Page 22 of And I Love Her

“No.” He glanced at his watch again, which was not the Rolex she’d expect a star of his caliber to possess. Instead it was a plain analog watch with a worn leather strap.

“I thought we might go out sometime.” He adjusted the watch buckle. “To dinner or something. For old times’ sake.”

Callie crinkled her forehead. She and Jake had never exactly hadanytime together back in high school, but they’d spent four years in the same graduating class and had known and seen each other in passing.

She did remember all three classes they’d been in together—World History, English, and Chemistry. She’d almost held her breath when Mr. Loggins announced which students would be paired as chemistry lab partners. When he’d said, “Calista Prescott and Miles Redford,” her heart sank like a deflated balloon.

But she and Mileshadbeen at the top of the class. So there was that.

“So what do you say, Professor Prescott?” Jake leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees and studying her with that penetrating, blue-laser gaze that had captured the hearts and imaginations of female fans worldwide. “Want to hang out?”

An excited flutter swept through her. Callie clenched her fingers on the arms of the chair. “Hang out? Like doing what?”

He shrugged. His shoulder muscles actuallyflexed. “Dinner, drinks, a movie, grading papers…”

“What?” Stupidity was taking over again. She couldn’t imagine having dinner and drinks with High School Jake Ryan, much less Movie Star Jake Ryan.

“Look.” He straightened and ran his palms over his thighs. “I’m just here for a few weeks, but I’ve got nothing to do. It’d be nice to hang out with an old friend.”

A hint of indignation stiffened Callie’s spine. Why did he keep using the adjectiveoldin relation to them?

“Jake, we would have to have been friends in high school to qualify asold friendsnow,” she pointed out. “I don’t think we said more than a handful of words to each other all four years. And thanks for asking me to be your cure for small-town boredom, but I happen to have a multitude of things to do.”

She waved a hand to her computer and the stacks of papers on her desk.

“I didn’t mean it that way.” He dragged a hand through his hair again—a cartoon princess wouldkillfor that hair—and sighed. “I could use a friend, okay? Even if I didn’t know you very well back then, I always thought you were a nice girl.”

Nice girl. And this man was an international heartthrob?

Still…at least he’d known who she was.

“Not to mention, you were easily the smartest, most ambitious person in our entire class,” he added. “It was no wonder you were voted the most likely to win a Nobel Prize. You used to read these huge books at lunch every day, sitting at a table under a tree in the quad. I never knew how you managed to fit so many books into that bright red book bag of yours.”

Oh. Well. He’d…noticedher?

“You remember I had a red book bag?” Her voice came out overly high and breathless again. She needed to get that under control.

“You had a whole private Catholic schoolgirl thing going on with the skirts and knee socks. Your red book bag was part of the whole package.” Heat gleamed behind his eyes. “Yeah. I remember.”

Okay, maybe she was beginning to understand theinternational heartthrobconcept after all.

But why did he want to “hang out” with her now? Most of their classmates had left Bliss Cove for bigger and better opportunities, but there were still several people around whom Jake had been actual friends with when they were teenagers. Yet he’d looked her up and come to her office to talk to her.

Curiosity rose in her, nudging aside the mile-long to-do list constantly running through her mind.

Could he actually…maybe…just possibly…want to know what he’d missed out on in high school? To find out what kind of woman the nice, smart girl with the red book bag had turned into?

Not that she was much different.

Deflecting the thought, she shook her head. “It’s a pleasure to see you again, Jake, but I’m very busy these days. Teaching, grading, research, my book…”

“You can’t spare two hours to watch a movie?” His smile brought out his dimples again. He probably used that to get whatever he wanted in Hollywood. Or life in general. “Everyone needs a break now and then. Come on. It’ll be fun.”

Callie tucked her bottom lip between her teeth, desire waging with practicality. And a bit of protective concern for the teenaged girl who’d once admired Jake Ryan from afar.

“I haven’t been to the movies in ages,” she admitted.

Frowning, he folded his arms. “Not evenFatal Glory?”

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