Page 44 of Just a Little White Lie

Heck, even reminding her where I’d come from had been a no-brainer.

It was just so cool seeing her pumped over this. It’s the first real spark of enthusiasm I’ve seen since she’s come back to New Zealand, and I wanted to feed it.

Until a case of the uglies reared over me and I chickened out again, slipping away before she could ask me if I wanted to help her pull this comp together.

I should.

I know I should!

Any decent human being would offer their help.

But… I’m not just any decent human being.

I’m the guy who’s supposed to be keeping his distance.

Dinner has been served and eaten by the time Lauren appears. Luke tried to call her, but she didn’t seem to notice, and I told him to leave it.

“She’s busy working.”

He was so stoked with that, he shut right up. I then had to sit there listening to Mallory talk about her work and then go into way too much detail over some boring number theory that made my brain blur.

I nibbled my butter chicken curry and wondered how Lauren was getting on.

It was so tempting to get up and check on her, but I held my ground, and now she’s coming out to me.

Well, not me, but… where I’m sitting.

I flick the page of the health magazine I’m failing to absorb and reach for my tea. It’s peppermint and smells better than it tastes. But I know it’s good for me, so I force it down, still determined to keep my body in top shape.

Some habits die hard, and even though I’m not dancing anymore, I can’t quit striving for health and physical perfection.

Luke and Mallory have taken over the couch again. I watch Lauren’s nose wrinkle as she spots the crime show they’re absorbed in. She turns her back on them, her eyes darting to me.

I meet her gaze, and she dips her head, hurrying to the fridge and pulling out her wrapped plate of food.

The microwave beeps and whirrs while we play a game of eye tag that I don’t mean to get caught up in, but each time I snag her gaze, her cheeks splash a little red, and I just can’t help myself.

Biting my lips together, I try to control my smile and focus on the article about recovery zones and the benefits of post-workout stretches. I read the same paragraph three times before Lauren finally takes a seat opposite me.

“I did it.” She points her fork at me and beams a proud smile.

Cute.

“All signed up, huh?”

“Yep.” She stabs a floret of broccoli and happily munches it down, then starts telling me all about it.

I didn’t ask, but she doesn’t seem to care.

In all honesty, I want to know every detail, but I can’t exactly show her that, now can I?

“And it’s held in Hamilton at the Claudelands Arena. They’ll be competing against a bunch of other schools in the region, which is super fun. The competition has been around for a while. It looks like it has a good rep. I googled it and the comments and reviews are all pretty glowing, so yay!”

My lips curl into a smile. “Sounds like you’ve got it all sorted.”

“I do.” She looks adorably proud of herself. “I even came up with a really cool team name.”

“What’s that?”

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