Riding Jamie (Montgomery Dreams #1)

Chapter Seventeen

OAKLEY

Let the record show that I am not one for Black Friday shopping.

Shopping in general? Totally fine, even fun for the most part. But wading through crowds of people ready to fistfight over the latest smart toaster? Not really my scene.

Actually, I don’t really think that my mom or Maggie are all that excited about it, either, but it’s better than being at home right now. Dad is…less than pleased with my choice to get back together with Jamie. Thanksgiving was a chillier affair than usual because of that, not to mention that Maggie is still in trouble for sneaking out the night of the party.

So, no matter how much we didn’t care about stalking the sales, when Mom suggested we head over to the next town over to go shopping, both Maggie and I jumped at the opportunity.

At the very least, we can get lunch at that little Mediterranean place Mom loves so much.

“Maggie, don’t you think this would be nice for school?” she asks.

She’s holding up a striped sweater that both Maggie and I can agree is atrocious, which says a lot, because I think her fashion sense is insane. She makes a disgusted face and turns away without even answering Mom. I swat her on the side of the head lightly for the attitude, but I can’t help laughing.

“Maybe let’s go for something that a history professor wouldn’t wear?” I suggest, taking the sweater from my mom and putting it back on the rack.

“Maybe let’s go for a store that doesn’t smell like old lady perfume?” Maggie tosses over her shoulder archly.

My mom sighs, but there’s a twinkle of affection in her eyes. I hope I was a little less of a brat to her when I was Maggie’s age, but I doubt it.

“Alright, kiddo, lead the way.”

Maggie almost immediately takes off toward the door, leading us straight out of the store we’re in and down the street toward somewhere that’s pumping loud music and reeks of bad cologne. My mom and I both wrinkle our noses, making a silent decision to stay outside and find something else to look through while Maggie winds through the crowds in there.

“What about you, honey?” my mom asks as we idly browse through a rack of gaudy dresses outside a boutique a bit down the road.

I hum inquisitively, burying my attention in the rack so I don’t have to look her in the eyes.

“Do you want any new clothes for school? I know Kathy said she took you shopping a few times, but I want to make sure you have everything you want,” she says. “I’m sure the fashion out there is a bit different from here.”

I snort at that, shaking my head in amusement.

“Trust me, I have no interest in dressing like most New Yorkers my age do.”

She grins at me, a relieved light in her eyes. I’m perfectly happy with being comfortable at home and presentable at work. I like clothes that look good on me and are a reasonable price, not clothes that make a statement , or whatever the fashion nerds in New York say.

“That’s good to hear,” she says with a teasing grin. “When are you going back?”

I swallow hard, pulling a dress out to look over it consideringly just to give myself a moment to figure out what to say.

“Uh, not until after Christmas,” I say brightly. “You’ll have me for the whole holiday season.”

My eyes are a little too wide and my voice is a bit tight, my smile wobbly. Thankfully, my mom is busy looking at a rather nice leather jacket that’s discounted heavily.

“That’s good to hear,” she says. “Spring semester doesn’t start until after New Years, right? You should stay for that, too.”

“Yeah, I can do that.” I put the dress back, debating whether I should tell her now or wait until we’re back home and I can break the news to everyone. The impulsive part of me wants to blurt it out, but that’s probably not the best idea. “I’m actually still waiting to figure out my spring semester schedule, so I’m not really sure on dates yet.”

That’s as close to the truth as I can bear to get right now.

My mom raises her head, a confused light in her eyes. She’s opening her mouth to say something when my eyes slide past her and land on a face I don’t expect to see.

“ Shane ?”

It’s not a mistake this time, Shane is really on the other side of the street, looking down at his phone. His head whips up at the sound of his name, and his eyes widen in first shock and then excitement when he sees me. He raises his hand in a thrilled wave and bounces across the street, a wide smile stretching his cheeks.

“Oakley, what are you doing here?” he asks, wrapping me up in a hug.

I go stiff immediately, but force myself to pat his back before pulling away.

“What are you doing here?” I ask with a baffled laugh.

