Page 88 of 10 Rings I Hate About You
My arm came down against the back of the booth beside her shoulder. My other hand grabbed for his collar. Chaos twisted sideways with the flexibility of an Olympic gymnast, skittered to the far end of the bench, and slow-blinked at me as thoughIwas the one being unreasonable.
I inhaled slowly. Contained my irritation.
My arm was still braced against the back of Delaney’s seat. The booth had seemed normal-sized thirty seconds ago. It did not currently feel that way. She smelled of lavender, and her face was close enough that I could see the small indent at the corner of her mouth that appeared when she was trying not to smile.
Her eyes lifted to meet mine, and she bit her bottom lip. My attention now fully locked onto them.
Neither of us moved.
Move, I told myself.Create a normal amount of distance between two people.
With considerable effort, I leaned back and dropped my arm to my side.
Delaney cleared her throat. “If you sit down, he’ll settle on his own once he figures out you’re not trying to grab him.”
She was probably right, so I slid into the booth beside her.
The space was smaller than I’d expected. Our thighs pressed together before I’d fully sat down, and there was absolutely nowhere to shift without making it more obvious that I’d noticed.
I lifted my arm to rest along the back of the booth in what I told myself was a completely practical bid for more space and not anything else.
Delaney leaned back slightly, and her hair brushed across my forearm. A small, almost impeccable shiver made her body tremble.
I tried very hard not to notice or react to it, and failed on both counts.
“Since Chaos is keeping me hostage,” I said, forcing a neutral tone through sheer force of will, “we should finalize our next planning session.”
Delaney grinned. “With or without the goat?”
“Preferably without, but I’m no longer confident I get a vote.”
Chaos bleated smugly.
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
I’d seen her do that a thousand times. The motion was instantly recognizable. Like she was buying time as she thought.
“Tuesday night?” she offered. “That gives us a few days to look at what worked and see what other animals Theo might recommend.”
“Tuesday’s good.” I adjusted my glasses.
Across the table, Adele’s expression shifted to something I couldn’t quite classify. Her attention moved to Delaney—one eyebrow up, a slight head tilt—then slid deliberately to me.
Delaney gave a small shake of her head.
“Everything all right?” I asked.
“Yes,” Adele said quickly. “She had something on her face.”
She tossed a napkin at Delany, who caught it and wiped her cheek with attention. It was clear she was not going to make eye contact with me right now.
Weird. I filed that reaction alongside the shiver.
Neither made sense.
Before I could say anything else, Chaos hopped down from the bench seat and skirted out from under the table.
I stood and caught what was left of his leash. “I guess that’s my cue to go. See you Tuesday.”
