Page 52 of Heartstruck at Dawn
Cecile started dancing with the guy.
“So, what’s her deal? Is she like you, Billie?” Tobias asked, staring intently at Cecile, sipping on his drink. I didn’t understand his question.
“Like me, how?”
“Unaware of—whowe are.”These Sjöbergs…
He wanted to know if Cecile wasn’t giving him the attention he desperately desired because she didn’tknowhe was a famous actor. “Oh, no, she’s the exact opposite of me,” I replied nonchalantly, putting my cigarette out on a tray on our table.
“How so?”
“Sheknows who you are. She just doesn’t care.”
“You didn’t know who these guys were?” Nathan asked, looking surprised. Almost like he could laugh. I shook my head twice. Fast. Sharp.
“She only recognized Lily from an event they both went to in Paris,” Tobias replied.
“How did William’s ego take it?” Nathan asked with a chuckle, bringing his cup to his lips, taking a sip. His movements were so elegant but still powerful.
Tobias snorted and said, “He definitely thought it was—interesting. A first for him, for sure.”
Now I’m takinghisfirsts. Huh.
In our conversation at the cottage, he mentioned there were still a few firsts left in him if I wanted to claim them. At the time, it seemed like an interesting idea.Not anymore.
“I bet he did,” Nathan replied, looking at me. “I’ll have to take you to the movies sometime soon. Get you up to speed on your pop culture.”
“I haven’t been allowed to go for the last six years.” I puckered my lips to the side.
“Nonsense, we’ll have to speak to your father about this.”
“I don’t think he’ll budge.” I hoped he would. Going to the movies with Nathan sounded like something I’d like to try out sometime.
“I’ll see what I can do.” He winked. I was sure I’d be going to the movies in no time, having seen how persuasive Nathan could be.
Tobias downed what was left of his drink and dropped his cup on the table. “I’m going in.” He walked away with determination in Cecile’s direction. He was already tipsy by then.
Nathan yelled something to Tobias in Swedish and laughed. Tobias flipped him off as a reply without looking back at him, but that only made Nathan explode into laughter. He was obviously teasing him.
“What?” Nathan smiled as I kept staring at him.
“You sound nice in Swedish.”
“Well, you sound pretty nice right now to me.” He brushed my cheek with his finger.
I snorted and shot a small smile at him. I didn’t want to like Nathan, but how could I not? He was the perfect mix of funny, sophisticated, and confident but easygoing.
“What?” he asked again with a flirty smile.
“I can’t tell if your eyes are green or gray,” I said, placing my hand on his cheek, staring into his eyes. Analyzing them. “There’s a few yellowish lines that draw themselves out from around your pupil.”
“They change depending on what I’m wearing.” He placed his hand on top of mine and squeezed it. “I think we’ve got a similar eye color, but yours are more of an intense olive.”
I dropped my hand off his face and he placed his around my waist.
“Can you say olive again?” He said it beautifully.
“Olive.”
