Chaos Theory (Nerds of Paradise #2)(17)
“I thought so,” Laura went on as though he’d replied. “Well, now you’re stuck with a woman. Might as well make the best of it.”
Her statement was a little too close to Howie’s. And being told the same thing twice in less than an hour didn’t make Will want to throw aside all of his concerns and cautions to make out with Melody in public.
“I’ll take that into consideration,” he said through a clenched jaw as they turned the corner onto Elizabeth Street and headed into the heart of Haskell.
“Hey,” Laura went on in a much nicer tone. “What’s the worst that could happen if you put yourself out there?”
Humiliation, he answered to himself. Distraction. Losing everything he’d worked so hard for. The fact that his dad would hate Melody.
He swallowed hard at the last thought. No, he wasn’t going to let his father control this aspect of his life…or any other.
“We’ll see,” he said, ending the conversation. And he had a feeling that there was more to that statement than met the eye.
Chapter Five
Melody finished tying her brand new, extra sturdy running shoes and straightened. “I should be training in hiking boots,” she told her sister, who sat at the table in the back room of the family flower shop.
“You’re going running, right?” Calliope asked, glancing up from her laptop, where she was doing the shop’s books.
“Yeah.” Melody kicked back caught her foot behind her to stretch her quads.
“So wear running shoes.” Calliope shrugged and focused on her computer screen.
“But once the event starts tomorrow, I’ll be wearing hiking boots, so shouldn’t I get used to moving around in those?”
Calliope looked up. “You sure are serious about all this training.”
Melody let out a wry laugh, switching feet to stretch her other quad. “You’d be taking it seriously too if you had Mr. Serious himself as your partner and one night left to train.” She wanted to feel like she was joking when she said that, but ever since the teams had been announced, a hard knot had been growing in her gut where Will was concerned. In less than twenty-four hours, they were going to be dropped in the middle of nowhere together, and he hadn’t once given her any indication that he approved of her, let alone that he was happy they’d been paired up.
Calliope shoved her laptop aside and leaned her elbows on the table. “Is he still being a poo?”
Melody shrugged, turning the motion into shoulder stretches. “He doesn’t like me.”
“Psht.” Calliope snorted and waved the suggestion away. “What makes you say that?”
“Only the fact that as soon as he found out we were a team for orienteering, he went to Howie and asked if he could change partners.”
Calliope frowned. “How do you know he did that?”
“Because he did it right in front of me. He walked away from me and right over to Howie.”
“He could have been saying something else to him.”
Melody made a wary sound. “Katrina was kind enough to tell me that she overheard him tell Howie he wanted to switch partners.”
Calliope snorted. “She was probably hoping to swoop in and snatch him from you.”
“Probably,” Melody agreed. “But that doesn’t change the facts. Will doesn’t like me, and tomorrow we’re going to be alone in the wilderness together.”
“Sweetie, of course he likes you. The way he blushes whenever you’re around is a dead giveaway.”
Melody finished her shoulder rolls and held up a hand. “He’s got the hots for me. He’s intrigued by me. I even think he might be just a teensy bit obsessed with me. But he doesn’t like me.”
Calliope opened her mouth and shook her head. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Yeah, I know.” Melody continued with her stretches, sinking into a sideways lunge that produced a satisfying pull in her inner thighs. She really was going to have to learn the names of all of the muscles that she’d gotten to know in the last few weeks. Clever as she was, the whole orienteering event was introducing her to a world of things she had no clue about.
Like the inner workings of repressed men.
“Well, whatever his problem is,” Calliope went on, “it must be him. There’s no way anyone on the entire planet could have a problem with you.”
“Ha!” Melody shifted her lunge to stretch her other side.
“No, I’m serious. You’re the most upbeat person I know. You give everyone a chance, even Katrina Bonneville.”
Melody made a doubtful sound. “I’m not so sure I’m going to continue that. Not after the way she sabotaged my workout machine. I could have been seriously hurt, apparently.” She let out a breath as she stood and hopped back and forth on the balls of her feet. “Or so Sandy tells me. I know nothing about any of that gym equipment.”
“If Sandy says you could have hurt yourself, then you could,” Calliope agreed.
“What really burns me about that whole thing is that I’m sure Will saw it and thought I was clumsy and inept.” She burst out with a frustrated growl. “I hate it when people think something about me that’s not true.”