“No, because then that means you’ll be leaving.” I looked down into the purple murkiness of my solo cup, suddenly feeling dark and moody, which was so not me. “I don’t want the shoot to end. Ever.”
He hooked a finger under my chin and lifted it up until I looked into his eyes. There was such tender emotion there, it took my breath away. With a tensing of the little muscle between his eyebrows, he softly cleared his throat.
“I don’t want it to end, either, but I’m not sure how much longer I can do this.”
My heart was pounding a techno rhythm. “Do what?”
He pursed his lips slightly. “Pretend like I don’t have feelings for you. Feelings that I shouldn’t have for a coworker.”
I smiled as confetti cans and cheers went off inside my head. We’d already confessed our feelings to each other, but it was still nice to hear aloud that I was driving the boy crazy. “Yeah, talking on the phone every night probably isn’t helping.”
“No, it’s not. But I don’t want to stop.”
He dropped his finger from my chin and stared at me for a long second. I could tell the wheels were turning behind those blue eyes of his, but I wasn’t sure what he was thinking.
He swallowed hard, his eyes darting back and forth between mine. “What if...what if we agree to at least be friends? I can’t promise more than that, but I’d at least like to spend some more time with you before I leave town.”
My gaze drifted toward the windows, where I knew Charlotte and Beth sat just out of sight. They couldn’t see us, which meant they couldn’t be here to keep my heart from skipping and leaping into Zane’s arms. I’d entered da
ngerous territory.
Maybe being friends wasn’t exactly everything I wanted with Zane, but it was better than just coworkers. And safer than letting my heart run away with him completely. It was a compromise. I could deal with that.
“What about your dad?” I asked, chewing on my bottom lip.
“He doesn’t have to know.” Zane smiled as if he didn’t have a care in the world and then tucked a strand of hair so gently behind my ear it made me shiver. “We’re only in town for just one more week. And most of my scenes are done. Allen only needs me for a couple more. I’ll have more free time. I want to spend it with you.”
“Are you sure...?”
His brow lowered as he stared into my eyes. “Yes. I feel like you already know me better than anyone else in my life. I want to be friends with you, Lexi. Even if that’s all I can offer at this time. Secret friends. Is that okay?”
A reluctant smile worked its way onto my mouth. How could I say no to that face? He was looking at me in a way that stripped me to the bone and pushed any objections out of my head. He was right. We’d connected on a level that was almost magical. It would be a shame to throw that all away. To not spend what time we had left together.
So what if he had a contract? We were just going to be friends. Nothing more. And if no one found out, he wouldn’t be breaking his part of the deal. He would still look like a bachelor to the media. And then, he’d be out of Rock Valley and that would be the end of it anyway. A week spent together maybe didn’t sound like much, but it was enough. No regrets. That’s the way I wanted to live, too.
I was sold.
“Okay, what do secret friends do together?” I asked, grinning up at him.
He smiled back at me, victory flashing in his eyes. “Maybe you happen to be studying at a table at the library and I just happen to sit at the one next to you... Libraries are places people study with their friends, right? It’s totally innocent.”
I bit my bottom lip briefly. “I do have to get some studying in for Lit class or I’m going to be screwed next week.”
“That’s perfect.” He grabbed a tendril of my hair and playfully wrapped it around his finger. “You do homework and I’ll watch you doing your homework. It’s a date.” I arched an eyebrow at him and he chuckled. “A date between friends. Trust me. You won’t regret this.”
For some reason, the words exposure therapy flashed in neon pink inside my mind at that moment and sizzled out into darkness. I was pretty sure it was the death of Beth’s grand plan to make me immune to Zane. I should’ve known it would be an impossible feat.
I liked this much better. Friends. We were friends. Zane was only in town for a short while. It wasn’t like we could cause a lot of damage in that time. This was the best compromise for all of us.
I was a woman dying of thirst in the Sahara and friendship with Zane was the glass of water that was going to help me survive. No one could blame me for taking that deal. Not even Beth.
As if on cue, at that moment the door to the kitchen opened. Zane pushed past me to put his cup in the trash can beneath the sink.
I blinked innocently at Charlotte and Beth as they strolled inside. “Hey, girls!”
The suspicious look they gave me rolled right off my shoulders. I had a study date with Zane tomorrow. Nothing could pull me down at this moment.
“See you outside,” I said, sidestepping them to head to the door. I wasn’t going to linger around for them to corner me alone. Zane followed close behind. He was probably feeling the same way.