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“Oh yeah. I’d never really been to one before and I didn’t know what to expect. You put everyone at ease.” Shit. Was that too much of a compliment? I couldn’t let my crush on her bleed through into how I talked to her. Any whiff of me liking her was going to make her run for the hills.

“Thanks. That’s my goal,” she said, ducking her head as if she was hiding a blush, but it was too dark to tell.

“You’re really good at it.” Too much. I was doing too much.

“You don’t have to kiss my ass, I get it.”

“I’m not just saying that, Delaney. I don’t give compliments if they’re not sincere.”

She huffed. “Were your insults sincere?”

Well. Guess we were back to that.

“It’s okay to still be mad at me, you know. There’s no time limit on it.” If she wanted to hate me forever, that was her prerogative. It would probably destroy me, but I couldn’t make her forgive me no matter what I did. That was the thing with people: you couldn’t control anyone else’s actions but your own.

The ball was in her court and she could smash that ball with a hammer and set the court on fire if she wanted.

“God, I don’t hate you, James. You act like I think about you all the time and I don’t.”

“Okayyyy.” I drew the word out, not really sure what she was getting at. Had she just said she didn’t hate me? That was definitely progress.

Delaney turned and pointed at me. “I’m not saying that I forgive you, because having to forgive everyone for everything is bullshit. But I don’t hate you. I don’t think I ever really hated you. Not even then.”

Oh.

She was so hot when she was putting me in my place.Focus, James. This woman is trying to tell you something.

“I’m not asking you to forgive me.”

She crossed her arms and both of us jumped as a nearby car honked. “Aren’t you?”

“No,” I said honestly. “I’m not.”

“Then whatareyou doing?”

I had to think about that for a minute. “Going to book club?”

“Fine, whatever. This is my car. You can go now.” She gestured to the candy-red sedan and hit her keychain to make her lights flash.

Shit. This was over.

“Mine’s back that way,” I said, gesturing with my thumb over my shoulder.

“Okay.” She stood beside the passenger door and then straightened her spine as if she was bracing herself. “Thank you for coming to book club. I hope you had a good time. Don’t forget to check your email to see what the next book club pick will be. Drive safe!” The whole speech was delivered with a false cheerfulness and the fakest smile I’d ever seen.

Vicious.

I bit back a smile and nodded. “You have a good night, Delaney.”

Stepping away from her, I walked backwards, keeping my eyes on her. It was dark, but she was standing right in the beam of a streetlight so I saw her fight a smile and lose before she threw her bag into the passenger seat and then got behind the wheel.

I watched her for as long as I could without tripping and cracking my head open on the pavement.

I could still feel her gaze on my back, though.

Chapter Eleven

Delaney