His smile fades into something warm and soft. “I’m sorry, but it’s not your fault. He and your roommate… People like that are masters of manipulation, and you always see the best in people.”
“Clearly that got me in trouble.”
He reaches for me. I see it happening in slow motion, but at the moment, I feel removed from my body. He cups my arm with his hand. “I can help.”
I scoff. “What are you going to do?Stealmy identity back? It can’t be undone. And no offense, but you’re not doing very well at your job currently.” I use the same words he spoke to me in the sauna.
His lips twitch, and he boxes me in against the giant treasure chest behind me. “Most jobs don’t include a feisty nanny.”
That feels oddly like a compliment. I was the self-nominated good girl in high school and proud of it. But things change, and one must adapt or die. I’m still trying my hardest to adjust to all the changes as of late and get my life back on track.
“I’m more than a thief,” Soren says, his head and his voice both dipping lower. “Not to brag, but I have an impressive skill set.”
At this moment, with his lips so close, I’m only thinking of one specific skill.
“L-like what?” My pulse races in my ears making my thoughts fuzzy.
He lifts a hand to my face, his fingers skimming my cheek as he brushes my ear once more.
He’s going to kiss me. It’s a given, as inevitable as snow in the winter, blooming flowers in the spring. He tilts his chin, his lips a daring six inches from my own. As I look into his eyes, the holiday lights around us dim in the background until they are blinking stars on the edge of my periphery.
“I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you. I’m a thief, Maya.” His eyes dart to my lips, and my heart kicks up a notch. He smirks as if he can hear the uncertain thumping in my chest, and he wants me to be afraid of him. “A crimin—”
He clamps his lips closed, unable to say the word.
I grab his wrist, keeping him here in this moment, before I lose him to his own fears. “You’re still trying to convince me you’re bad, when I’ve known from the start it’s all an act.”
His expression shifts, struggling between being offended and curious. “And what am I trying to hide exactly?”
“That you care.” My voice is barely a whisper. “More than you want to. More than you should. You want the world to be a better place than the one you had to face. But you don’t think you deserve to enjoy it. Only everyone else.”
He pulls back six heart-wrenching inches. “IknowI don’t deserve it.”
I shake my head, puffing out an annoyed breath. He’s still the same in this way. “Stop throwing yourself on your sword.” I let go of his wrist to shove his chest, and when he falls back, I advance on him, trying to drive this point homewith physical force if necessary. “You’re not perfect, but no one else is either. Allow yourself to feel for once. To let go andlive.”
Something akin to fire grows in his eyes, and for a moment, I worry he’s going to get upset. But I watch as that fire turns to intrigue, then back to fire as his gaze locks on my lips.
His head lowers; everything around us disappears. The world, the past—it’s all insignificant, unnecessary to this moment. Who cares that he broke my heart and left me shattered and he still won’t tell me why? Who cares that he might be exactly the dangerous thief he claims to be? One kiss, that’s it. That’s all I want, and then I’ll move on. I’ll plant him and this ridiculous charade firmly in the past, and I’ll forget once and for all.
My hand finds his chest, and I flatten my palm over his heart.
His eyes are hooded, and he exhales.
“Maya… I…” But his words trail off as his head dips.
I arch on my toes, trying to erase the distance time has put between us. My heart beats so loud I fear he can hear it, but it matches the unsteady tempo in his chest. Wild. Anxious.
“Hey, guys, whatcha doing?” Arabella pops out of the fake treasure chest.
I scream.
Soren stumbles backward, falling over the unicorn and flipping face-first into the kiddie pool. The splash of water effectively erases the romantic moment, along with the scowl on Soren’s face when he drags his dripping self out of the water.
“You really need to get your own pool, man.” Arabella sighs.
“How long have you been in there?” I turn on her.
She grins. “Long enough to wait for the perfect time to scare you.”
