Page 17 of Shy Girl
Heat returned to my neck again. “Ah, yes I have. B-b-but it wasn’t in p-person. My friend, Rick, got it f-f-for me.”
A calculating gleam appeared in his eyes, one that made it seem as if his thoughts were a thousand miles away from here. When he blinked back to the present moment, the hair on the back of my neck stood up.
“How much family do you have?” he asked. A note of the sheriff’s deputy lingered in his tone, as if he were about to interrogate me.
“Why?” I asked and realized I’d taken a step back. Nothing in my life was exciting enough to take note of, nor was any of it hidden. Likely he knew almost everything about me just because he was so involved in the town.
“You’re an only child, right?”
Reluctantly, I nodded, even though he’d ignored my question and asked me a second one. Something in the gleam of his eyes had me curious.
“Cousins?”
I shook my head, still bewildered that I had his cousin situationsowrong. I'd even gone to school with one of his cousins, although the rest had moved to Jackson City much later, after he'd graduated. They didn’t come around here very often.
Obviously.
He nodded, as if affirming something to himself that I couldn’t hear. But what could the size of my family possibly have to do with anything in his life? And why did he seem so excited all of a sudden?
“Are you a woman that can appreciate the toss of a dice?” he asked. That conspiratorial gleam that had made so many girls swoon in high school reappeared now, and my stomach clenched. Traitorous body, evenIwas still affected by his roguish grin. There was something boyish in the shape of his face, though his stature had nothing young about it.
“W-what does that mean?”
“Do you ever take a chance?”
Not yet,I thought, and my mind slipped to Anthony Dunkin, and then back again. Jayson stared at me so intensely I couldn’t look away. My breath paused while I thought the question over.
Wasn’t every day a toss of the dice?
“I will,” I finally said.
One side of his lips tilted in an adorable, quirky grin that stole all the rest of my breath. “Will you go on a date with me? And by date, I mean an adventure to my best friend’s wedding where we’ll be together for three days, sleep in the same hotel room, and pretend to be a couple when we’re really not.”
6
Jayson
The utter silence that followed my question sent my heart into my throat.
What had I just done?
For what felt like an eternity, Dagny just stared at me. Her lack of words had nothing to do with her speech impediment this time. A layer of shock glazed her eyes and I felt the weight of it all the way to my bones.
Bad idea.
Reallybad idea.
My mouth opened to retract it and save my pride. To tell her that was a joke and I wanted to see what she’d say, but before I could muster the strength—or was it desperation?—to say anything, a word slipped out of her mouth on a squeak.
“What?”
Too late now. It had been acknowledged. Besides, I wasn’t the kind of guy that backed away. Once I started, I must finish. But where to start? How did I explain such a delicate and overwhelming situation? There were so many people I didn’t want to hurt here. With the right finesse, I could come out of this mostly intact.
Ifshe agreed.
“I need some help.” The admission felt like a stone in my throat, but I couldn’t take it back either. Besides, maybe it needed to be said. The strange angles of what this upcoming weekend had become were tightening like a noose around my neck. I couldn’t deny it was true, anyway.
To my shock, she softened. Her brow lowered slightly in a silent question. Taking it as permission, I continued.
