Page 69 of Catch Me If You Can

I frown. “Our boss? Why?”

“When you were gone, he wouldn’t shut up about how much he hoped you were okay. He’s so into you. You seriously never noticed?”

My face burns. Now that he mentions it, Jameshasalways been unusually affectionate and complimentary. But I never thought helikedme.

James is attractive. That beard, the dark hair, his whole rugged, polished thing. He’s handsome.

But he’s not Caleb.

Caleb is something else entirely. Someone you only see in movies or read about in books. With his long, dark, slicked-back hair that falls perfectly over his brows. That chiseled jaw I want to bite. The tattoos.God, the tattoos.Yeah, no. No one else stands a chance.

I can’t get over him. I don’t think I ever have and I never will again.It’s always been him.

I shake my head, remembering I’m still talking to Theo.

He orders tacos. I go for enchiladas.

It’s a sunny day, perfect for eating in the park. We find our usual picnic table beneath a big shady tree.

“I’m not interested in James. Plus, he’s my boss. Isn’t that breaking some sort of rule?”

“Probably,” Theo laughs, pointing to the free table as we sit down with our food. “That wouldn’t stop me if I were gay. But that’s just me.”

“Are you sure you’re not?” I tease.

“Hey, just because I’m comfortable enough to say a guy’s hot doesn’t mean I’m gay.” He grins, mouth full of taco.

“Fair enough,” I say, digging into my enchilada.

“So what are you going to do about this guy?” he asks.

“We were actually best friends in high school. Things ended badly over Sarah. Funny enough, we both ended up chasing after her again in Toronto.”

“No shit,” Theo’s eyes widen.

“Shit,” I confirm.

“So you two were fighting over the same girl and ended up falling for each other?”

I think about it. “Yeah. I guess that’s how it went down.”

“Maybe you were subconsciously chasing each other the whole time,” he says, shrugging.

I blink. “That was… actually kind of profound.”

“I didn’t get this job only for my looks,” he grins. “So are you going to see him again?”

“What’s with the twenty-one questions?” I raise an eyebrow.

“This is the most you’veevertalked about your love life. I’m cashing in.” He laughs.

He’s right. I usually keep that stuff to myself. But Caleb made me feel interesting. Maybe I am and I just never gave people the chance to see it.

“I hope to see him again,” I admit. “But I don’t know. Things were left up in the air. Now I just feel kind of…ghosted.” I look down at my plate, suddenly queasy.

“Maybe talking it out would help.”

“Yeah, maybe,” I mutter. “There’s a party at Sarah’s this weekend. Want to come with me? I don’t want to go alone.”

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