She chuckled. “If you say so.”
“Why did you really break into your sister’s room? What do you want with Simon?”
She smirked. “I intrigue you, don’t I?”
“I’m just wondering what you’re hoping to achieve. So why did you do it?”
“You ask a lot of questions.”
“Just doing my job.”
“Your job is to pump me for information? You might need to try harder to get it out of me…”
“I’m not interested in games, Emma.”
“Oh, that’s a shame.” She fell serious. “I was bored, okay. Simon showed up and asked me to get Astrid’s diaries, so I said it sounded like a fun thing to do. It’s tearing me apart living here. It’s so dull.”
“So why not move? Astrid did.”
“She went to college. I can’t leave here. Where would I go?”
“Wherever you want. Art college? There are some great art colleges.”
“Would you take me away?”
“Me? No, Emma. It’s not like that.”
“What is it you like about my sister? You know she’s not mentally sound, right?”
“And what would you know about that?”
“I’ve read her diaries…”
“She’s all right. She just has panic attacks. What she needs is support from her family. Not a sister with a grudge.”
She grinned excitedly into his eyes. “Come away with me, Jake. Think of all the fun we could have.”
He stepped away. “I’ve had enough of your sort of fun. Thanks for the dance.”
He walked off, abandoning Emma on the dancefloor, where he could sense her fuming. He didn’t want to purposely humiliate anyone, but he also didn’t like people playing games with him. He spied Astrid dancing with an older man – probably making his day. But Jake needed to talk to her, so he interjected. “Hey, I’m going out for a cigarette. You wanna join me?”
She gazed blankly at him. “What girl could possibly refuse such a romantic proposition?”
“Ha ha. Are you coming, or not?”
“Sure.”
They strolled out into the chilly night and sat on a rickety old bench in the front yard. Jake lit up a cigarette. Astrid shivered in the cold, so he took off his suit jacket, then draped it around her shoulders – holding the cigarette between his lips.
“You look like James Dean,” she said, drawing his jacket around herself.
He laughed. “Before or after the accident.”
“Stop it. You know you’re a handsome guy.”
“And you’re a beautiful woman.”
“Hmm… You seemed to be getting friendly with my sister.”