“Do you ever add contacts with silly names?” I ask Jack.
He thinks about it for a minute before pulling out his phone and showing me the C names in his contact list. Mrs. Campbell frowns in our direction, but it’s the indulgent frown she saves for Jack. He could probably order a pizza right now, and she’d getover it.
Jack has some interesting C contacts. There’s Candace Hot Tech, followed by Candace Jace’s Sister, followed by Candace the Coach Do Not Mess With.
“How many Candaces do you know?” I ask.
“Three, obviously. And you do not want to mix them up. I learned that the hard way.”
I’ll bet.
He turns and asks his dad a question about the Denver Broncos, giving me a reprieve to eat and keep my eyes on Callie, who is playing a dangerous tipping game with her full glass of ice water. I set it flat on the table and help her slide it closer to where she can easily pick it up.
Mrs. Campbell goes from chatting me up to studying me intensely, but I pretend not to notice.
“Mom,” Liam says, diverting her attention. “Callie learned to swim this summer. Rosalie taught her.”
“Oh, that’s nice.”
“And Wyatt entered a mascot design contest for the public library and won. He worked on it with Rosalie for a month.”
“You won?” Mrs. Campbell’s attention swings to Wyatt, who is more than happy to brag about his accomplishment.
I look over at Liam and give a little head shake. I know what he’s doing, and it’s not going to work. I’m not a show pony.
“Tell another story about Rosie,” Callie says as she reaches inside her glass and pulls out a piece of ice. She checks across the table to make sure her grandma doesn’t see her, and then she stuffs it in her mouth. Even with her five-year-old limited awareness, she gets it. Liam was talking about me. Not about Callie and Wyatt.
Liam looks at his daughter. “Remember when Rosie went away for a week to help her sister-in-law with her new baby?”
Callie’s eyes go big. “She did? I don’t remember.”
“She sent you and Wyatt pictures of her baby nephew every day. He made the most beautiful grumpy faces you can imagine.”
I can’t believe he remembers that, but I don’t want to soften toward him. All I want to do after this is go straight home, take a bath, and read a book with an embarrassing title. I want to escape.
Chapter 30 – Is It Wise?
Liam
“Thank you so much for dinner, Mrs. Campbell. It was delicious.” Rosalie gives the kids quick hugs and makes for the door, giving me a scowl when I follow.
“I’m going to walk Rosalie out to her car,” I call over one shoulder, not bothering to look at anyone’s reactions. I don’t care at this point. They can think whatever they want about us.
With her ten second head start, Rosalie has made good time. I have to jog to catch up with her. Even then, she just keeps on walking.
“Ro, wait.”
“Nuh-uh.” She shakes her head. “Just let me go home. I’ll be there in the morning. You don’t have to worry about that.”
“Of course I’m not worried about that. I’m worried about you.I’m sorry about my parents. I’m sorry about… me.”
She pauses next to the fountain, watching the gurgling water coming out of the top. “I told you to ignore me in there, and you didn’t. That’s what I wanted from you.” She sighs. “I don’t know what I want, actually.” Her eyes start to water, and she strides off toward her car again.
“Rosalie.” It’s unfair that my strides are almost twice the length of hers. I reach her before she gets to her car.
“What?” She sniffs and stands taller.
“I told my mom not to order you around, and she took that as a sign that something more was going on between us. It didn’t help that Jack insinuated it first. I’m sorry I didn’t say something to her a long time ago, back when if she accused me of having feelings for you, I could have told her she was crazy.”