Page 90 of Wish You Were Mine
The last time I had a girl over was—well, technically last night. But aside from Lucy knocking on my door?
It’d been a while.
I racked my brain as I flicked on the lights to the living room and kitchen, casting everything in a warm glow. No ex-girlfriend memories here. No shoes by the door that weren’t mine. No hair ties forgotten on the bathroom counter.
Since moving in two years ago, this place had only belonged to me.
Which probably said a lot about my dating life lately. Or lack thereof.
I glanced at Lucy as she stepped inside, her eyes scanning the space. She didn’t seem nervous, which was good.
One of us had to hold it together.
“When you left this morning,” I said, trying to keep mytone light, “did you ever imagine you’d be back here again so soon?”
“I promise I didn’t.” She smiled, and something in my chest tightened. The way her eyes lit up when she looked at me—yeah, that was going to be a problem.
“Well…” I ran a hand across the back of my neck. “Even if you did, I don’t think I’d be mad about it.”
She smiled again, soft, a little shy, and I swore I felt the air shift between us.
I cleared my throat. “Can I take your coat?”
“Oh, sure.” She slid her backpack from her shoulders and started to shrug out of her coat, and I stepped in to help.
Just to be polite.
Trying to be a good host.
Not because I wanted an excuse to get close to her.
Okay, so maybe it was exactly that.
I carefully draped her coat over the back of the couch, allowing myself a second to breathe, then turned around to find her taking a seat at the table. Her blouse hugged her in just the right way, her jeans rolled casually at the ankles, her hair pulled into a messy bun that somehow made her look even more gorgeous.
And then, she let it down.
Right there at my kitchen table, she untwisted the tie from her hair and shook it loose, and I had to look away for a second just to keep my thoughts in check.
What the heck was I doing?
I was having dinner with a student. Alone.
In my apartment.
My heart thudded hard in my chest—not just because of how she looked, but because this felt like sneaking around, even if we were just sitting down to a meal.
Just planning her brother and my friend’s birthday party.
That was all this was, right? Two friends just spending a little time together.
I walked to the fridge, pulling it open, more for something to do than for any real reason. “Would you like something to drink?” I asked over my shoulder. “I’ve got…water. And…uh…” I squinted at the mostly empty shelves. “Ice water.”
“Ooh, fancy.” She laughed, and the sound cut right through my nerves. “I’ll take the ice water, please.”
“Coming right up,” I said, grabbing two glasses from the cupboard and filling them quickly.
I brought the glasses to the table and sat across from her, still trying to remind myself that this was fine.
