Her Secret Life

For the first time that evening, Kacey was afraid.

* * *

MICHAEL WAS SO busy focusing on his need to get away from Kacey for a few minutes so he could quit thinking about how sexy she looked and get back on track that he failed to miss the change in her.

“What’s wrong?” she said.

There was fear in her voice.

He turned to her immediately. “Nothing,” It was the first thing that came to mind. Nothing that mattered. Nothing that needed to make her the least bit uncomfortable. “Seriously, Kace, everything’s fine.”

As soon as he had a chance to let his momentary physical discomfort subside, he’d be fine.

“Don’t lie to me, Michael. Please.”

He looked her right in the eye. “Nothing’s wrong.”

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“Then why do you look like you’re about to take flight? If you don’t want to be here, you just have to say so. We’re good that way, right?”

“Right.” Now what in the hell was he supposed to do? Take flight? Or stay? How could he tell her that he wanted to leave when that was the last thing he wanted to do?

“You want to turn in?” If he could just get to her sister’s bedroom...read some news on his phone...unwind from the crazy night...

Her frown didn’t bode well. For either of them.

“If you aren’t going to tell me what’s going on, then maybe you should go.”

No! Not like that. The last thing he wanted was to hurt her.

“Kace...”

“I mean it, Michael. Either you’re honest with me or I don’t want you here.”

He stood. She was probably right. It was best that he go. But when he looked at her and she immediately closed her eyes, he knew that to leave then would be an admission that he wasn’t willing to be honest with her.

And without honesty, their odd relationship was nothing but a sham.

He sat. Scrambled for a way out.

“I’m a man, Kace.” The words were asinine. Ludicrous.

But when she grinned, he wondered if he might just get to bed without mishap.

She was still curled up on herself as she said, “I hate to break it to you, but I figured that one out a while back.” Her expression sobered. But she was open to him. Meeting his gaze. He couldn’t give her cause to shut him out again.

“You’re a beautiful woman.” Hell, man, get the hell out of this.

“Okay.” She was watching him. And he knew the second that realization dawned. Her eyes grew wide. “You’re trying to tell me you have the hots for me?”

She wasn’t smiling, but she didn’t recoil, either.

Maybe it wouldn’t be as bad as he’d thought. Yeah, this could still be fine. “I am trying, somewhat desperately, not to tell you.”

She watched him, lips pursed. Her silence went on too long.

“I swear, Kace, I haven’t been ogling you all this time. Until tonight it was only fleeting moments. And then gone. It’s not like I want to act on it. I don’t. At all.” He put all the conviction he could into those words.