. Maybe Dagny didn’t want to be here. When a warm hand touched my back, right between my shoulder blades, I whipped around.
Dagny stood there, color high on her cheeks despite the perfect temperature. She smiled, slipped closer, and slid an arm around my waist. My heart thudded in my chest as she pressed her cheek to mine and whispered, “Play along?”
With a little encouragement from her, my hand slid around her waist. Instinctively, I pulled her closer, but there wasn’t far for her to go. My thoughts only extended as far as the heat of her breath on the sensitive part of my neck, right below my earlobe.
Play along?
“V-victoria and I just m-m-met,” she said quietly, so only I could hear.
My arm tightened around her, but before I could demand an answer, she kept speaking. This time without stuttering, her voice a smooth melody.
“Everything is fine, but I think Grady was wise to warn you. She’s on your path. I think, for your sake, we retract my plan and move to yours,boyfriend.”
Like it had a will of its own, my other arm wrapped around her. Her breath escaped her in a little gasp of surprise when I tightened her against me, her chest pressing into mine. The hitch of her breath against my neck sent my stomach into a tailspin. I only vaguely wondered how she spoke without breaking the words apart. My mind was too occupied with the feeling of her smooth dress against the palms of my hands.
“You okay?” I whispered.
“Fine,” she murmured brightly. “Victoria doesn’t frighten me, nor does she fool me.”
Relief followed her statement like the flash of heat from a shot of whiskey. Had I been worried that Dagny would believe Victoria? The thought was insulting, but I couldn’t dismiss it. The tips of her fingers played with the hair along the back of my neck and scattered my thoughts like breaking glass. After this, my heart would never be the same.
Shadows moved behind Dagny. I glanced up to see Bastian standing a few steps away, his travel backpack slung over his shoulder. He held a small laptop in one hand, the same one he carried everywhere, but no one knew what he did with it. He jerked his head in greeting and I returned it. My gaze trailed back to his bag.
“You brought it?” I mouthed, then gestured to the bag. He grinned and gave me a thumbs up.
“Taken care of, boss,” he said quietly.
Operation Prank Out the Groom was on its way.
“Remember,” Dagny whispered, oblivious to our conversation as she pulled away from my too-close embrace, “we’re l-l-lovers now, not f-f-friends.”
As if I needed help pretending to be stunned by her.
Bastian stepped up, slapped my back in a man hug, and muttered, “Saw the whole thing. Talk later.”
When I returned to Dagny, I put my arm around her shoulders and kept her tight to my side. I didn’t like that any interaction happened between her and Victoria that I’d missed, but at least Bastian had been there. Victoria was too much of an unknown, and Dagny wasn’t safe with her alone.
