Overwhelmed, my mind is firing off in twenty directions and I shake my head, hoping things will settle down. I don’t know what unnerved me more, drowning on a sip of water or her brushing the top of my pants.
The thigh thing. One hundred percent her hand on my thigh.
“Sorry,” she says again, forcing an awkward smile with too much teeth. “Don’t forget your beard.”
“It can air dry.” Brushing a hand across my face, I flick the tiny droplets onto my shirt. “Thanks for helping.”
“Feeling better?” she asks, eyeing me carefully in the dim light. “You still look flush.”
“I’m a little overheated.”
“Overheated? We could hang meat in here. I’m bundled in my sweatshirt with two layers, and that lady over there is wearing a winter jacket.”
“My body is weird, what can I say?”
“Ha. I see that. Forgot how to swallow, huh?” She barks a laugh and tosses the soiled napkins into the plastic bag between us.
My eyebrows lower. Well, I didn’t expect her to agree with me so quickly.
“All right, back to the task at hand. I tried googling the guy, Austin is his name, but he has no profile picture.”
“You’re a little obsessed about this, Nancy Drew.”
“Make fun of me all you want, but I need answers. His bio is also on the vague side. Maybe he looks like a creeper or?—”
“He doesn’t,” I growl.
She raises a brow.
“I’m only guessing. Some professionals like their privacy, especially with nosy fans like you.”
“I suppose. He said he’s from Colorado though—I could have met him at some point. I mean, what are the chances?”
Did I say Colorado?“It’s a big state.”
“Listen to him again. I know I’ve heard him before.”
“Fine. Last time and then you drop it,” I grumble, earning me one of her megawatt smiles.
Before she hits play again, she snatches my water bottle away. “Just in case.”
This time I’m prepared when my fake-seductive voice rumbles in my ear. “I’ll never get enough of you.Never.” The last word is a bit too nasal for my taste, but I catch Reese’s quick intake of air, and a warm glow pulses in my chest. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as I thought.
“Do you hear him?” she whispers, like he’s nearby and he might hear.
“I do,” I whisper back, realizing this could be the most epic of pranks. “He does sound familiar now that you mention it.” I bite my lips to keep from laughing. “Lewis, maybe?”
She rams her shoulder into mine, almost launching me into the aisle. “Take it seriously. This is driving me crazy.”
The audiobook plays on for a few minutes, the two of us sharing the earbuds. I know exactly which book and even the chapter she is listening to—my first recording. Normally, I cringe hearing the playback of an earlier piece. In a year and a half, I’ve improved so much on my tone and emotion. This book took me an entire month to finish because Chantelle, or I should say Evie, asked me to re-record parts with more emotion.
This section we are listening to was one of those parts. Countless hours were spent wedged in my closet between my ski jacket and ugly Christmas sweater, repeating this romantic dialogue until I could do it blindfolded. But that was the problem, it was a cold memorization. I needed a visual, pretendinga real person stood in front of me that I was admitting my character’s feelings to.
Somehow, Reese became that person I visualized. It’s odd to now see my muse listening so intently to words I never thought she’d hear.
I shoot her a side look before prodding her more. “He’s a little too growly, don’t you think? Trying too hard?”
“No, I like it.”
