Page 50 of Jacob
“Behave.”
The faint sound of Violet and Lincoln messing about in the kitchen drifts into the room.
I change the subject because I might just push her against the sofa and devour her if we keep up this level of teasing. “Tell me about your video channel. Do you take your clothes off? ’Cause if you do, I might just go a wee bit crazy.” I put her off the scent that I already watch her channel and know every fucking thing about it.
For the next couple of minutes, she tells me everything there is to know. “And the best thing ever happened. I am going to be speaking at a local arts group.” She grabs her phone to show me their website and social media presence and chatters away excitedly. “I’m meeting the group leader tomorrow for coffee to discuss my tutorial for them.”
Thank Christ she’s meeting them in a public place.
“Her name is Jules, and she’s very excited to meet me.”
Congratulations, Mr. Baxter, it’s a girl!
Thank fuck for that.
She rests her elbow on the back of the sofa and looks at me with mischief in her eyes. “I have something to show you later.”
“Oh, do you now?”
She bunny-twitches her nose. “Yeah.”
“Here we go. Prosecco.” Violet appears with her dog, Pom-pom, hot on her heels. “Oh, sorry, I’m not disturbing anything, am I?”
“Nope. We were discussing a project timeframe. Boring stuff,” she lies. “Hey, boy, come sit on my knee.” She picks up the tiny dog and rests him on her lap.
For the next hour we chat shit about everything and nothing and then we get onto the subject of our childhood in Castleview Cove.
“I love Castleview. Not at first, but it didn’t take me long to fall in love with our little town.” Skye rubs her hands down her thighs. “I was so nervous when I started my first day at school. Jacob made it better, though.”
“Did you hang about with the guys at school, Skye?” Violet snuggles into Lincoln’s shoulder.
“Yeah, from the first day. Jacob invited me for lunch.” She lifts one shoulder to her ear. “And that was our friendship sealed.”
“I bet you three boys all fought over her.” Violet eyes me, smiling against her champagne flute.
“Nope. Owen and Skye started dating about six months after she arrived here.” Lincoln stops, his brows pinching together. “Am I right?”
Skye nods in agreement.
“I bet you are kicking yourself now, Lincoln. Skye is quite a catch.” Violet is fucking playing with me.
“We’ve kissed,” Skye laughs.
“No, we haven’t.” Lincoln rubs his hand across the dark scruff on his jaw. “Have we?”
“Lewis Mitchel’s party. A few months after I moved here. We played truth or dare.”
Deep in thought, Lincoln looks up to the left.
“Your dare was to kiss me,” Skye informs him.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
As if remembering, his whole face lights up, then he smiles. “Yeah, no, eh, that wasn’t me that kissed you.”
Shut up, Lincoln.
“Yes, it was, silly,” Skye giggles. “I was given a blindfold, made to go into the hall closet and wait in the dark for you, and then you came in and kissed me. With tongues and everything.” She plays with her fingers. “My first kiss.”
