Page 19

“But I thought that was why I've been getting so much attention this morning.”

“No, I’d say that’s all thanks to Daddy Dearest,” she explained. “A secret LaFleur heir in our midst is quite the scandal.”

“Great,” I muttered. I wasn’t sure if that was better or worse than people gossiping about Noah and me. It was probably worse since apparently it also meant people like Trish and Mandy thought they needed to try to befriend me because of it. Was this what it was like for Noah? He was used to people talking to him with the sole objective of getting more closely connected to his family. I could see why he was so shut off because of it. I didn’t want any fake offers of friendship either.

Cress arrived just as Anna and I sat down at our table. She looked a little winded and was still scooping her hair back in a ponytail. She’d clearly rushed to get here this morning.

“Sorry I’m running so late,” she said.

“You’re always running late.” I smiled at her.

“Yeah, but I wanted to be here in case you saw Noah again for the first time. To support you.” She landed in the seat beside me and stole a hashbrown off my plate.

My cheeks flushed because I knew it wouldn’t be the first time I’d seen Noah since the ball. It wouldn’t even be the second. I hadn’t told Anna or Cress about either of those encounters though.

“Actually, you already missed the first time,” I said.

“What?” Cress sat up a little straighter. “Did you see him already this morning?”

“And yesterday...”

“Wait you’ve seen himtwice?”

I nodded.

“And...” Anna prompted.

“And it was a disaster. I ran into him at the garden party yesterday and then again on my run this morning. He refused to give me a proper explanation and said we needed to stay away from each other. But then he kept looking at me like he wanted to kiss me and suggested we stay together but keep it a secret.”

“Seriously?” Cress asked.

“What did you do?” Anna added, her eyes wide.

“I walked away. I still have feelings for him, but I’m not going to kiss someone who broke my heart, and I’m definitely not agreeing to a secret relationship.” Although, a part of me still wondered if that was the right choice. Maybe I’d acted too hastily. Surely getting some of Noah was better than nothing?

“That’s good,” Cress said. “I know how hard it must have been, but I think you made the right choice.”

“Yeah, well, I hope he’s going to keep his distance now. I’m not sure I can handle another one of these encounters.”

“He needs to leave you alone,” Anna huffed. “Why does he think he can try and kiss you? And I can’t believe he asked you to be with him in secret. That’s so unfair. He should be shouting his love for you from the roof of the school.” She was getting so agitated I was worried she was about to jump up on the table and do some shouting of her own.

“Agreed,” Cress nodded. “What was he thinking?”

“I’m not really sure heisthinking clearly right now,” I murmured. “And, I mean, he didn’t actuallytryto kiss me, but I felt like that was what he wanted.” I shook my head. “You’re right, though. He’s not being fair, and it makes me so mad. I guess the small blessing is that when he makes me angry, I feel like I might one day be able to get over him.”

“Yes, you should definitely focus on moving on,” Cress agreed.

“What you need is a rebound,” Anna said.

“Anna…” Cress hissed.

“What? Isobel needs to get over Noah, and rebounding is the quickest way. Not to mention it’s fun too.” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

“I’m not sure that’s such a great idea.” I was completely with Cress on this one. I couldn’t even picture kissing another guy, and the last thing I wanted at school this year was any more emotional entanglements.

“It’s a great idea,” Anna said. “I can start brainstorming candidates in class this morning.”

“Please don’t make a list for me,” I groaned.