Her hands moved fast, too fast.
The Kindle went dark, and in the next second, her phone was in her grip. I heard the furious taps before I even saw the glow of the screen.
A text popped up on my lock screen seconds later.
My Princess: He should send, she asked nicely.
My brows lifted.
Oh? Nicely? Sweetheart, she wasseducingit out of him.
I leaned back, staring at her face as she slightly glanced back at me. Her cheeks were pink. Her jaw set, stubborn and defensive.
“Really?” I said lowly. “You’re arguing with me over fictional people now?”
She glared—glared—at me. I didn’t know someone like her was capable of glaring at people, actually; she wasn’t because her glare wasn’t even a glare; it was just a stare. Then went right back to typing.
My Princess: Yes. Because you’re wrong. He should send it.
I almost laughed. Almost.
Me? Wrong? I only just read the book, but I was pretty sure I understood the situation between two fictional characters better than she did.
“Princess,” I muttered, voice low enough that only she could hear, “Why should he send it when he’s right there for her to get off on. Again.”
She froze. Again.
And for a split second, I saw the way her eyes widened and the flush in her ears burned red as she clutched her phone tightly in her hands. And God, I’d never seen anyone look so beautifully alive in their discomfort.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Joshua
When the coach shouted that we were stopping for a food break, the bus emptied in seconds, chatter and laughter all stomping their way into the diner next to where we stopped.
Everyone but me.
Everyone but her.
I never got off. Too loud. Too many people. I’d rather starve than sit through their jokes.
And then she stayed too.
The coach paused at the door and asked if she wanted to join.
She shook her head, gave that small, polite smile of hers. The kind that didn’t reach her eyes but still managed to light something in my chest.
Smart girl.
I wasn’t going to question it.
Time alone with her?
Yeah. I’ll take that.
The second the door shut behind them, the bus went quiet, dead quiet.
She didn’t move at first, just clutched her phone and looked out the window. Then, after a moment, she got up and slipped into the seat right in front of me.
