Breaking Stars - J. Sterling Page 0,37

she said. “They were a gift, but unfortunately they didn’t fit. Too small.”

I reached out and brought the boots to my nose, inhaling while closing my eyes. “These smell so good.” Then I froze, wondering if I looked like a total creeper sniffing someone else’s footwear. My cheeks burned as I tried to cover for myself. “Uh, was that weird? I’m sorry. It’s the leather.”

Mrs. Montgomery laughed. “I do it all the time. There’s nothing like the smell of new leather. Aren’t they gorgeous? I love the detail.”

Gold rivets adorned the boots, and a tan stitched design weaved from the top to the bottom. No less than four varying shades of brown were visible and I had no idea why, but Mrs. Montgomery told me it was because each pair was handmade and the leather was worked throughout the process in a way that created the numerous shades.

“I love everything about them.”

“Try them on,” she insisted.

“Do I wear them with socks?” I asked, feeling once again like a complete idiot. “I’m sorry I ask such stupid questions all the time.”

“They’re not stupid, Paige. How would you know? And yes, you wear them with socks.”

Grabbing a pair of white cotton socks, I pulled them on and slipped my feet into the waiting boots. They seemed snug at first until I stood. I walked around the room, the heels of the boots clicking against the hardwood floors. “They are so comfortable. Who knew?”

“Do they fit? They look great!”

“I think they fit. They feel good.” I wasn’t entirely sure how boots like this were supposed to feel. Obviously my toes didn’t go into the pointy part, which I assumed would be as uncomfortable as all get-out.

“Great! Then you’ll wear them tonight to the party,” she said before pushing herself off my bed.

I widened my eyes. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. They sit in a box in my closet. They deserve to see a night out.”

“Thank you so much,” I said, then enveloped her in a warm hug.

• • •

A little later, I walked around the back of the main house toward the barn. When I knocked on the door, memories of last night flooded my mind. Tatum had taken over my brain and turned me into some horny teenager. I’d been around good-looking guys my whole life, but this…this was different. Tatum was smoking hot, but he was real. And his genuine nature, no matter how brutally honest, pulled me to him even more.

“Hi,” he said as he opened the door.

I looked into his deep blue eyes and said, “I’m sorry about earlier.” Why was I apologizing again?

“Me too.”

With that out of the way, I asked, “Do you think I could use the computer again?”

“Of course,” he said, holding open the screen door. I brushed past him as I entered and forced myself to keep walking when all I wanted to do was turn around and run my hands all over his well-formed chest.

Sitting down at the desk, I noticed the computer was already on, so I logged back in to my personal e-mail. My mom had e-mailed, wanting all the information for where I was staying, including full names and addresses. She told me if I didn’t have them, to get them. I wanted to roll my eyes, but she was right to want that stuff, and I quickly typed out an e-mail telling her everything I knew about where I was and who I was spending my time with, including the phone number to Mrs. Montgomery’s house.

And then I sent Quinn the same e-mail with the same information, plus a little extra. I told her all about Brina and about the field party. I told her that I wished she were here, experiencing all of this with me. E-mailing her wasn’t the same as hearing her voice, so I told her to call me soon.

I continued to ignore the other e-mails from my agent, manager, publicist, and everyone else, figuring that they could all wait until I was ready to deal with them. It surprised me how good it felt to claim some of my power back, although a small part of me felt like I was just avoiding everything and that avoidance didn’t really equal power.

While I was relieved to have left town, I also felt cowardly. As if running away was a weak move, even if it had been necessary. And I convinced myself that it had been absolutely necessary to leave. I imagined myself sitting in a corner in my