Page 24 of Stay for Forever

Chapter 9

Of course, you fail. You’re only human. You’re not a dog.

Maverick

Iflash my Hollywood smile at the high school secretary. “Hi, I’m here to see Principal West.”

She frowns at me. “Do you have an appointment?”

“Yes,” I lie and feel my cheeks begin to ache from my forced smile.

She studies the schedule in front of her. “What’s your name?”

“Um. Maverick.”

“Last name,” she barks.

“Langston.”

She hums as she flips through the schedule. “I don’t have any appointment for Maverick Langston in Principal West’s calendar.”

Maverick Langston? Does she seriously not know who I am? This doesn’t happen in Hollywood, let alone a small town in Colorado.

“Sweetheart,” I begin.

She waves away my attempt at charming her. “I don’t care if you are some big shot actor in Hollywood. Here in Winter Falls, everyone is equal. Don’t think I’ll be doing you any favors because you’re a bigwig celebrity, because I won’t.”

I guess she knows who I am after all. Unfortunately, she’s not impressed. And honestly, why should she be? As she says, everyone is equal. Have I been pushing myself on the residents of Winter Falls because I’m famous? Am I the asshole Juniper says I am?

I need to think about how I interact with the town but now is not the time. Not when I’m on a mission to get Juniper’s mom on my side in the ‘make Juniper give Maverick a chance’ battle.

“Can you ring Mrs. West and ask if she has a moment for me?”

She purses her lips at me. “What’s this regarding?”

“Um…” I’m not exactly fired up to spill my guts to Juniper’s mom. Making even more of a fool out of myself in front of a woman I don’t know is not on my agenda.

She ducks her head but not before I notice her mouth curve.

“Never mind.” She picks up the phone. “I know what you’re here for.”

I cringe. She does? Does the entire town know about me and Juniper? About how I’m chasing a woman who seems to want nothing to do with me? No need to worry about making a fool out of myself any longer. Mission accomplished.

She speaks for a moment on the phone before setting it down. “You can go in.” She gestures toward an office behind her.

“Thank you.”

She snorts. “Don’t thank me.”

I get not being impressed by my Hollywood credentials, but good manners are good manners. Why wouldn’t I thank her?

I knock on the open office door before peeking inside. “Mrs. West?”

“Good. You’re here.” She stands. “Follow me.”

“Were you expecting me?”

She smiles and I’m reminded of Juniper’s smile. Other than the smile, the mother and daughter appear nothing alike. Mrs. West is tiny with blonde hair and blue eyes, whereas Juniper is two inches shorter than my height of five-foot-eight, has dark hair, and those green eyes I want to drown in.

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