was the same.
“Really, it’s okay,” she said. “What’s done is done, right? He’s already proved he’s a bastard.”
“There are degrees, though.”
This time it was Melinda who shrugged. “Not really. You either are or you’re not. He is. It’s only worse if I let it be worse. I won’t.”
Jacob’s thumb rubbed across the back of her hand in soothing strokes. His tawny eyes stared deeply into hers. “It really is his loss, you know.”
For a moment, a heartbeat of time as their eyes held. That something new flashed between them again. Something thrilling and unsettling. A tiny lightning bolt. Before she could grab hold of it, it was gone.
Just as well.
Her emotions were obviously still all over the place, tied up in knots by Mitch. Hopefully Jacob wouldn’t notice anything off in her behavior. She’d die of embarrassment if he had any inkling of the direction of her thoughts tonight.
Deciding it was a good idea to get up and get busy, Melinda patted him on the head and went back to her closet, flipping determinedly through her clothes. It took another moment for the little spike in her pulse to level out.
That was weird. As weird as when she’d thought—hoped, let’s be honest—for a moment, that he was about to kiss her. He had the sexiest mouth…
It was not that she suddenly wanted something to happen between them.
Of course not.
That would be a mistake of gargantuan proportions.
So she was attracted. So what. It was just hormones. She was attracted to Zac Efron, too, but it wasn’t like she was going to act on it or anything.
Not that she had access to the movie star, but that was beside the point.
Her fingers landed on the hanger containing the slinky, siren-red dress she’d bought for the New Year’s Eve party at the ski lodge, bringing her ex-jerkwad abruptly front and center again in her mind.
How many times had she imagined Mitch’s hands caressing the bare parts of her back through the hot little dress’s cutouts on either side of her spine? Or the way they’d fit together while they danced. And the kiss they’d share at midnight while looking forward to the start of a whole new year together, full of adventure and romance.
Her initial impulse screamed to leave the dress hanging in her closet and choose something else for New Year’s—like her sweatpants and Cal State t-shirt. She squashed that notion almost instantly.
Nope.
She wasn’t going to hide away in the condo while everyone else partied on New Year’s Eve. She’d wear the damn dress, dance her ass off, and knock a few eyes out while she was at it.
Satisfied, Melinda grabbed her mile-high strappy heels in matching red, and her tiny, sparkly clutch, and tossed them next to her suitcase.
She and Jacob fell into casual chatter while she finished packing—the grades they were hoping for from the fall term at school, high school friends they’d seen over break—picking up the easy rhythm of their friendship as though those few electric moments had never happened.
Finally finished, Melinda sat on the suitcase to zip the bulging seams closed. Jacob rolled his eyes in amusement when she motioned him over to help. His heavier weight did the trick, and she was able to get it closed.
Jacob bounced up to grab her bag, but he pulled her in for a hard hug first, and a kiss on top of her head, which barely reached his shoulder. Warm fuzzies sprouted all over her body. Then he dug his fingers into her ribs and made her squeal.
“’Night, garlic breath,” he said, flashing her a smirky grin when she looked indignant.
Tossing the garment bag with her New Year’s dress in it over his shoulder, Jacob dragged her overflowing suitcase out of her room, listing dramatically to one side and hauling on it as though it weighed a thousand pounds.
Alone, Melinda showered and got ready for bed, then packed up as much as she could of her overnight kit, only leaving her toothbrush out for the next day. The less she had to
“Really, it’s okay,” she said. “What’s done is done, right? He’s already proved he’s a bastard.”
“There are degrees, though.”
This time it was Melinda who shrugged. “Not really. You either are or you’re not. He is. It’s only worse if I let it be worse. I won’t.”
Jacob’s thumb rubbed across the back of her hand in soothing strokes. His tawny eyes stared deeply into hers. “It really is his loss, you know.”
For a moment, a heartbeat of time as their eyes held. That something new flashed between them again. Something thrilling and unsettling. A tiny lightning bolt. Before she could grab hold of it, it was gone.
Just as well.
Her emotions were obviously still all over the place, tied up in knots by Mitch. Hopefully Jacob wouldn’t notice anything off in her behavior. She’d die of embarrassment if he had any inkling of the direction of her thoughts tonight.
Deciding it was a good idea to get up and get busy, Melinda patted him on the head and went back to her closet, flipping determinedly through her clothes. It took another moment for the little spike in her pulse to level out.
That was weird. As weird as when she’d thought—hoped, let’s be honest—for a moment, that he was about to kiss her. He had the sexiest mouth…
It was not that she suddenly wanted something to happen between them.
Of course not.
That would be a mistake of gargantuan proportions.
So she was attracted. So what. It was just hormones. She was attracted to Zac Efron, too, but it wasn’t like she was going to act on it or anything.
Not that she had access to the movie star, but that was beside the point.
Her fingers landed on the hanger containing the slinky, siren-red dress she’d bought for the New Year’s Eve party at the ski lodge, bringing her ex-jerkwad abruptly front and center again in her mind.
How many times had she imagined Mitch’s hands caressing the bare parts of her back through the hot little dress’s cutouts on either side of her spine? Or the way they’d fit together while they danced. And the kiss they’d share at midnight while looking forward to the start of a whole new year together, full of adventure and romance.
Her initial impulse screamed to leave the dress hanging in her closet and choose something else for New Year’s—like her sweatpants and Cal State t-shirt. She squashed that notion almost instantly.
Nope.
She wasn’t going to hide away in the condo while everyone else partied on New Year’s Eve. She’d wear the damn dress, dance her ass off, and knock a few eyes out while she was at it.
Satisfied, Melinda grabbed her mile-high strappy heels in matching red, and her tiny, sparkly clutch, and tossed them next to her suitcase.
She and Jacob fell into casual chatter while she finished packing—the grades they were hoping for from the fall term at school, high school friends they’d seen over break—picking up the easy rhythm of their friendship as though those few electric moments had never happened.
Finally finished, Melinda sat on the suitcase to zip the bulging seams closed. Jacob rolled his eyes in amusement when she motioned him over to help. His heavier weight did the trick, and she was able to get it closed.
Jacob bounced up to grab her bag, but he pulled her in for a hard hug first, and a kiss on top of her head, which barely reached his shoulder. Warm fuzzies sprouted all over her body. Then he dug his fingers into her ribs and made her squeal.
“’Night, garlic breath,” he said, flashing her a smirky grin when she looked indignant.
Tossing the garment bag with her New Year’s dress in it over his shoulder, Jacob dragged her overflowing suitcase out of her room, listing dramatically to one side and hauling on it as though it weighed a thousand pounds.
Alone, Melinda showered and got ready for bed, then packed up as much as she could of her overnight kit, only leaving her toothbrush out for the next day. The less she had to
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