Shattered Rose (Winsor Series) - By T L Gray Page 0,22
as if she didn’t exist. He charmed her just like he’s doing to you and broke her heart. Avery, I’m not exaggerating about this. You have to let it go.”
“Issy, I don’t have to be in love with him to feel bad for him. I just think if you would put yourself in his shoes every once in a while, your relationship might not be so heated right now.”
Issy wasn’t hearing it. She got up and left the room. The tension in the apartment was more then I could stand with my already heightened emotions, so I grabbed my books and headed to the library.
I was thankful to see my study group in their usual corner and sat down next to them. They were working through problems in chapters one and two to get ready for the quiz. When it became glaringly obvious how behind I was, I excused myself, not wanting to hold them back. A corner table was available in the back of the room and I set my books out, ready to tackle the impossible.
I worked through five of the twenty practice problems, only having to re-work one of them to get the right answer. I was so engrossed in my studying that I had failed to notice that my study group was gone and I had company at my small table. He was leaning back in the chair with a book and highlighter. He had a baseball cap on and was turned to the side so I could barely see his profile. I leaned in, feeling that I knew him from somewhere, and that’s when the scent hit me. I settled back in my chair, not knowing if I should say anything or not. I had encountered two different sides of Jake, one I adored—the other I slightly feared.
“You go to a whole different world when you’re studying, don’t you?” he asked, his green eyes making contact with mine. I breathed a sigh of relief…he looked relaxed, even amused.
“How long have you been here?” I asked, knowing that whatever concentration had been there just evaporated into thin air.
“At least ten minutes. I was starting to take bets with myself as to whether you were really that zoned or if you were intentionally freezing me out.”
I smiled, mostly at the idea that I could ever play it that cool when it came to Jake.
“What are you reading?” I asked, wanting to turn the conversation away from what a nerd I was.
“It’s a riveting book on international finance. What about you?”
I had almost forgotten Jake was still in college. I had yet to see Issy crack a book since I met her and was beginning to think I was the only one who had to study. “Oh, I have you beat. My pleasure reading for the afternoon is statics, the study of physical systems in equilibrium.”
He lifted his hands up as if to say I had won, and I saw his eyes dance again for the first time since he caught me singing in my room. “How much more do you have?” he asked curiously.
“Why, have you come to rescue me from my calculator?”
He appeared to be considering it for the first time, and nodded. “Yeah, let’s get out of here. I have someplace I want to take you.” There was no saying “no” to that, even if it meant I pulled an all-nighter to study for my quiz.
“Let’s go,” I agreed, eager to spend any time with him I could.
We were only in the car about fifteen minutes when we pulled into Pisgah National Forest. We didn’t talk much on the drive, but he kept his hand on my thigh the entire way, which meant my mind was muffled and body was enflamed by the time we got there.
The trees were amazing this time of year and the colors were a vibrant red, orange and yellow, offsetting a perfectly blue sky. The sheer beauty and expanse of the forest made the campus trees look like bushes. “This is breathtaking,” I exclaimed.
“Yeah, I love it. Spent most of the summer up here, just letting nature do its thing.” I wondered if helping him cope with grief was the “thing” that nature did, but I didn’t say anything.
We pulled into a parking area and entered the main building. Jake was shaking hands with the guys behind the counter while my mind started registering the harnesses, gloves and helmets on the walls. I turned my focus onto Jake just as