“Is this because Paul didn’t ask you himself?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” But even as she denied it, heat surged into Lia’s cheeks.
“I knew it,” Ethan said, looking concerned. “I knew something was going on between you two.”
“It’s not like that.” Even as she spoke, Lia could see that protesting was a waste of breath.
“It’s exactly like that. Paul is attracted to you. And it looks as if his feelings are reciprocated.”
“Well, yes. But it’s just...” She’d almost said sex. “It’s nothing serious.”
“Are you sure?”
Lia fidgeted with her phone. “We’re not in the least compatible.”
“Here’s where you’re making assumptions. Has it occurred to you that he doesn’t need someone who’s like him, but someone who balances him? Someone who’s lively and impulsive and knows exactly how to get him out of his head?”
The picture Ethan painted was tempting. Being the yin to Paul’s yang appealed to Lia in every way. And it worked in the confines of their secret relationship. Taking things public would bring a whole new series of challenges.
“It might be good for him short-term,” she said. “But in the end what he needs is a serious girlfriend. Someone who matches his ambition and his background. Someone he can be proud of.”
“You don’t think he can be proud of you?” Ethan asked, sounding surprised.
“Look at me.” Lia gestured at her denim shorts and graphic T-shirt with its yoga-inspired pun. “I don’t bring anything to the table.”
“You shouldn’t underestimate yourself,” Ethan said. “I think you are one of the kindest, most delightful people I’ve ever met.”
Lia forced a laugh. “Paul would say eccentric, impractical and frivolous.”
“Maybe that’s exactly what he needs.”
“It would never work between us long-term,” Lia said, musing that in her own way, she was as skittish about emotional entanglements as Paul.
Where he closed himself down and focused on work, she flitted from town to town, never really investing herself in any significant relationships. She was a butterfly. He was a rock. They couldn’t possibly work.
“You matter to him,” Ethan argued. “I just don’t think he’s figured out what to do about the way he’s feeling. Give him time to adjust. He’s never fallen in love before.”
Ethan’s words electrified Lia, stopping her heart. She pressed her shaking hands between her thighs, terrified that if she bought into Ethan’s claim that she would only end up getting hurt. Yet even as she forced herself to be practical, her heart clamored for her to stay in Charleston and be with Paul. Be with him for how long?
“Do you know if he’s still investigating me?” she asked, noting that the question surprised Ethan.
“He hasn’t said anything. Why do you ask?”
As fast as she was falling for Paul, she needed to know if what was in her past would cause Paul to reject her.
“Paul has made it perfectly clear that he thinks I agreed to pretend to be your cousin because I’m up to no good.”
“I’m pretty sure he’s changed his mind on that score.”
“Maybe.” In fact, Lia wanted that to be true because she hated to think that his doubts shadowed the moments she’d spent in his arms. “But I’m afraid he might discover something about me that he won’t like.”
Ethan frowned. “What sort of something?”
Lia gathered a bracing breath and began to explain about the man who’d swindled people out of hundreds of millions of dollars. Peter Thompson.
Her grandfather.
Ten