Flight Risk (Antiques in Flight) by Nicole Helm

Trevor never lied to her. Callie took an unsteady breath. “He said I was beautiful when I was happy.”
    Em issued one of those little aw noises, and Callie scowled.
    “Then what?” Em demanded, leaning forward in her seat. Her to-do list balanced precariously on her knees, but she didn’t notice. “Tell me.”
    “Then…” Callie’s eyebrows knit together, the memory of being so close to Trevor clogging her lungs all over again. She looked down at her knees, tried to focus on the here and now, but the memory took over, causing her hands to tremble just a little.
    It had felt like an eternity standing there, eyes locked to Trevor’s. His breath had been warm on her skin, her heart had sped up at the proximity of their bodies, but she hadn’t been able to break the moment until he had. “He almost basically kissed me.” Exasperated, Callie looked up at Em. “Why would he do that?”
    Em’s smile was sympathetic. “You don’t want me to answer that.”
    Callie looked down at her knees. Come to think of it, she probably wouldn’t like any answer to that question. “No, I don’t.”
    “What’s next?”
    “Nothing. Nothing happened and nothing is going to.”
    “Why not?”
    Because I’m scared. Because I’m unsure. Because I’m not what he needs/deserves/wants. But none of those reasons spilled out. Callie’s throat closed so she couldn’t squeak a word.
    “You need to figure it out. September will be here soon enough.”
    Trevor’s impending departure was as much a reason as all the others. Trevor was the only man she’d ever wanted a future with and the only way to ensure that future was to remain friends. If they made it into something more and then he left, it would all be over.
    Keeping him at arm’s length wasn’t a wall. It was what had to be done. Callie was positive Trevor would be feeling the exact same way.

Chapter Seven
    “Are you sure I need this much hairspray?”
    Trevor stifled a yawn as Em put the finishing touches on Shelby’s prom ensemble. The whole thing was taking forever, and he didn’t know why he was being forced into the role of audience. A teenager getting all dressed up for some dance wasn’t his idea of Saturday night entertainment.
    Then again, the options in Pilot’s Point weren’t any more fascinating than this.
    Still, he really really hated when they asked for his opinion. What did he know about dresses or makeup or up-dos? Zilch. When he was eighteen he certainly hadn’t noticed his date’s hair or makeup. He’d had other things on his mind, and the thought of those things made Trevor sink farther into the couch and scowl.
    “If you want to make it through the dance without a hair out of place we’ll need one more spray.” Em’s tongue pressed to the corner of her mouth as she worked to secure Shelby’s hair.
    “If you used the earth killing kind of hairspray, it’d probably only need one coat.” Callie earned a warning look from Em.
    Trevor snuck a glance at Callie, who sat on the same couch as him but as far away as she could get. Two weeks since their weird, pseudo-kiss moment and they hadn’t found even footing.
    Somewhere in the rational side of his mind he knew he should broach the subject with her. It was the not talking about it that was making things so weird. Unfortunately, his rational side hadn’t been able to coordinate with his mouth yet.
    “There.” Em looked expectantly at the two-person audience on the couch.
    Trevor straightened, searched for the right words. A compliment, he assumed, was expected. “Uh, you look nice.”
    Em rolled her eyes. “Nice?” Em turned to face Shelby and took her by the shoulders. “Shelby, you look gorgeous.” Em’s reassuring smile had Trevor relaxing a little bit. Maybe he sucked at the whole prom thing, but at least he had someone in tow that could give Shelby what she needed.
    “Blue was a much better choice than yellow.” Shelby turned to smirk at Callie, but it lacked the kind of