friend. Now I wasn’t too sure if she’d had a hidden agenda all along.
I ate my lunch quietly, letting the others chat around me. It wasn’t out of the ordinary, as I was usually the silent one in the group. Rose however, wasn’t talking much, and normally she was more conversational.
I nudged her with my shoulder. “You okay?”
She swallowed down a bite of food before glancing at me and nodding. “Yeah, just tired.”
“How’s your shoulder?”
“Not too bad.”
I watched her for a minute, wondering what she was thinking. Did she regret the kiss? I felt a tension coming from the other side of the table and several seats up. Blake sat there chewing on a piece of bread, watching us with an unhappy slant to his mouth. I wished I could just whisk Rose and myself away from all these petty jealousies and dramas. More and more these days I felt like my life was becoming some soap opera–style love triangle. Or perhaps a love square was the more accurate term.
When it was time to get on the bus again to go home, I made sure to corner Rose. We needed to talk.
“Sit with me.”
Her eyes flicked to mine and then away. “Aren’t we supposed to keep the same seats as before?”
“Nah, come on,” I replied, standing firm as I took her hand in mine. My fingers slid through hers, fitting perfectly.
She seemed to grow nervous at the gesture as she fumbled a response. “Well, all right. If you’re sure nobody will complain.”
“I’m sure.”
We got on the bus, and I led her to the back. I let her have the window seat and had just settled in when I saw Alicia headed in our direction.
“Guys! Aren’t we all going to sit together like we did this morning?” she asked, hands on her hips.
Perhaps I’d been a little premature, thinking there wouldn’t be any trouble. Thankfully, though, before I even had a chance to reply, I saw Iggy swoop in, his wise, perceptive eyes on Rose and me as he slid his arm through Alicia’s.
“Come sit with me, darling. I’d like to pick your brain about that dance school you attended back in the States,” he said, leaving her no room to argue.
A second later he led her to the front of the bus, and I let out a relieved breath. Feeling Rose’s eyes on me, I turned my head to look at her. Her lips were curled in a hint of a smile, and she seemed amused for some reason.
“You can’t blame her for being determined,” she said. “Sometimes I wonder if you have any idea what you look like.”
I leaned closer, my hand braced restlessly on my thigh. “What do I look like?”
She laughed gently. “You see? No clue at all. You’re incredibly handsome, Damon, handsome in a way that doesn’t come around too often. Maybe even more so because of the fact that you don’t know it.”
A deep sense of satisfaction hit me to be reminded that Rose found me attractive. “Should I say thank you?”
Now she laughed some more. “And you don’t know how to take a compliment, either. It’s kind of adorable.”
“Glad you’re amused. My looks are more of a hindrance when I’m being hounded by Alicia to take her out to dinner when all I’d rather be doing is staying home and reading a good book.”
Rose smiled, and it was so pretty I felt my chest ache. “Oh, my God, that’s even more adorable. I think you might be perfect, Damon Atwood.”
I’m not perfect, but you are.
I couldn’t stop the way I was staring at her with barely contained hunger. She seemed to become aware of it, because her smile faded, a more serious expression taking its place. Her eyes flittered all about, landing on the back of Alicia’s head where she sat with Iggy a good number of rows in front of us.
“I’ve just realised I never told you about Julian’s party,” she said, her voice hushed.
“Oh?” I said, curious.
Rose looked down and fiddled with the sleeve of her top before answering. “I went to find Julian and bumped into Alicia leaving his bedroom. Her makeup was all smudged and her hair was a mess. It was obvious they’d just had some kind of fumble.”
My eyes widened slightly at this news. I’d been under the impression that there was no love lost between Alicia and Julian. “That’s surprising,” I replied finally.
“I know,” said Rose. “She acts like she hates him, but maybe she just hates