interrupt your conversation,” Ronan said smoothly, “but I have Audrey’s cell phone in my office, and I need to get it to her before I head out tonight.”
“Oh.” Audrey blinked, startled that he’d come to her aid.
“You left it in class on Wednesday.” His voice was a little stiff, as though he hated lying as much as she did. But it was out there now, and she wasn’t going to call him out in front of another faculty member.
“Uh yes, thank you.” She nodded and turned to head out of the room as quickly as her feet would carry her.
For someone who thought her opinion mattered and her experience was valid, Ronan certainly had jumped in to stop her from admitting that she wasn’t working toward a degree.
Maybe he sensed how uneasy you were.
Or maybe he knew where the conversation would go—much the same as it had done when he’d driven her home after the baseball game. Why would anyone who’d dedicated their life to academia accept that she wasn’t doing everything in her power to further herself? It must baffle them. Perhaps he was simply saving her from feeling obligated to explain herself.
Whatever the reason, Audrey would make it a point not to get stuck in a room full of professors ever again.
…
Ronan followed Audrey outside, and he had to quicken his pace to catch her. “Audrey, wait. Sorry, I…”
What are you going to say now, huh?
Why had he opened his big mouth? He’d seen the inquisitive look in Professor Martell’s eyes and the panic flaring in Audrey’s, and he’d butted in. Overstepped. He lied to a colleague for no good reason. Dammit. There had been some protective impulse that had burst to life inside him, and his brain didn’t have a fighting chance.
Audrey paused and turned. Her olive-green eyes narrowed at him, as though suspicious. Ronan already felt like a complete tool. Why did he keep doing this to himself? He should forget about Audrey and her delectable curves and her sweet smile and curious mind and the goodness that poured out of her like molten sunshine.
He should forget about all of it.
Only…he couldn’t.
“I appreciate you giving up your afternoon,” he said. The sun was getting lower on the horizon, and Ronan’s stomach grumbled. He’d skipped lunch to deal with a student who was freaking out about a grade, and now he was paying for it. “And the start of your evening.”
His stomach rumbled again, this time even more aggressively than the last. The sound made Audrey laugh.
“Maybe next time there’s an event like this, we should bring snacks,” she said.
We.
Ronan nodded. “I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting it to go on quite so long. They’re a chatty bunch.”
“I think it’s good they want to hear from students. I had an…interesting time,” she said. “But it would definitely have been better with snacks.”
“Would you like to come with me? Uh…for food, I mean.”
Can’t you leave it alone?
“I thought you had somewhere to be.” Her eyes were luminous, and her lips were softly parted, plush and full. “After we get my phone, that is.”
For someone who was supposed to be so adept at reading people and situations, he sure was acting like an idiot today.
“Truth be told, I…” Shit. “I don’t have anywhere to be.”
“Must be hard being the new guy in town.” There was something strange about Audrey’s tone—but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was.
For all Ronan’s research and experience, he was still better with data about people than people themselves. Not that he didn’t have social skills—he did. But there was something about the nuance of personal relationships that eluded him. He could read people, but putting those readings into action…
Well, that didn’t always pan out.
Remote, his ex had called him. A workaholic and an enigma. It had hurt, because they were all things he associated with his mother.
“I’m not good with networking,” he admitted. “I’m more a working-quietly-in-a-dusty-library kind of guy.”
A genuine smile drifted across her lips. “That sounds wonderful.”
“So…food? Do you want some?”
Audrey sucked on the inside of her cheek as if weighing up the pros and cons. Maybe she had to get back to her siblings and ensure they were fed. Or maybe she was going to visit her aunt. Maybe she wasn’t interested in—
“I’d love to,” she said with a nod. “But I have one tiny, little request.”
“Name it.”
“Let’s get out of Kissing Creek.”
Chapter Twelve
Flamingos turn pink from eating shrimp.
Audrey felt all the tension leave her body the