Maggie rejoins us at that moment, shoving her way in between me and Shane rudely. She’s laden with bags and absolutely stinks of the perfumed air from that store, but I’m grateful to have her acting as a barrier nonetheless. I’m totally unprepared to see Shane here, and a little distance is definitely a good thing.

Does this mean that I actually did see Shane at the party last week?

“They didn’t have the sweater I wanted in my size,” she says, raking her eyes over Shane with a sneer on her face. “Who’s this guy?”

I stomp on her foot as subtly as I can, flashing her a look that begs her to behave for once. She meets that look with one of her own, full of disdain and disapproval. My face flames when she glances between Shane and I suspiciously, her brow twitching in an unspoken question.

“Shane is my coworker,” I say firmly, my face set in a warning when I look at Maggie. “We’re both interns with Uncle Ricky.”

“ Right ,” Maggie drawls.

Shane’s lips twitch in a confused grin, and he looks from me to Maggie and back again.

“Just coworkers?” he asks, raising a brow.

Panic rips through me like fire, and I’m terrified at the thought that he’ll bring up the single awkward kiss we shared. It’s still kind of a tender subject between Jamie and I, and the last thing I need is for Maggie to bring it up to piss him off.

“I thought we were friends, Oakley, that hurts.” He grins as he says it, and reaches out to rap his knuckles against my arm in a teasing punch. “You’ve only been gone a few weeks, did I really mean so little to you?”

I laugh anxiously, scratching at the back of my neck. I know he only means it jokingly, but both my mom and Maggie are looking at him intensely. I don’t like the looks on either of their faces. Maggie’s brows are scrunched up in suspicious reproach, and I’m starting to think she’s going to bring Shane up as a genuine concern rather than just a way to piss Jamie off, which is about a hundred times worse. My mom, though, is all sparkly eyed and asking him about school and shooting me curious glances.

“I’ve got some family around here,” Shane says, smiling warmly at my mom. “I didn’t realize Oakley lived so close, we didn’t talk much about where we came from.”

Mom snorts out a scolding little huff in my direction, grinning nonetheless.

“Well, we’re all getting together tomorrow night for dinner, why don’t you stop by?” she asks.

My eyes blow wide and my mouth drops open in total shock. I know I didn’t tell her anything about Shane and I, but this is absolutely the worst idea she’s ever had. Putting him and Jamie in the same room is going to be nothing short of catastrophic.

Before I have a chance to find a reason to protest, Shane’s smile blooms and he nods excitedly.

“I’d love to!” he says. “Oakley always talked so highly of you and her dad, it’d be a pleasure to get to know the two of you.”

My mom titters a laugh, color high in her cheeks. She’s obviously charmed by him, and I’m just standing here, blindsided, with no idea of what to do.

“I mean, only if you’re okay with it, Oakley,” he says, his brows raised guilelessly. “I don’t want to crash your holiday.”

I stumble over my words, but I just don’t have a reasonable excuse to say no to him. I force my face to settle into a warm smile, shaking my head.

“No, it’d be nice to have you come by,” I insist.

The words sound fake even to my ears, but Shane smiles brightly at hearing them. Maggie shoots me a confused look, and I’m sure she’ll shower me with a million invasive questions that I don’t really have answers to as soon as we get home.

“I’ll see you guys tomorrow, then!” Shane says, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Oakley, can you text me the time and address? I have to get back to my cousin.”

“Sure,” I agree, raising my hand to wave as he steps away.

“It was great to meet you all!”

He fades back into the crowd, but my head is still spinning. I’m pretty sure I mentioned being from Montana at least once. Surely he would have said something if he’s from here, too? He even texted me saying he hoped I had a good holiday trip. If he knew I was from here and he had plans to come back, why didn’t he say anything?

Maybe I just forgot. It’s not like I didn’t have plenty to think about while I was in New York.

Regardless, this is going to go badly. Like, really, really badly. I should probably tell Jamie tonight when we get back home, but he’s not going to be happy about it.

God forbid I have a relaxing holiday season.