There’s a long pause before she offers me a placating smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have said anything.” She looks away, head tilting down as she fidgets with the basket, tugging at the end of the ribbon.
“Paisley? What’s going on?”
She looks up at me through her lashes, looking uncertain and lost. “I just…I enjoyed spending time with you on Thanksgiving, and that night with Nick at Benson’s. It made me feel like I was really home, you know?” She tries tosmile, and I let out a soft groan, running a hand through my hair.
“Itoldyou?—”
“I know, I know,” she hastens to reassure me. “It’s the holidays and you’re busy. I get it. It’s just that…at Benson’s the other night, I tried talking to Gracie, and I—” She looks away, and I stare at her, waiting. “I just got the impression that she doesn’t like me. She was short with me.” Her mouth pinches. “Cold.”
I close my eyes, letting out a long exhale through my nose. “Paisley?—”
“And a girlknowswhen another girl doesn’t like them,” she continues. “It’s terrifying to finally be back here and have everything be different. I just wanted to feel like something was normal, I guess.”
“And it’s not because I’m with Gracie?” I counter.
Paisley shakes her head, rushing out, “No, no. That’s not what I meant. It just feels like she must be…I don’t know. Threatened by me or something.”
There’s an edge to her words, but I just shake my head. “She just doesn’t know you.”
Her smile is tight, and it doesn’t reach her eyes. “You’re right. I’m obviously reading too much into it.” She reaches over, patting my leg once before pulling away. “Here, you want one of these caramel slices? I’ve never made them before, but I promise that Mom watched me like a hawk.” She laughs easily, like the last several minutes never happened.
“You know I love anything caramel,” I say, reaching into the basket and pulling one out, letting the tension drain from my muscles.
“Oh, I know. I got you one of those boxes of chocolates almost every Christmas, and you made sure to stuff them all into your mouth before anyone else could touch them.”
My lips twitch just as I take a massive bite of the slice, a groan escaping at the taste. Paisley’s face brightens, the heavy cloud of our conversation dissipating just like that. It reminds me of how she was the day she left, her eyes wide with excitement and the possibilities in her future, and it’s honestly like those intervening years never happened.
I point a finger at her as I finish my mouthful. “You know that if I didn’t do it, Nick would have stolen all the good ones.”
Her eyes soften with the memories. “He used to steal all the chocolates out of my stocking before I even got out of bed,” she says with a laugh. “And you know what? He hasn’t gotten any better. Last year, Mom and Dad arrived to spend Christmas with me, and he’d raided Mom’s suitcase before she left!” She bugs her eyes out at me comically. “But he left all the wrappings, and a card with theworstdrawing of the Grinch I’ve ever seen.”
I can’t stop the chuckle. “Maybe he was sad about missing Christmas with you.”
“Nuh-uh!” She waggles a finger. “He had plenty of warning to ask for the time off, and he decided not to. Plus, I know he would’ve preferred spending Christmas with you. He always has.”
I watch her for a beat, confusion rushing forward, the question I’ve wondered about more than once spilling out. “Why didn’t you come back, Paisley? Not once in all these years—not holidays or birthdays, or semester breaks. You were just…gone.”
Her eyes widen, and then drop to the basket, quickly packing it up. “It doesn’t matter,” she says a little too quickly. “I can’t believe the time got away from me. I promised Mom I’d run some errands for her. If I take much longer, she’ll send out a search party.”
“Right,” I mutter, reaching over to help her with thebasket. Her fingers graze against mine, and she jerks back, a sharp gasp leaving her mouth. I frown. “What is it?”
Her lashes flutter before she gives me a small smile. “Oh, nothing.” She passes me a napkin, her eyes focusing on my mouth. “Here. You’ve got some caramel…”
Something uncomfortable shoots through my stomach when I realize just how close she is, the subtle spice of her perfume filling my nose. I smile tightly, taking the napkin and leaning away as I wipe my face. “Thanks, Paisley. And for the food, too. This was a nice break from the day.”
CHAPTER 11
Braxton
Ryan and I have discovered a natural competitiveness between us during the time we’ve worked together, and it always seems to come out when we’re in the gym.
It’s how we find ourselves on the treadmills this afternoon, sneakers hitting the belts in unison. The only other sound in the room is the whirring motors of the equipment and our heavy breathing as we push ourselves to outmatch the other.
“Increase the incline,” Ryan demands.
I shoot him a look out of the corner of my eye. “Why the fuck would we do that?”
“Because we’re still talking, for one,” he says with no small amount of amusement. “And I’m not feeling the burn yet.”
