Free B0161IZ63U (A) by Trevion Burns Page A

he would’ve refused to come. 
    The last time he’d seen Lila, hatred and anger had exploded to life from both of them.  It had taken flight like Fourth of July fireworks, and their fireworks weren’t the kind people watched in amazed awe either.  Their fireworks were the kind that went bad while they festered in the pack. The kind that, upon being lit, immediately ran amuck, exploding at all angles, leaving any innocent soul in their path in danger of being burned to a crisp. 
    Now, as his eyes held hers, Jack just looked downright conflicted.  As if he were wondering whether he should find the nearest exit and run, or zero in on Lila so they could start Round 101 of the battle they’d been entrenched in since the moment they’d met.
    He allowed Kelly to drag him down the stairs of the deck and straight towards Lila and Chelsea.
    As they approached, he did everything he could to look at anyone and anything but Lila, even when Kelly brought them both to a stop in front of her.
    “Hi, you must be Lila,” Kelly said, holding out her hand with a smile.  Her smile was luminous and only made her blue eyes more beautiful.
    Lila’s eyes widened in Kelly’s.  After the scene she’d caused at her engagement dinner, Lila was shocked that this woman could greet her so kindly. 
    It sent Lila awash with a feeling of unease, but she managed to work passed her shock and put her hand in Kelly’s, hoping there wasn’t a dagger hiding inside her palm.
    There wasn’t.  Her skin was soft.
    Did Jack like that about her?  Lila despised the thought the moment it blazed through her mind.
    “Yes, I’m Lila.  Lila James.  And you must be Kelly. I’ve heard…” Her eyes moved to Jack, who was still doing everything he could to look away. “A lot about you.”
    “I’ve heard a lot about you, too,” Kelly said, reclaiming her hand and wrapping it around Jack’s waist.
    Lila watched that hand, finding herself loathing the feelings it immediately brought alive in her.  “You’re the youngest tenured professor on campus, and your sister here is the second youngest.” Lila nudged Chelsea.
    Chelsea forced a smile.  Clearly this awkward situation had become too much to bear, even for Lila’s normally talkative friend.
    Kelly tightened her hand around Jack’s waist, shaking him. He was still doing everything he could to look off. 
    “Someone’s been doing her research on me,” Kelly said.
    Lila nodded, motioning to Chelsea. “Two tenured professors at Harvard, both under fifty.  Your parents did a stand-up job.  They should write a book.”
    They all laughed.
    Jack had yet to look at Lila.
    She didn’t look at him, either, focusing on Kelly.  “I actually just finished your bookthe other night.”  She struggled to recall the title.  “ The Blackbird’s Secret?”
    Kelly cringed.  “My worst work, by far.”
    Lila knew Kelly had dozens of books published, a feat she could only dream of reaching one day.  “Well, I thought it was lovely.”
    “How many books have you written?”  Kelly asked.
    “Just one,” Lila answered.  “It’s a book I wrote on children’s mental disorders.  It’s called The Last Normal Child.”
    Kelly tilted her head.  “I’ve never heard of it.”
    Lila forced a smile.  “I’m actually working on the manuscript for my second book right now.  It should be done by summer’s end.”
    “Ah…” Kelly let a silence dip in, allowing Lila’s one book inferiority to take center stage.  For an aspiring assistant professor at Harvard, having only one published novel wasn’t just a joke, it was unheard of.  Lila was one of few lecturers on campus who’d gotten the job with just one book under her belt.  She’d been working her fingers bloody to finish her second manuscript. To catch up to the great minds she was surrounded with every day. It always felt like she was drowning while trying to swim upstream, constantly struggling to keep her head above water.  To