SAVANNAH
Calliope’s Column
It’s Not Him, It’s You (Kind Of)
Rule Number 5: Don’t Be Clingy. Jealousy Is Unattractive. (Or Is It hot?)
I thoughtI had the title for my next column. Figured I knew precisely how tonight would go. Showing up at a Christmas party and acting jealous when a man talks to a beautiful coworker is the reddest of flags. A guaranteed way to send a guy running.
So why the fuck is Camden Snow pulling me closer? Why is he smiling when he says the word girlfriend like my claiming of that title when we very obviously are not at that stage yet is the best thing in the world?
“It’s nice to meet you,” the blond who was just hitting on Cam says to me.
The annoying thing is, she seems to mean it. The woman stepped back the moment I grabbed Cam, aggressively I admit, and gave usspace while we played tonsil hockey. And now she’s smiling at me sweetly.
“You as well. You must love traveling all over the country and capturing images of all those beautiful men in action.” I let a sly smile curve my lips at that last part.
She tips her head back and lets out a loud laugh. “Sometimes I catch the type of action I shouldn’t,” she agrees, catching my innuendo, “but they’re all good guys. So yeah, I do love my job. What do you do?”
“I work forJolie. I’m a junior editor there.”
She lights up. “Oh my god. I can’t even imagine how incredible it would be to work for Catherine Bouvier.” She says Cat’s name the way we all do, with complete reverence. Even at nearly sixty, the woman is a fashion icon. And honestly, she doesn’t look a day over forty-five. She’s timeless.
“It is pretty awesome.”
“The Calliope articles are my favorite. The most recent ones are killing me. Did you see how she’s dating guys and?—”
“Ah, yeah. They’re the best,” I say, my heart lurching.
“I know the woman who used to write the Calliope articles,” Camden says. “The original Calliope.”
My breath catches. “Really?”
He nods. “Yup. The whole team used to read them.” He laughs, genuine humor dancing in his eyes. “I haven’t kept up since she sold the rights years ago. Maybe I’ll have to check them out.”
I shake my head, going for blasé, hoping like hell I can stop him from even bothering. “They’re sex columns. Nothing you don’t know about already.”
He smirks like he thinks I’m being possessive again. Like I’m pointing out that of course I know about his sex life because I’m his girlfriend and we have sex. But I’m not actually saying this for Erica’s benefit. I’m saying it because if he reads the articles, there’s a good chance he’ll realize that I’m Calliope and he’s the man I’m trying to drive crazy enough to dump me.
Erica clears her throat, doing a poor job of hiding a grimace, and changes the subject. “I was just telling Cam how pretty it is tonight andhow I wish I’d brought my camera.” She pulls out her cell phone. “But I’m going to get some shots with this. It was nice meeting you, Savannah. Hopefully I’ll see you again.”
Cam nods. “You will.” Then he presses a kiss to the side of my head.
Thrown off by his reaction, I can only nod and smile as she wanders off.
Shit, now that we’re alone, how am I supposed to act?
“Want to grab a drink?” he asks, his tone totally relaxed.
“You’re not mad?” I study him, searching for a reaction beneath his easy façade. Some hidden thought or perhaps an internal freak out that I’m missing.
He smirks. “That you got jealous and claimed me?”
Cringing, I nod a little.
“Wouldn’t that be a little hypocritical, considering how I acted when I saw you with Theo James?”
I shrug, a little of the tension easing from my chest. He’s got a point. Still, he didn’t call me his girlfriend that night.
