Page 20 of Jacob

Yet again, awkward silence stretches between us.

“Look, Sk?—”

“Oh great, I’m glad I caught you both.” An out-of-breath Austin, our new client, flies out of the entrance of the building we’ve just left. “We want to take you out for a drink to celebrate. We are so excited.” He clutches his chest, smiling. He’s almost wheezing. Poor guy needs to work on his cardio.

“We would love to,” Skye answers for us both.

Fuck that, she’s not going out with him and his business partner. Austin was overly flirty with her throughout the meeting, making me want to rearrange his face.

She adds, “But it will just be me. Jacob has adate.”

My heart sinks. Why the fuck did I say that earlier? I now have to stand by my lie. I rock on my heels. “I can easily cancel.”

He holds up his hand. “Oh no, don’t let me stop you from finding love,” he chuckles. “Come on, Skye. We’re going to take you to our flagship restaurant, where everything is sustainably sourced and tastes divine.” Austin ushers her back toward the doors. “Next time, Jacob.” He lifts his eyebrows. “And I’ll have those papers signed for you tomorrow.”

They both disappear and I’m left standing on the curbside.

This is the way it’s meant to be.

I pull my phone from my jacket pocket and scroll down my contacts to find the name I am looking for and hit call.

It rings for a few seconds before the familiar English accent drifts down the phone. “Jacob, darling.” Joanna almost purrs down the phone. “Am I getting to see you, after all?”

A wicked smile curves my lips. “Yes, you are.”

10

SKYE

Lying in the bubbling water, I watch the steam from the penthouse hot tub billow out into the chilly London night air.

I let the bubbles take the weight of my weary bones and starfish on the surface. I submerge my ears in the water and my eyes close as the meditative rumbling of the hot tub gurgles surround me, vibrating the tension from my body, allowing me to feel more relaxed than I’ve done in weeks.

But despite the way my body feels generally, I feel weird. Like, off-kilter parallel-universe weird.

If only Jacob would talk to me about his feelings, tell me everything without me having to fill in the gaps for myself. I know for sure it would clear the air between us.

What is wrong with me? He’s out on a godforsaken date… I need to forget about him.

But I can’t.

He’s all I see, all I hear, and all I think about… broad body, sinewy muscles, abs… thank the Lord for washboard abs.

Long gone is the thin-as-a-drainpipe, cute boy I met back on my first day at Castleview Cove High.

Thinking back to that day, a smile curves my lips as I recall our first encounter. We were just sixteen…

“Everyone, this is Skye McNairn. Our new student here at Castleview Cove High and also the headmaster’s daughter.”

Oh crap, why did my new English teacher, Mrs. Clark, have to say that? Now no one will want to speak to me. And the last thing I want is to be singled out or given any special privileges. Or for the other kids to bully me because of who I am.Fudgenuggets.

“Make her feel welcome,” Mrs. Clark instructs my new classmates with a stern glare.

Her face instantly changes when she looks at me and, with a warm smile, she points to the seat at the back of the classroom, urging me to fill it.

This is the moment I have been dreading all summer: my first day at a new school. The looks, the attention. The headmaster’s daughter.Urgh.

I feel so sick and the nervous flutter of butterflies hasn’t stopped swirling in my tummy.

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