Better Deeds Than Words (Words#2) (25 page)

“Thanks,” I said with a grateful smile.

“That’s what I’m here for. So, is there anything you’d like to add? Anything you feel you’ve missed?”

“I think I’m happy with that.”

“All right. Give me a second here.” He took a few moments to write some more notes. “Okay, that should do it.” He smiled, and I could see
my
Daniel there, just under the surface.

“Did I do okay?”

“You did great, poppet.”

And there he was.

“You did great too, Daniel. You’re going to be a kickass professor one day. Your grandfather would be proud.”

“Thank you. That means a lot.” His sad smile melted into a frown. “We’re not going to see each other for a week, you realize that? Because of classes being canceled for Easter weekend? If you hold onto this promise you made my dad, next Wednesday in class is the next time I’ll see you. I can’t stand that.”

“I know, but we’re getting there. I’m keeping my promise to your dad, and no one knows anything. Personally, I think we’re doing great. Just three more weeks. We’ll both be so busy with end of semester stuff that the days will fly by.”

“I hope you’re right.” He reached into his laptop bag and pulled out an envelope. “Now that your conference is over and done with,” he said, “
this
is what’s been keeping me busy this past week. I would’ve given it to you sooner, but I thought it was important for you to get through this assignment first. I think you’ll see why.”

“Should I open it?”

He looked over at the door. “Just take a peek inside.”

He crossed his arms as I peeled the envelope flap open. There was a CD inside, along with several folded sheets of paper.

“For you to listen to tonight after class—or over the long weekend. I hope you like it. I already had the recordable CD and the paper,” he said, his expression serious. “I didn’t buy them especially for the occasion. I haven’t broken any rules, you know.”

“I’m impressed.” I laughed. “And, I must admit, I’m curious.
You
, sunshine, are completely disarming.”

“I aim to please, Miss Price.”

“And you succeed every time.”

He dropped his eyes to my lips.

“If there weren’t glass panes on those doors, I’d be kissing you so hard right now.”

“I’d be kissing you back and grabbing your ass,” I added with a cheeky grin.

He chuckled. “All right, you should go so I can complete your evaluation rubric without being distracted by that beautiful smile, not to mention thoughts of your hands on my ass. Wait in the hall, and I’ll bring your notes out in a few minutes. If Cara’s out there waiting, tell her to hang tight.”

“Okay. Thanks again for the recommendations for improving my analysis. And for the CD. I can’t wait to listen to it.”

“You’re welcome.”

I gathered up my belongings and made my way across the room. Cara and Shawn were hanging out on the other side of the glass door, chatting. I fixed my face in an expression that said “I’m so relieved that’s over” and joined them, closing the door behind me.

“Hey, Aubrey. How’d it go?” Shawn asked. He looked nervous.

“Hi, Shawn. Hey, Cara. Daniel said to tell you he’ll be out in a sec. It was fine. I’m sure you’ll do great,” I said, trying to alleviate his anxiety.

“I hope so. I don’t think he likes me.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I said. “It’s not a popularity contest. It’s a conference.”

“I guess you’re right. So, hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you—are you planning to go to the Kap formal at the end of April?”

Oh, Shawn, please let this go
.

I tried to cobble together a decent excuse for why I wouldn’t be attending, but my efforts weren’t necessary. Cara sighed in exasperation and spoke on my behalf.

“God, why don’t you give up, Shawn? She’s already seeing someone. This is totally second-hand embarrassing to watch.” She rolled her eyes, her arms crossed under her boobs.

Shawn scowled at her for butting in.

My heart seized for a second. Who could she possibly think I was seeing? Then I remembered. Of course! She’d seen Brad sitting with his arm around me on the night of the benefit. She thought
he
was my boyfriend.

Shawn turned to me in confusion. “You’re seeing someone? But Matt said—”

I tried to speak calmly, in spite of my hammering heart. “Matt and I may be roommates, but that doesn’t mean he knows all of my personal business.”

“I’d like to get to know
his
personal business,” Cara said, thrusting her chest out suggestively and looking at Shawn with a challenging expression. “I hope he’s going to the pub tomorrow night. I think it’s time to make my move before he goes back to B.C.”

Oh, Jesus, no. Cara and Matt? I thought about the way Matt’s headboard had crashed against my wall all weekend. At the time, I’d been fuming, cursing his erotic escapades with Sarah while simultaneously wallowing in a miserable pit of sexual tension. Suddenly I was extremely grateful for their amorous weekend.

Shawn held up his hands and backed away. “Okay, I really don’t need to be hearing this. Sorry, Aubrey. I honestly didn’t know you had a boyfriend. You can’t blame a guy for trying. I’m going to grab a coffee before it’s my turn to go in. See ya around.”

“Sorry, Shawn. Hey, have a good Easter, okay?” I called after him.

He turned and smiled tightly before escaping down the hall.

“Aaaaawkwaaaard,” Cara said dramatically as Shawn disappeared around the corner.

“Yeah, totally. He’s the nicest guy, but he’s so persistent. And like you said, I’m not even available.”

I couldn’t believe Cara Switzer had rescued me from Shawn Ward’s determined advances. Well, one good turn deserved another.

“Cara, can I talk to you about something?”

“I guess.”

“This probably isn’t any of my business, but I wanted to give you a head’s up. You’d probably be better off not going after Matt.”

“What are you, his mother?” she scoffed. “I know you don’t like me, but you can’t tell him who he can and can’t go out with.”

