The Weight of Words (The WORDS Series) Read Online Free Page B

old-fashioned, I guess, but better than the alternative, which would have been way worse.”
    He cocked his head as if he expected me to explain myself. The chiseled perfection of his jaw up close obliterated my ability to think straight, but I stupidly barreled on anyway.
    “Honeysuckle,” I explained. “It’s my mother’s favorite plant. My dad swears she wanted to call me that. Honeysuckle Price. Sounds a bit like a stripper’s name, right?”
    I have no idea what possessed me to share this story or to ask him such a stupid question, but he nodded, seeming to give serious thought to the issue.
    “I imagine it would have been an interesting name to endure.”
    I swallowed and shifted my weight, wondering if I should assure him that I wasn’t a stripper and had no aspirations of ever becoming one. Luckily for me, he spoke first.
    “So based on your exchange with Professor Brown yesterday, I gather you two are acquainted?” he said.
    “Yes, this is my third time in his class. Not the same class of course—I passed the other two—which were two different courses and this one’s different as well.”
    I realized with horror that I’d become as inarticulate as Cara Switzer. But in my defense, he was gazing at me with those fathomless blue eyes and speaking to me with those delicious full lips…
    “You’ll have to excuse me,” I said. “I can’t seem to think straight this morning. I didn’t get much sleep, not because, you know…” Oh my God! “Well, I had a—well, rough night—and oh man, I need a coffee.”
    I clamped my mouth shut, figuring I’d better quit while I was ahead. But then the heavens opened and a choir of angels sang because he smiled at me, and he had these cute wrinkles around his eyes and the most gorgeous dimple puckered his right cheek. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
    “Don’t worry,” he assured me, leaning forward. “I feel your pain. I was in a rush to get here and missed my chance to grab coffee. I must look like I’ve been dragged through a hedge backwards.”
    I smiled at his choice of expressions, exactly the sort of thing Granddad Price used to say. I remembered Dean Grant once mentioning his wife’s English background. Perhaps Daniel had an English grandfather who used silly expressions too.
    “Hmm, well, it can be tricky getting into a routine at the beginning of a new semester,” I said. “I’m sure you’ve got lots of intro stuff to deal with, right?”
    “Yes, if it’s not one thing it’s another.” He breathed out like he was preparing to end the conversation. I wasn’t ready for the exchange to end, though, so I tried to think of something else to say. This was tricky. Because of my nosiness yesterday, I knew things about him I wasn’t supposed to know. I couldn’t exactly say, “And how is the Beemer? Did you wash it this morning? What about Penny, is she having any luck finding something to wear for Valentine’s Day?”
    Thankfully my synapses reconnected. “I work for your dad over at Vic College, by the way,” I said as casually as possible.
    His eyebrows shot up, and he pulled his head back sharply. Guess he didn’t see that coming. That made two of us. “Really?” he asked, his voice rising at least an octave higher than normal. “In what capacity?”
    “I guess you’d say I’m a liaison between your father and various student groups on campus—” I started to explain but was interrupted by my phone ringing. It was Julie.
    “Excuse me for a sec. I need to grab this,” I said, holding up my cell phone. He nodded, sauntering back over to the tutorial room doorway.
    “Hey, girlfriend, I’m a loser,” Julie groaned. “I just woke up. You’re there, right? You’re such a trooper. Is it crazy busy?”
    “Yes, I’m here, and no, it’s not too bad at all. I guess it’s a class of slackers. Present company included, you lazy ass. But it’s not quite nine yet. I figure the rush is on the way, so you’d better