Follow Me(45)

“Shouldn’t we wait for Audrey?”

“She’s busy.” I took a step away and beckoned him. “Come on, before it gets too crowded.”

With one final glance at Audrey and her form-fitting black dress, Connor followed me to the start of the exhibit. I could feel all my muscles unclenching and a wave of relief washing over me as I put distance between myself and Max Metcalf and whatever memories he might have from camp.

? ? ?

AN HOUR LATER, I had just returned to the gallery after a restroom break and was scanning the room for Connor when Max strolled over, smiling pleasantly.

“Hey, Cathy. What do you think?”

I think you should leave me alone, I thought as my palms prickled with sweat.

Aloud, I said, “It’s interesting.”

He laughed. “That’s a lukewarm response. Not your thing, huh?”

I shrugged, a forcedly casual motion I hoped would communicate the depth of my disinterest in speaking with him. It had taken hours upon hours of therapy and a lot of hard work to put that devastating summer behind me, and I would kill Max Metcalf before I let him reveal a single second of it to Connor.

Oblivious, Max continued. “Do you come to many museum events? I feel like I would have run into you.”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m just here to support my friend.”

“That’s nice of you. What was her name? Audrey? She seemed cool.”

I nodded tightly and looked around for an exit from the conversation. My gaze landed on Audrey standing near one of the dioramas, her head bent over her phone, and I nodded in her direction. “Speaking of, I really should be getting back over to her, so . . .”

Max followed my line of sight, and as we both watched, Connor approached Audrey, touching her lightly on her exposed shoulder to get her attention. She looked up, startled, but then offered him a beaming smile, one that showed every dazzlingly white tooth, even the crooked one. My stomach shifted unpleasantly.

“Is that her boyfriend?” Max asked.

“No,” I said more forcefully than I intended.

Max looked at me curiously.

“I mean, no,” I tried again. “Connor is my friend.”

“Got it. So, is she dating anyone else?”

I was so relieved by the question I almost laughed. Max wasn’t hanging around because he wanted to reminisce about our shared past at camp. He was only interested in Audrey. Just like everyone else. If I hadn’t been so thankful, I would have been insulted.

“She’s not seeing anyone right now,” I said, purposefully omitting mention of Nick. “Are you asking because you’re interested in her?”

Spots of rose appeared in his cheeks. “I’m that obvious, huh? I’m sure she gets hit on all the time, but . . . I don’t know. Earlier, we were talking about how it’s always really hard to find something to eat at these things—you know, because we’re both vegetarians—and I kind of thought we had a connection.”

Everyone thinks they have a connection with Audrey, I thought drily. That’s part of her charm.

“Maybe you could put in a good word for me?” he suggested. “We could double-date. Me and Audrey, you and your friend over there.”

I shuddered as I imagined what an uncomfortable evening that would be: I would be pining after Connor like some sort of lovesick schoolgirl while he no doubt ogled Audrey in the same manner he’d been doing all night, and, across the table, Audrey and Max would be swapping stories about when they met me. Well, I met Cat when she was an awkward wallflower during sorority rush, what about you? Oh, I met her at camp, back when . . .

I pressed a fist into my stomach to stop the awful churning.

“I don’t know,” I hedged. “It’s been a really long time, Max. I barely know you.”

“You do know me, though,” he protested, face imploring. “We shared that summer at Camp Blackwood together. A person never forgets camp.”

My skin prickled with gooseflesh. A person never forgets camp. The words sounded too deliberate not to be a threat, but his expression was open, warm.

“I’ve changed since camp,” I said hesitantly. “Audrey . . . she didn’t know me then, and . . .”

“Say no more. I understand. You can trust me, Cathy.”

“Cat.”

He tilted his head. “What?”

“I go by Cat now.”

“Okay.” He nodded. “You can trust me, Cat. I promise.”

I hesitated. Could I trust him? I had only known him that one summer, and we’d spent only minimal time together. I remembered him as being kind, willing to talk to the likes of me even though not an outcast himself. A few more fuzzy, pleasant memories surfaced, and I found myself relaxing. Of course it wasn’t a threat. He was a nice guy. He would probably be good for Audrey, much better than her continued liaison with that Neanderthal Nick.

“All right,” I said. “I’ll help you with Audrey.”

“Thanks, Cat,” he said, face cracking open in a genuine smile. “That’s really nice of you.”

My gaze drifted across the room to where Audrey still stood in conversation with Connor. Her body was angled toward his, one hand toying with her long hair as she laughed about something. Connor smiled down at her, his expression covetous. Of course. If nothing else, putting Max in front of Audrey might dissuade her from flirting with Connor in front of me all night.