Page 82 of Kiss the Girl
I scrubbed my hand over my face. “Paige.”
“Noah.”
“It’s so obvious. You do everything together. You hang out more every week. You’re happier when you know you’re going to see her. Your chemistry is so hot it’s uncomfortable for the rest of us.”
I shot her a sharp look.
“None of us is blind, dummy. Make it work.”
“I can’t pick up my whole life and move to Charleston, and I can’t ask her to do the same.”
“You’re not. She’s already here. Her family is here. She has friends and a job.”
“This is a bump in the road for her. A temporary side trip. Being here feels like going backwards for her.”
She considered that for a minute. “I guess that makes sense. She’s the most competent manager I’ve ever worked under. Sharp. No drama. Fair. But also, I never feel like her heart is in it, even when all her energy is.”
It only confirmed what I’d finally begun to understand. “Sounds about right.”
She pulled out her phone and tapped it a few times. “Charleston is a seven-hour drive. You make it work for winter semester. You spend long weekends and spring break together. You go out for the summer. And by the end of the summer, you’ll know if you should make the leap.”
I was shaking my head before she even finished. “Drop it, Paige. I’ve thought about it as much as I want to think about it tonight.”
“Just tell me one more thing: are you staying here because of me?”
It was the biggest reason, yeah. But I wasn’t going to say that to her. “It’s more complicated than that.”
“But I’m a reason?”
“I like being by you and Evie.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You think youhaveto be near me and Evie because you don’t think I can handle it by myself.”
“I think you shouldn’t have to.”
“I refuse to be the reason you don’t try to make it work with Grace.”
Paige talked a tough game, but I could feel her real distress beneath the words. “You aren’t. It’s more than that. Grace doesn’t want to explore what’s between us enough. It’s that simple.”
And when it came down to it, it was. I needed to remember that.
“I still think you could change her mind.”
“If she felt even a fraction of what I do, I wouldn’t have to try.”
She shook her head but didn’t argue. “Does that mean the world’s dumbest fake dating plan is over?”
Grace and I hadn’t even talked about it. “It’s probably best if we keep it up at least for Dr. Boone until I pull off the Christmas Town booth, but…”
“You’re not sure you can?” Paige guessed.
I shrugged. Part of me wanted to because it meant connecting with Grace, but the bigger part of me had no idea how I was going to fake like it was enough anymore.
Paige walked back to the living room. “Come on, sweet pea,” she said as she turned off the TV. “We’re going to give back Unc’s TV and finish watching this on ours.”
“Hi, Unc. Bye, Unc.” Evie climbed down from the sofa as the screen blinked off. “Love you.”
She slipped her hand into Paige’s and left with a wave.
