“I don’t think I’d have questioned her motives if she’d only asked me to help,” he continued. “But the second she asked you about the dance thing, I knew something was up.”
“Why?”
He flashed her a smile. “Because both Andie and Fulton are accomplished dancers. At the very least, they’re above-average swing dancers. I know this not only because I’ve seen them but also when we were together, Andie was always trying to get me to dance with her, and I hate dancing.” He shook his head. “Anyway, I would think if they could swing dance, they’d also be able to pick up other dances as well. Or at least be in a position to help a few kids in a talent show.”
She had to admit he had a point. “I wasn’t aware they were swing dancers.”
“And that’s what Andie was betting on.”
Andie seemed to be working a well-thought-out plan. What else did the woman have up her sleeve? It was hard to imagine the woman with the sweet disposition she knew as Andie could be devious. “In that case, I suppose the emergency they had this morning at the lighthouse was less an emergency and more like an excuse to get us to spend some time together?”
“That’s my suspicion,” Terrence confirmed. “Why else would she have insisted on that video call unless she knew she wouldn’t be able to introduce us today?”
Last night after dinner Andie had planned a video conference with the couple who ran the home. “Just for a quick introduction,” Andie had promised. “Get it out of the way.”
Veronica had thought the request was a bit out of the ordinary, but she’d gone along with it. Now, looking back, she wished she’d asked questions.
“I can see it now,” she said. “Too late to do much of anything about it though.” A sudden thought hit her. “Do you think she’s going to be doing things like this all summer long as part of her mixed-up plan to get us together?”
“I’m certain of it.”
Veronica didn’t reply right away, but thought through the implications of being an item on Andie’s to-do list for the summer. “There has to be a way to get her to leave us alone.”
“I agree,” Terrence said. “You think of one, let me know and I’ll do it.”
The problem was she couldn’t think of anything that would deter Andie from her current path.
Well, except for one item that was so outlandish, it wasn’t worth mentioning. But as she sat there in the car, thinking, it became less and less outlandish and started becoming more and more sensible.
She’d thought everything would be fine if she just avoided him or refused to be alone with him. She knew, however, that her body language had a way of speaking for her even when she was able to keep her tone of voice and expression neutral. All he had to do was look at her with those damn eyes of his and she’d become putty in his hands. He had a way of looking at her as if he saw straight through the mask of politeness she’d been using to fool damn near everyone her entire life. Then the corner of hismouth would rise a touch. Not a lot, but enough to let her know that she hadn’t fooled him at all.
It left her feeling vulnerable and exposed. Two emotions she hated feeling.
It was time to try a different approach.
“You’re unusually quiet,” Terrence said. “Are you plotting some way to get Andie to forget about us as her summer project?”
“Yes,” she said. “But it’s a bit ridiculous, and I can’t see you agreeing to go along with me.”
“Why don’t you at least ask me before making a call on the way you think I’ll decide?”
She wanted to tell him to forget the whole thing, that she wasn’t sure she could go through with her idea even if he decided to give it a try.
Liar, she told herself.You’d love it and you know it. That’s the main reason you don’t want to do it. You’re afraid of what you might think if you do go along with it. Afraid of what you might feel. When are you going to stop letting your life be ruled and dictated by fear?
Wanting to prove her inner self wrong, she told him. “If Andie’s big plan is to see us together, the only thing that could thwart that plan is if we were already together.”
“Are you suggesting…”
“Yes,” she answered when it became clear he wasn’t going to finish speaking his question out loud.
She was surprised he didn’t immediately agree with her. Since she’d been the one to insist they keep their distance from the other, it had been her assumption that without her insistence he would have approached her for a reprise of the one time they played together. The way he acted after she watched him in the dungeon proved he was interested.
Right?
She hated not knowing how he felt about her.
It doesn’t matter. Who cares if he likes you or not?