Silver Linings by Debbie Macomber Page B

steps in her eagerness to escape. When she looked back she saw him standing in the hallway watching her, his eyes wide and sad.
    She didn’t know why him asking her out was so terrifying, given that she liked him. It just triggered every feeling of fear of abandonment she’d ever had. The next time she saw James was at a swimming meet right before winter break. Katie had gotten so flustered she’d lost the race she should have easily won. Afterward she felt terrible about letting her team down and mortified that James had witnessed her defeat. James had waited for her outside the pool, and when she saw him she’d been embarrassed and found herself unable to look at him.
    “Hi,” he’d said, falling into step beside her.
    She pretended not to hear.
    He tried again, louder this time: “Katie, hi.”
    “Hi,” she’d mumbled, still not looking his way. She clutched her gym bag and her books close to her chest and walked as fast as she could without breaking into a run. The cold air hit her face and made her eyes water. All she wanted was for him to leave her alone. She hadn’t seen him since he’d asked her to the dance and she didn’t dare look at him.
    James walked silently by her side until they were halfway through the parking lot. When he did speak, he said, “You’re a good swimmer.”
    She didn’t know how he could say that when she’d performed so poorly. “I lost the race…I let the team down.”
    He matched his steps to her own, his long strides meeting her much shorter ones without a problem. “You’ll do better next time.”
    She remembered thinking she’d do better if he promised not to attend the meet. Seeing him had unnerved her more than anything anyone could have said or done.
    “Let me drive you home,” he said.
    “No.”
    “Katie…”
    “Why’d you come?” she blurted out, wanting to blame him for her miserable performance.
    “I wanted to see you swim.”
    “Why?” she demanded again.
    “I already told you.”
    Her grip on her books was so hard the texts painfully bit into her chest. Her hair fell in wet tendrils over her cheeks as she stared down at the rain-soaked pavement.
    “Come on, Katie, I’ll drive you home.”
    She shook her head. “I’d rather walk.”
    “In the rain?”
    She nodded rather than respond verbally.
    “Katie…”
    She swallowed hard, not wanting him to see how unnerved he made her. “Promise me you’ll never come to one of my meets again.”
    “No way.”
    “James, please…just leave me alone.”
    He tucked his hand beneath her chin and lifted her head up so she had no choice but to look at him. A tear slid down her cheek. His gaze followed it and then he leaned down and ever so gently he kissed it away. His lips were warm against her cool skin. Warm and incredibly gentle. Just feeling his lips against her skin caused her to suck in a small wisp of breath.
    Against every dictate of her will, Katie closed her eyes, savoring the feel of his mouth on her face. He kissed her again, only this time his mouth was lower on her cheek, closer to her mouth.
    Unable to stop herself, Katie released a soft sigh of pleasure.
    When his mouth slid from her cheek to her lips, she all but dropped her gym bag and her books to the ground. Her knees felt as if they were about to buckle. His kiss was soft and moist. He was so tender with her that it made her want to weep.
    When he broke it off, Katie leaned her forehead against his chest and his arms came around her. The rain started in earnest then, pounding down on them in a torrent. Neither moved.
    After what seemed like an eternity, James rubbed his cheek across the crown of her head. “Will you let me drive you home now?”
    Katie nodded.
    “Why’d you run away?” he asked, as his hands cupped her shoulders as though he feared she was about to bolt and run again. “If you don’t want to go out with me, it’s okay. All you had to do was say so.”
    She kept her gaze focused on the blacktop. “I’ve