“Look, I just thought you should know that he got back together with Sarah. I’d hate for you to make a move on him and—”

“Get rejected?” she said.

“Yeah, I suppose.”

“Thanks for looking out for me. But FYI, I knew they were back together. I don’t think she’s good enough for him. And I totally doubt he’d reject me.”

It took everything in me not to burst into hysterical laughter. Was this some sort of belated April Fool’s Day joke?

“But you know what? Since you so were so sweet to offer me advice, I’ve got some for you, too.” She leaned over to whisper in my ear. “You should be careful what and
who
you talk about in public washrooms. You never know who might be listening.”

I shrunk back from her. “What’s that supposed to—”

At that precise moment, Daniel opened the door of the meeting room, handing me my conference notes and cutting off my question.

“Here you are, Miss Price. I hope I didn’t keep you waiting. I wouldn’t want you to be late for your class. And good luck with your written analysis. See you next Wednesday.”

I looked at him, my pulse thumping in my temples.

“Thanks. You didn’t. I mean, I won’t.” My voice was barely audible, which was a blessing because what I’d said probably hadn’t made any sense.

“Are you, ready, Miss Switzer?” Daniel asked looking cautiously from Cara’s face to mine.

“Totally,” she replied. “Talk to you later, Aubrey.” She left me standing there, gaping after her.

Chapter 16

Shallow Fools

What your wisdoms could not discover,
these shallow fools have brought to light…
(
Much Ado About Nothing
, Act V, Scene 1)

“J
ESUS
, A
UBREY
, W
HY
D
IDN’T
Y
OU
wait for her to come out after her conference so you could ask her what the fuck she was talking about?”

“I couldn’t. I had to go to my night class.”

“You know what? There are times when it’s appropriate to be late for class. I’d say this was one of those times.”

I walked another circuit around Julie’s room. I was wearing a path in her area rug while she watched me from the middle of the bed.

“I wasn’t thinking straight,” I confessed. “I was in a daze. I might as well have skipped my lecture. I didn’t process anything the prof said.”

“So, what are you going to do now?” Julie asked, jamming clothes and toiletries into her suitcase.

“I don’t know.” I made another anxious lap of her room, sitting briefly on her roommate’s bed before leaping up and pacing again. “But I need to know what she was talking about. Do you think I should try to track her down? She lives somewhere off campus with Lindsay, right?”

“I might be able to think straight if you’d stop moving. You’re making me dizzy. I pirouetted my ass off for two hours tonight. I don’t need to spin any more, thank you very much.”

I sighed and slouched against her dresser. “I don’t know what to do! When could she have possibly heard me talking about anything—in a
washroom
, of all places? I’m trying to remember if I’ve been at any events lately where I might have said something, but it’s not like I’ve been wasted at a party somewhere spewing nasty rumors about someone. I have this horrible feeling it’s about Daniel, but how could it be?”

“Unless you’ve been talking to yourself, I don’t see how. You’ve only told Matt and me. Maybe you’re making something out of nothing.”

“I know! I don’t get it. It’s paranoia or my guilty conscience making me think it has to do with him, right? But you should have seen the look on her face. It was like she was mocking me and feeling sorry for me at the same time.”

“Well, think back. Have you ever been anywhere with Daniel where you might have gone to the washroom and chatted to a stranger or a waitress—”

“A waitress?” I rubbed my eyes. I was driving myself crazy. “Seriously? It would have involved you or Penny, since you’re the only females who know about us. It makes no sense. I don’t hang out with Cara. I
never
see her outside of the classroom.”

I was on the verge of dismissing Cara’s cryptic comment, prepared to conclude that she was just trying to psych me out, when the expression on Julie’s face changed. She brought her hands up to cover her mouth.

“Holy shit. Oh no, Aubrey. Fuck—”

“What? What is it?” I rushed over to the bed and dropped beside her, pulling her hands down. She looked at me, horror-stricken.

“Oh crap, Aubrey. Think for a second. When was the last time you remember seeing Cara outside of class—for a social event, I mean?”

“She was at the Kap semi-formal a few weeks back, but she didn’t see me. I wasn’t even there for ten minutes before I left with Daniel. And he didn’t come in—”

“No, before that…go back farther,” she interrupted, her face serious, her voice low and controlled.

“I can’t think of anything. Wait, there was the memorial service for Mary. She sat behind us, remember?”

“And the next day?” Julie asked.

“Oh, right. The benefit at Brennan Hall. She was there, but we hardly—”

I stopped short, remembering that I
had
made two trips to the washroom that night. Julie had been with me each time, and Penny had been there for the second one. And we had
definitely
talked about Daniel. Both times. Not once had I paid any attention to the stalls. The blood rushed out of my face, and my own hands flew up to my face.

Julie nodded slowly. “Remember when I first arrived? After our fight, we went in the washroom to talk?”

“Oh, sweet Jesus,” I breathed, horrified.

“I know. We were talking about how you hadn’t told me about you and Daniel. I don’t remember exactly how the conversation went down. Maybe we mentioned his name when we were talking. Do you remember looking around to see if anyone was in there?”

“No, I was too worried about our fight. I didn’t even think twice about anything else. What if she was in there the whole time listening?”

“Oh my God. You know what? That would explain how weird she was when she came over to the table to say hi. Remember how she looked at us like we’d all grown two heads? And then on Monday, in class, she gave you that creepy look? You brushed it off, but I knew there was something up. Fuck, Aubrey, she
knows
.”

I flopped on the bed, burying my face in my arm as terror gave way to acute anguish.