Page 84 of Clued in to Love
“I didn’t think I was going to come either,” she whispered.
“What made you change your mind?” He searched her face.
She smiled. “A student.”
“A student?”
“Mm-hmm.” A dreamy quality washed over her like she was floating on air.
“Your student deserves an A.” Samesh held his hand out for her. “I think I’m going to write your student a note of thanks. I had given up on us. I thought I had ruined things for good.”
Darby put her hand in his. “You didn’t. I’m glad that things turned out this way. You made me reflect and think about my future, which I haven’t done since Jim died.”
Samesh squeezed her hand in a show of solidarity. “I would never ask you to forget about Jim. I hope you know that?”
Darby nodded. “I couldn’t even if I tried, but I’d like to give us a chance, too. I’m ready to think about what might be next for me.”
“And it includes me?” His eyes brightened as he tipped his head to the side eagerly.
“We’ll see,” she teased.
“Could it include a dance now?” He linked his fingers through hers.
“Yes. That sounds like a perfect start.” Darby walked with him onto the dance floor. She melted into Samesh’s arms as he kissed the top of her head. Tears escaped her eyes, but this time they weren’t simply tears of sadness; these were tears of hope.
FORTY-EIGHT
OLIVIA
Olivia scanned the ballroom feeling like she was in a scene from a Jane Austen movie. Only she was playing the role of a spinster no one wanted to dance with.
Hugo and Cass were supposed to meet her, but there was no sign of either of them.
Malik aka Mike had ghosted them after the float-barn challenge. She’d only seen him a couple of times at school. He’d skipped bio-chem twice, and she bumped into him once on her way to the cafeteria, where he managed a brief “hey” before running off like she had the plague.
But there he was, on the other side of the room, dancing with a girl Olivia didn’t recognize. “Dancing” wasn’t the right word. “Grinding” was more like it.
Olivia averted her eyes. She couldn’t believe she’d been so caught up in his fake persona. His entire social media was a glorified résumé for his future modeling career. He didn’t read. He didn’t sketch. She was an idiot for thinking he personified cool.
Fortunately, Cass swept over to her with a glass of punch. “Liv, you look amazing. I love the tulle and the sparkles. Do a twirl so I can see the whole fit.”
Olivia tipped the edge of her pale pink skirt and spun around to show off her dress. “Thanks, I made it myself.”
“Super cute.” Cass handed her the punch.
“Did you see Malik?” Olivia held the paper glass carefully so as not to spill the bright red punch down the front of her dress.
“Uh, yeah. How could you miss him? I mean, come on, get a room.” Cass stuck out her tongue and pretended to gag. “He was never your guy, Olivia. You get that, right?”
“Oh yeah, totally. I’m over him for good. I’m just mad at myself for taking so long to see it.” She paused and frowned. “The only thing I can’t figure out is why did he agree to join our team?”
Cass stared at her like she was speaking a foreign language. “You’re probably the smartest person in our entire school, and yet when it comes to love, you’re hopeless.”
“I don’t get it,” Olivia replied honestly, feeling like she was outside of a joke.
“S.S., your Secret Santa.” Cass rolled her eyes and shook her head slowly in disbelief. “You really don’t get it, do you?”
“No.”
