Page 112 of Don't Be in Love

“Yeah right,” I laughed. “I was referring to saying how you feel.”

“I don’t know. It sounded like you did just that before you left.”

“What I told her is only a quarter of how I feel. I can’t imagine if I tried to say anything more. I didn’t hear from her at all while I was gone. And I know her phone was working because she talked to James.”

“She talked to James?” Her arched brows were visible through the speaker. “Hm. Did she call him, or did he call her?”

“Does it matter?”

“Of course it matters!”

“He called her.”

“That’s a good sign then.”

“It is?”

“It says that she wasn’t reaching out to anyone.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better.”

“Well, I didn’t say it’d make you feel better, I just said it mattered! If she called James, then that’d be a different story.”

“I guess.”

“Wait—does James know you’re going to see her?”

“Eh, no. He doesn’t.”

“Dorian.”She always had a soft spot for James. We all did.It was James.

“The January is in a few days, Jasmine, and I want to bring her as my date if she says yes. You know that’s always been James’s thing. He loves this event and I’m not going to upset him right after our holiday.”

“What’s your plan? Show up to the ball with her and see how he reacts?”

“No, of course not. I’d tell him beforehand.”

Her disagreement was palpable through the phone. “What are you going to say to her when you see her?”

“‘How was your holiday?’”

“That’s all you’ve got?”

“When I left, I opened the floor for her to tell me how she’s feeling. If I say anything more, then I may as well throw myself into the Thames.” No response. “Hello?” I checked.

“Did you know the last time the Thames froze over was in nineteen forty-seven?” she asked.

“You really thought now was the best time to look that up?”

“Gotta make sure you won’t be hitting a river of ice on the way down.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m calling the lawyer and cutting you out of my will.”

“Aw, I was in your will?” she cooed.

“Every time I call you, I regret it more than the time before.”

“It got your mind off what you’re going to say though, didn’t it?”