Page 4 of See You Again
Kip Jordan ducked his head to say something in her ear, and James’s breath sawed harshly in his chest, his heart hammering. He forced his eyes back to the glass in front of him, vaguely aware of Annie talking to the young barback.
“Be back in a minute,” Annie said, stepping away.
Don’t look.
But his body didn’t obey his brain. Annie made her way across the room with a smile. James was too far away to see the chocolate eyes, but he easily remembered how they used to sparkle, her entire face practically glowing with the light inside her.
Her lips moved as she spoke to Annie, and he strained to hear the sound, even though it was impossible. She was probably apologizing for the mess before, he thought, and then she’ll say something sweet and…
There it was.
The wide smile, that even across a crowded hotel bar seemed brighter than the sun, hit him in the center of his chest.
Fuck.
He glared at the glass in front of him.
Time to go.
Again, his body ignored him.
Annie gave James a slight shrug when she returned and murmured something to her coworker. James had just lifted his hand to get the bartender’s attention when he saw it out of his peripheral vision. A gesture that sent a sensation that simultaneously felt like home and intense loss lancing through him.
A small hand came up to catch long, dark curls before twisting them into a thick rope and pulling it over one of her shoulders.
It had always been her tell. If she worried about a test, or when she had difficulty with an assignment but didn’t want to ask for help… When she’d looked up at him through her lashes in the moonlight that last night…
She was stressed.
Even as James reminded himself that it was none of his business, that he didn’t know her anymore, didn’t want to know her… Those breathtaking eyes lifted and met his across the room.
Pain, sharp and sudden, flared behind his breastbone, but James kept his expression blank, even as her eyes widened in recognition and her lips parted in shock.
James grabbed his glass, draining it in one gulp.
He was an idiot. Even if she recognized him after all this time, she could just as easily think he was Luke.
Hadn’t that always been the problem?
James turned to face the bar and signaled to Annie for his check, but the bartender’s gaze was on something behind him. The flash of surprise in her expression was his only warning before a hand rested on his forearm and warm breath coasted across his ear, setting his body on fire the way only one person ever had.
“Please,” she begged. “Be my boyfriend for a few minutes.”
James met her pleading gaze, and for the second time in less than five minutes, his lungs seized.
Cami fucking Messina.
CHAPTER TWO
Keep smiling, Cami, she told herself. Re-signing celebrity chef, Kip Jordan to an advertising campaign for the podcast would be a game-changer for them. Their contract was up soon, and for her and Madison to reach their goal, they needed him to renew his expensive ad campaign.
Madison’s deep blue gaze caught hers across the tiny cocktail table. It was the end of the day, and her friend’s makeup was wearing off. Bluish circles under her eyes were clearer than they’d been when Kip and his business partner first suggested they all go out after their meeting.
Cami felt a twinge of guilt. She should have sent Madison home an hour ago. Madison was raising her nephew, Jax, and the little guy had been having a hard time sleeping lately. Cami knew that her best friend and podcast partner was suffering along with him.
Unfortunately, as the hours passed, it was clear Kip expected one of them, preferably Madison, to be part of a re-signing bonus. As much as the ad campaign for his meal delivery service benefitted them, Madison had more than enough on her plate than to continue fending off Kip’s increasingly crude attempts at flirtation.
Cami sighed. Madison was trying to be nice so as to not wreck the deal, but enough was enough. She watched her best friend scoot to the side of the small sofa to avoid the jerk, but he continued to inch closer.