“Here.” The guy steps closer and gently places the glasses back on Cricket’s face, which for some reason annoys me. “There you go.”
“Oh my gosh, thank you so much.” Cricket’s cheeks turn pink.
Is sheblushing? Why is she blushing? He’s good-looking but notthatgood-looking.Sheesh.
She giggles. “I’m basically helpless without these.”
“No problem. I’m River, by the way.”
She points to herself. “Cricket. And this is Micah, who apparently has terrible reflexes when it comes to seagull attacks.”
I cross my arms and take a step toward Cricket. “Hey, that bird came out of nowhere. It was like an aerial ambush.”
River laughs. “They’re pretty opportunistic around here. I’ve been filming some of the wildlife behavior, and those gulls are relentless.”
“You’re a filmmaker?”
There’s interest in her voice, which bugs me too. When I was filming, she was reading her book. But now she suddenly cares?
“Sort of. More of a hobbyist. What about you guys?”
“Micah’s got a YouTube channel.” Cricket’s voice is unusually high-pitched. “We were getting some B-roll footage.”
River nods toward my camera setup. “Nice equipment. What kind of content do you make?”
And just like that, this random guy has Cricket’s full attention, when five minutes ago, she was irritated with me for not paying attention to Mr. Darcy. I don’t know why, but the whole situation rubs me the wrong way.
“Music videos,” I say, keeping my answer short. “We should probably get going, Cricket. The light’s changing.”
But Cricket doesn’t seem to hear me. She’s looking at River like he saved her life instead of just rescuing her glasses from a stupid kleptomaniac seagull.
“Let’s go.” I nudge her elbow.
“Cricket is an unusual name.” River runs a hand through his already-perfect hair. “I like it.”
She blushes again. “Thanks.”
“Weren’t you going to go by Christine from now on?” I say.
She sends me a quick glare before turning back to River. “You look kind of familiar. Have we met before?”
I roll my eyes so hard I think I see yesterday. Did she use a lamelineon him?
He laughs. “I just got here. But don’t worry, you’re not crazy. You probably recognize me from the television show I was in.”
Cricket raises her eyebrows. “You’re an actor?”
“Yes. I’m here for an audition, actually.”
Oh heavens. He’s an actor. Now she’s going to fall all over him. Next thing he’s going to say is he’s auditioning for the role of Mr. Darcy.
“What are you auditioning for?” I bark.
River finally tears his gaze away from Cricket to look at me. “The lead role in an indie film.”
“Oh, so nothing big, then?” I didn’t mean for it to sound bad. It just came out that way.
Cricket whacks my arm. “Micah!”
