Mosaic by Leigh Talbert Moore Read Free Book Online

for you. And who knows what doors might open. Just think about it.”
    Now I nodded rapidly. “I’m sure you’re right. Thank you so much, Dr. Arati!”
    Her straight, white teeth shone in her smile. I smiled back, but my stomach was a cluster of painful knots as I collected my notebook and bag.
    Junior Year Abroad would be the most unbelievable experience, but how in the world could I ever be away from Julian like that? I was already miserable with him just a few hours away. Heaviness weighed on my shoulders as I pulled open the wooden door. Money was a major factor, but it was the least of my concerns.
    I was lost in a cloud of wanting to be a strong College Woman, wanting to seize this opportunity that had just been presented to me, and failing, when I glanced up and nearly dropped all my stuff.
    “Anna, hey.” Jack caught my computer before it slipped out of my arm. “Whoops—don’t drop your notebook.”
    He smiled, and dammit. I hated that stupid gorgeous smile that always knocked me a little off-balance. He didn’t look at all like last night. He looked amazing. His light blonde hair was perfectly messy as always, and he wore a gray tee that stretched across his shoulders. His faded jeans hung loose around his hips.
    Finding my voice, I asked the obvious question. “What are you doing here?”
    “Waiting for you.” My brow creased, and he continued. “I wanted to find you. And apologize for last night.”
    The painful memory of last night only made the ache in my stomach even stronger. I glanced down the empty hall.
    “How did you know I had class here?” An impossible idea flickered across my brain. Had he been following me? Did he know my class schedule?
    “After you left, Rachel was looking for you…”
    Dr. Arati stepped out of her classroom then. She paused when she saw Jack and me talking, then she gave me a knowing smile before turning back to lock the door.
    I wanted to correct what I feared she was thinking, tell her she couldn’t be more wrong. Jack was not the reason I’d hesitated at her offer. Jack would’ve been the one thing that would have sent me running to London—just to get away from him, to stay there until he no longer had the power to trip me up.
    He caught my arm and escorted me down the hall, away from class. I resisted inhaling the citrusy scent of his cologne that tried to fill my brain with memories of every time he’d pulled me into his arms. Last night included.
    As we walked, he continued. “She told me which classes you had today.”
    Of course, Rachel had told him. From what I kept hearing, Jack barely knew his own class schedule, much less mine.
    Shaking away the crazy, I stepped to the side, out of his grasp.
    “So you went to all of my classes today?”
    “Just this last one.” We were outside in the humid air, and we stopped, facing each other. He smiled again. “Want to grab some lunch with me?”
    “No.”
    I answered so fast, he actually laughed. “I don’t blame you. I was a jerk last night. I’m sorry.”
    His hand rose as if he were going to touch me again, and I took another half-step away. He put it instead in his back pocket, stretching his shirt in a way that told me everything underneath it was just as perfect as always. I did not care.
    “When I first saw you last night, I thought we could be friends.” Somehow my voice didn’t give away how blindsided my insides felt. “Now I don’t think that’s a great idea.”
    His mouth pressed into a line. “Because of Julian?”
    “Because of you. You’re different now.” I thought about it and added. “Or maybe it’s like you said last night, you were never the person I thought you were.”
    His head dropped and for a moment, neither of us spoke. His eyes traveled from the space between us to my hands then up to mine again. That damn Kyser blue, the same intense color that was so full of love when it met me from Julian’s face. It was full of suspicion or annoyance when it came from