Page 23 of Her Forever SEAL

“They do when they're in love with them,” Cat said serenely.

“He's not in love with me. He doesn't even know me. He just—” Kayla stopped.

“Just what?” Mandy said, and there was a spark in it, something that was almost like her old self.

“He smiled at me,” Kayla said, which was not the whole truth but was enough of it. “Once. In the hallway. That's it. That is the entire situation.”

“What kind of smile?” Cat demanded.

“A normal smile.”

“Describe it.”

“Cat—”

“Kayla. Describe the smile.”

Kayla pressed her lips together. Around the table Bree and Mandy were both watching her with the same expression, waiting. Bree was leaning forward slightly. Even the dimness had lifted a little.

“It was—” Kayla exhaled. “It was slow. Okay? It started on one side and then it was… I don't know. It was a slow smile. And he looked right at me.”

The table erupted. Cat's hand hit the surface. Bree covered her mouth. Mandy made a sound that was the realest sound she'd made all afternoon, genuine and bright and completely Mandy for about three seconds before something moved across her face like a cloud crossing the sun, and then she looked down at her textbook, and the highlighter was still sitting there uncapped, and the page still hadn't turned.

Nobody else noticed. They were all too busy reacting to the smile.

Kayla noticed.

She looked at Mandy for a moment, at the set of her shoulders, at the way she was gripping the edge of the textbook, at the smile she put back on when she looked up, which was good but not good enough, not for someone who had known her since first grade. Kayla felt something settle into place with a quiet certainty that had nothing to do with Connor or the spring dance or chapter fourteen.

Something was wrong with Mandy. Not tired wrong. Not having-a-bad-week wrong.

Something was really wrong.

And whatever it was, Mandy was carrying it alone.

Mr. Okafor appeared at the glass wall again, this time with the expression of a man who was not entirely sorry to be delivering bad news. He opened the door. “Ladies. We're closing the study rooms in ten minutes.”

They packed up. Cat recapped the debate about Connor as she stuffed her textbook into her bag, and Bree said something about the dance that made Cat squeal quietly, and Mandy laughed… kind of.

They filed out into the main library. Mr. Okafor smiled at them as they passed. Cat thanked him for the room with the particular warmth she turned on librarians and teachers and anyone who had done her a favor, and he looked pleased despite himself.

Outside, the late afternoon light was going gold and the parking lot was mostly empty and the walk to the bus stop was three blocks. Cat peeled off first, her mom was already waiting in a silver sedan at the curb. She hugged all three of them and said, “Kayla. The smile. Do not forget the smile,” before she got into the car.

Bree's phone buzzed. She looked at it and something flickered across her face, quick and indistinct, and she said, “That's weird, Mom says she’s running late.” Bree looked up at Mandy and Kayla with a worried expression.

“I wouldn’t worry,” Mandy said. “Something probably came up.”

Kayla didn’t say anything. In all the time she’d known Bree’s mom, she’d never run late or forgotten anything. This was just plain weird.

“If you want, you can call your mom back and you can catch a ride with us,” Kayla offered. “My mom won’t mind.”

“No.” Bree shook her head. “Mom said she should be here in five minutes.”

It was still weird as far as Kayla was concerned. If she really thought about it, Mrs. Bowman was usually early.

“Okay.” Kayla smiled brightly. Trying to stay upbeat so that Bree wouldn’t look so worried. They all waited. Then they saw the blue Subaru pull into the parking lot. Bree let out a relieved breath. “I’ll see you at school tomorrow,” she said before hurrying over to her mom’s car.

That left the two of them in the parking lot outside the library in the gold afternoon light.