Because of You (Swanson Court 5)

Her eyes flash as she studies me. Emerald-green and edged with a lovely shade of hazel. There’s a whole universe of emotion in their depths, and I want nothing more than to decipher those emotions.

“I don’t remember inviting you,” she says, lips pursed.

“You didn’t.”

She’s waiting for me to continue. “I didn’t know there was a party,” I explain over the music. Now it’s hip hop, and T.I. is promising some lucky girl whatever she likes.

“It’s mostly my friends from my drama program.” She shrugs. “It’s a goodbye party really, since I’ve dropped out.”

I nod. “Can we go somewhere quiet?”

She crosses her arms. “Why? You want to talk about the play?”

“No.”

She pauses a beat, then heads out of the living room, leaving me to follow her down a wide hallway and into a study with deep mahogany shelves lined with books and trophies.

She turns around to face me. “So…what is it you want to talk about?”

“I…” Why do I feel awkward? “Nothing, really…I just…I got you something.”

She looks suspicious but accepts the small package. “What is it?”

“Why don’t you open it?”

She fumbles with the wrapping, then goes silent as she pulls out a pair of sage cashmere socks. Someone has taken a lot of time to spell out the words Drama Queen on both cuffs with tiny rhinestones.

She chuckles.

“It’s a joke,” I explain.

“Yeah, I get it.” Her eyes meet mine. “I’m keeping them.”

“That’s my intention.” I smile. “Not so bad seeing my face, is it?”

She sighs. “I didn’t mean for you to hear that…and really, if it had been anything else, anything tastelessly expensive, I’d have given it back and asked you to leave.” She crosses her arms again. “I still want you to leave.”

“Because I kissed you?”

“No.” Color stains her cheeks. “Because you’re a dick.”

She’s right. I am a dick. “I shouldn’t have said you belonged on Disney junior. I assumed the fact that you got the part was apology enough, but it wasn’t. You deserved the part, and an apology from me.”

“I…” She searches for words, her eyes softening. “Is this an olive branch?”

“Yes. Kind of.”

She breathes. “I accept it, and…I understand why you felt the way you did. I’ve tried to put myself in your shoes and I know how it must have looked. You’d never heard of me. I’d never done any work and as far as you knew, I was only being pushed on you because of who my father is.”

I shrug. “I didn’t have to sound like such a dick about it though.”

She grins. It’s the first time she has genuinely smiled at me and it blows me away. “No, you didn’t,” she agrees.

We stand facing each other for a long moment. I want to kiss her again, against my better judgement, against my every intention and instinct. Her face is turned up toward mine and I know she expects it too.

I stare at her lips, soft, inviting, beautiful as hell, and my dick hardens. I pull in a deep breath. “I should go.”

Her throat works and her skin flushes again, deeper this time. There’s a quick flash of disappointment in her eyes that makes me want to damn common sense and take her in my arms.