Page 76
His smile flared. “That their business is their own, and they’ll work it out someday.”
That sounded like a lie too, but I wouldn’t push him. Instead, I changed the subject. “Do you think Carley Gentry will post that video?”
He shrugged and merged onto the interstate. “She hasn’t yet. I checked.”
“She probably has people who tell her when to drop videos to get the most views.”
He flashed blue eyes my way. “What did she say to you at the end?”
“That girls like us need to stick together. She’s from Kenietta, apparently.”
He nodded, focused on the traffic, and only a few moments passed before he said, “She’ll post it.” His tone was certain, and it yanked a giddy giggle right out of me.
Talk turned to other matters, and I somehow found myself in an argument about who received a better education—him at Yale or me at Vanderbilt. He threw out words like “Ivy League” and “prestige” that I countered with words like “pretentious” and “desperate man’s Harvard” until we were both laughing.
“Jealousy doesn’t look good on you, Honeycutt,” he said, still smiling.
“You just wish you’d gone to Vanderbilt with me.”
His smile faded a bit. “Maybe you’re right.”
With the sun hanging low in the sky, we came to a stop in front of Ravi’s house. I reached for the door handle, but he touched my arm. “Let me.”
He exited the vehicle and rounded to my side. The door popped open, and he offered his hand to help me out. He fell into step beside me as I traversed the path to the front porch, pulling my jacket tight around me to ward off the chill in the air.
At the front door, I faced him. “Thank you for driving me.”
“My pleasure. I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but I’m glad you went over my head. Looks like you were right again.”
My lips rolled inward, trying not to let out the “I told you so.”
His mouth lifted at the corner. “Does it hurt? Not saying it?”
“I’m trying so hard,” I said with a laugh.
“I can see that.”
“Thanks for having my back with your dad, though.”
He tucked himself against the front door jamb, sighing. “It probably doesn’t seem like it, Honeycutt, but I will always have your back with my dad.”
Air snagged in my lungs, and I dropped my gaze to the porch. “Well, thanks. After all that, she may not even post it.”
“But she might, and it will only help us. All thanks to you.” He shot me a grin. “And if she doesn’t, just remember that people don’t really listen to country stars. If they did, we’d all be falling into rings of fire.”
“Or saving horses by riding cowboys.”
His eyes widened, and he fell victim to a fit of laughter. “I’ll save that one for you.”
I crossed my arms as if I meant to lecture him. “It’s for the horses, Camden. Have a heart.”
His expression softened as our eyes met. “I’d forgotten what this was like.”
“What?”
“You. This. How easy it always felt, even when we were arguing.”
Easy wasn’t exactly the word I’d have used. Keeping my distance wasn’t easy. Stopping myself from staring wasn’t easy. Watching him date other girls wasn’t easy. But being with him, talking to him, it went beyond easy. It was right.
