‘Let me see.’ I thrust my hand in front of him.
I hated looking at photos of myself and the idea that he’d already seen and studied them made my stomach churn.
To me, photos highlighted your flaws.They were like a permanent reminder of all of the things about yourself that you hated.In my case it was my thick thighs and my height.I was six feet tall, so I often towered over other people and I’d developed a bad habit of slouching and trying to make myself small, so I didn’t look like a giant.
My ex was a few inches shorter than me and had a real complex about it.I didn’t mind the fact I had to bend down to kiss him, but he never liked standing beside me if we were out, he’d insist we sat down.And he hated me wearing heels.
Jake put the photos in my palm and I took a deep breath, bracing myself.
As I flicked through the photos a deep frown formed on my face.They weren’t as horrendous as I’d feared.
The first one was of me standing next to Jake, looking at him as he said something.And there were two things that immediately struck me.Firstly, I was lookingupat him.Obviously I’d realised that Jake was tall, but somehow I’d been so busy snarling at him that I hadn’t realised that he was a good few inches taller than me, which felt like a first.
And instead of glaring, which had become my default setting for him, I was actually smiling.Cue dramatic gasp.
That couldn’t be right.
Sammie must’ve changed my expression in photoshop.I couldn’t think of a single thing that would have caused me to grin at him.
I flicked to the next photo and there it was again.A bloody smile.
The one after that made me blush.I had my head tipped back and my mouth was open.That was clearly the point where I was faking my orgasm as part of the performance.The interesting thing was that Jake was staring at me like he was in awe.
Nah.It couldn’t beawe. He was probably just shocked at how convincing I was and questioning whether other women he’d been with had pulled the wool over his eyes too.
‘Pretty cool, right?’ he said.‘My favourite one is where you’re grinning and giving me heart eyes.Itoldyou that you always smiled when you looked at me,’ he teased.
‘I do not!I was probably just laughing at something ridiculous you’d said.’
‘If you say so, Smiley.’
‘Stop calling me that!’ I huffed.‘And what about this one?’ I held up the photo where he was staring at me with the sort-of-but-clearly-it-couldn’t-be awestruck expression.
‘That one’s cool too.I think that was when you told me that you were already falling in love with me and I was feeling flattered.’ His mouth tilted into a devilish smile.
‘I wasnot…’ I was about to protest again, but when I saw him smiling like an idiot, I realised that he enjoyed winding me up and I was playing right into his hands by letting it get to me.
But not any more.
I hoped Jake got a good look at me smiling at him in those photos because it wasn’t gonna happen again.
13
JAKE
‘Nice wheels!’ Stuart, the guy who’d won the performance with his match, said as he stepped onto the bus in front of me.
He was right.This was kinda fancy.Like a smaller, more modern version of the tour bus we used to ride in when I was in the band.It had a glossy black exterior, shiny wooden flooring, plus a panoramic glass roof and large tinted windows, which I guessed was designed to make it perfect for sightseeing.
I scanned the large black leather seats to see if Halle was already here, but there was no sign of her.After breakfast she’d raced off to her room to get something she’d forgotten to pack in her purse.
I was relieved when she left because I needed to collect my thoughts.When I went to pick up those photos, I was expecting to see shots of her glaring at me.But what I said was true.There were multiple photos of her actuallysmiling.
At first I was happy because it felt like a victory.I’d told her that I’d make her like me and I had, which was a win.But then when I found myself looking at those same photos multiple times, I realised that I actually liked her smile and the way it made her whole face light up.
I’d put the photos back in their envelope and thought that was the end of it.But when she sashayed into that dining hall for breakfast looking more delicious than a stack of pancakes drizzled in maple syrup, I’d started to worry.
She was wearing a yellow sundress with pink flowers printed all over it and cherry-red lipstick which captured my attention more than it should’ve.Her toned shoulders were exposed and the way the dress clung to her curves had me thinking all kinds of things that had no business being in my head.
