Page 52 of With Stars in Her Eyes
“Speaking of flirting…” I pursed my lips. “Sam asked me if you’re ready to let her set you up with any of the single people in Abbott’s law class. She’s got a list of interested men and women, apparently.”
His answering horrified grimace had me shaking so hard my eyes watered.
“Guess I know how you feel about that plan, Nicky.”
“Keep Sam away from my love life, please. My person’s out there somewhere, but I’m one hundred percent sure that’s not how I’m going to find them. But it’s sweet she cares.” An oddly thoughtful look came over Nic.
“You know Sam thinks of you like family.” I smiled out the window and paused my scrubbing.
Thea had stopped her pacing in favor of an adorable but completely silent set of hopefully cathartic angry hand motions like she was wringing an imaginary neck. She pulled the phone awayfrom her ear and took a deep breath and then put it back to her ear, clearly forcing herself to remain calm. “You know, even with everything going on with her brother—and her mom seeming like a piece of work—I think Thea still really loves her family and wants things to be right with them. She’s going on vacation with them next week and drives hours and hours to go back and help them with stuff. Talks to her mom multiple times a day.”
“Christ, that’s novel. Can you imagine?”
“No, I really, really can’t.”
Probably at the abrupt change in my tone, Nic’s attention snapped to me.
I leaned on the window frame. “I don’t think about my parents hardly ever. Haven’t talked to my dad in nearly a decade. Do you think that means maybe I’m irrevocably fucked up and could never actually make a relationship work because—?”
“No. Is that why Sam says you’ve been stuck in a flirt-loop for weeks and meeting for lunch every day instead of just asking her out?”
“Aflirt-loop?And you didn’t even let me finish my question.”
“The answer’s still no.”
“Fine.”
Nic chuckled. “Now, this does feel a little different, doesn’t it?”
“What does?”
“My whole life you’ve tried to protect me and coddled me like I was your baby brother, but now I get to be the one who’s all wise and telling you to stop devaluing yourself.” He looped his fingers through invisible suspenders. “Feels mighty gratifying.”
“Fuck off.” I smacked the top of his beanie and then pretended to spray him with the Windex before drenching a spot I had missed on the window. “Or I’ll tell Sam you’d love to be set up on a blind date with a future personal injury attorney.”
“Anything but that.” He slung his arm around my neck and hugged me close. “But maybe you could try opening up a little though.” He kept his tone light, but he was talking about all the ways I’d deflected talking about my childhood earlier.
“Maybe.”
Thea noticed our attention at the window. She smiled and waved. I waved back. Whatever my face was doing had Nic doubled over with laughter so raucous I nearly actually sprayed him with the Windex this time.
CHAPTER 17Courtney
When the bell over the bookstore door jingled, I didn’t look up because I had my driver’s license out on the counter to fill out a form for my car. After I finished double-checking the numbers I had written out, my attention lifted to find Thea grinning at me. My heart did a quick do-si-do inside my chest before returning to where it should be.
“You’re back.” Before I could think about it, I came around the desk and grabbed her in a hug.
“I’m back,” she said with a puff of breath that ruffled my hair.
I might have held her for a little too long because I was distracted by how good she smelled. Her sleeveless dress revealed how tan she had gotten at the beach. Spring had come all of a sudden a few days ago, but we were in a characteristic Kansas summer tease with this strange April heat wave.
Sam and I had been working around the clock the last couple weeks to finish a labor-intensive store inventory while the store’s computer systems got a major refresh. Every spare moment had been spent on a midnight release party for a big-name title. Because my hours were all over the place, we had only gotten one lunch together since the day we cleaned out the storage space before she left for her trip.
The distraction from feeling her soft skin against mine meant I forgot I was holding my license, which clattered to the ground and slid under a display table. “Shit.”
Before I could stop her, Thea was on her hands and knees reaching under the table for the laminated card.
“Your name is CourtneyDove?” Thea quirked an eyebrow at my license. “Cute.”
