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The intense look in his eyes made her swallow hard. "And you're more than a man I just had a one-night stand with, which is why I think you should go home and forget we ever met again. You may not believe me, but I'm not just trying to protect myself, I'm also trying to protect you."
"I can take care of myself."
"When I tell you the same thing, you don't believe me," she said dryly.
The tension in his jaw eased. "I know," he admitted. "But that's different."
She sighed, then got to her feet. "I should get dinner started. Megan is probably hungry."
"I'd like to stay."
"Why?"
"Because we're not done yet."
"I'm done answering questions for now. If you want to stay for dinner, fine, but it won't be much."
"I don't need much."
"I have to call my mother back first." She picked up the television remote and handed it to him.
"Ria—I'm sorry I listened to your message. That was wrong."
"Thank you, but I probably would have done the same if our positions were reversed," she admitted. She took her phone into the bedroom and closed the door.
Megan was sitting on the bed with her computer in front of her and headphones on. She pulled out the earpieces and gave Ria a questioning look.
"I told Drew that you're my niece, that your parents were killed in an accident, nothing else," she said.
"That's a lot," Megan said, surprise in her eyes.
"I had to say something. He's relentless."
"He likes you. And he seems like a good guy." Megan frowned. "Although, he did spy on your phone, which is weird."
"I made him way too curious." Ria sat down on the edge of the bed. "I don't know what I'm going to do about him. I know you don't want to hear this, but the best thing for us to do would be to disappear."
Megan immediately shook her head. "No way."
"After the prom," she said.
"No. I'm not leaving San Francisco. I want to stay with my friends and with Eric. I want to graduate from the school I'm in now. I don't want to start over again from scratch. We have a life here, and I don't think Drew would do anything to hurt you or me."
"He's a link to my past. And even if he didn't do anything intentionally, if anyone put us together—"
"Who would do that?" Megan challenged.
"I don't know," she admitted, but she couldn't shake the feeling that keeping Drew in her life was a dangerous idea.
"Maybe you're just afraid you're going to like him too much," Megan suggested. "Maybe that's the real reason you want to run."
Her niece had a point.
"Would it really be so bad if you let yourself care about someone?" Megan asked.
"We may not be able to stay here, Megan. I know you don't want to face that fact, but it's there. And while I want you to have as normal a life as possible, I need to stay vigilant, and I might not be able to do that if I let myself get distracted."
"Drew is distracting," Megan said with a smile. "I mean, seriously, Ria, have you ever dated someone that attractive before?"
"He would be at the top of the list, but that's beside the point."
"I think you should give him a chance." She paused. "Is he gone?"
"No, I had promised him dinner before he picked up my phone. So I'm going to keep my promise. But I need to call my mother back, so can you entertain him for a few minutes? Preferably without any stories from the past?"
"Sure. What do you think your mom wants?"
Ria heard the edge of bitterness in Megan's voice when she emphasized the word your, and she couldn't blame her niece for having hard feelings towards her grandmother. Megan had never met her grandmother, but obviously Kate had filled her daughter's head with long lists of her mother's flaws. Kate had picked sides in their family a long time ago, and her sister's side had always been with their father, not their mother.
"I don't know what she wants, but we agreed to speak only every three months, so I need to make sure nothing is wrong."
"I'd tell you to say hello for me, but I don't think she'd care."
"She does care, Megan, and the fact that you've never met her is not all her fault."
