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“The truth. Tell me what’s going on.”
“What makes you think anything is going on. I just forgot to pick you up this morning because it wasn’t routine, and I didn’t actually think you were coming to dinner. I thought you were joking.”
He shook his head, eyes steady on hers. “You’re hiding something. I can tell.”
“How? You barely even know me.”
He reached out to her, placing his fingers on the side of her throat, then spreading them until his entire hand covered the side of her neck. An electric current zipped in her veins, and her breathing hitched. The desire to pull away and the urge to move closer waged a war inside her.
“What are you doing?”
“The pulse in your neck jumps when you’re nervous. I’d like to say it was just from me, but I think it’s more than that. Instinct tells me you’re hiding something.”
She said nothing for a moment as her nerves twisted in her stomach, and the warmth of his touch seared into her skin. Her eyes locked on his, and she realized for reasons unknown to her, she trusted him. Something about him put her on edge and at ease simultaneously, a feeling she shouldn’t enjoy but did.
The urge to share the burden of the letters and the secret placed in her lap burned through every fiber of her being. But Kaden was a huge risk. After all, what did she really know about him? She had never spoken to him until that night in the park, and their relationship—if you could call it that—had sprung up on her so fast.
“I...” She trailed off, unsure of how much to share, unsure of where to start.
“What is it?” He removed his hand from her neck, allowing her more space and air to breathe. Time to collect her thoughts. But the distance, the separation, knocked her back into reality. Her grandmother’s handwriting, Greg Lawson’s murder, and the old man with the journal flashed through her head like a precautionary sign. Tell no one.
“I can’t tell you. I can’t tell anyone.” Running a hand through her thick locks, Abby sighed, stood, and stepped around him. “Yes, it’s the reason I was late today and totally flaked on picking you up for school. It’s the reason I took zero calc notes and did little classwork. I’m pretty sure I failed an elementary health quiz today. It’s all I can think about. But I can’t tell you what it is. I’m sorry.”
She stared at him, fully expecting him to leave, but he didn’t. Instead, he motioned toward the door. “I have my book bag outside. Maybe you won’t let me help you with
your secret, but I can help you with calculus.”
Before she could say anything, he got up and left the room, returning two minutes later with his backpack in hand. In one smooth motion, he slung it to the floor and unzipped it, then dug through the contents until he pulled out his notes.
“I made you copies,” he said, holding them out.
Abby blinked at him, a surge of gratitude warming her from the inside out. “Is that what you were doing at the library?”
“Maybe.” He smirked at her, as she took them.
Their fingers brushed for the briefest of moments; the butterflies in her stomach flew into a frenzy.
He bent back over his bookbag, searching for something else and pulled out his calculus textbook. “I figured we could do tonight’s homework together, too. Since you didn’t do the classwork, I thought you could use the help.”
“That’d be great.”
Grateful and having no idea what to do with herself, she relaxed onto her bed, taking a seat in the very spot he had occupied minutes ago when they first entered her room. She eyed him on the bed as they worked. Would she smell him on her bedspread when she went to sleep tonight?
She wasn’t sure what to think of the charming, confident boy who teased and prodded. But the boy with the burning brown eyes, the soft smile, and the desire to help her without having to ask was a mystery.
Who was this Kaden Oliver? And where had he come from?
CHAPTER TEN
Late. Again.
Abigail floored the gas. “You have got to be kidding me!”
At this rate, Kaden would never speak to her. All things considered, that was probably better for him, seeing as how she was turning into a complete lunatic. Might be better for her, too. He did weird things to her insides.
Why had she agreed to pick him up again?
She pulled up to the curb in front of Kaden’s house twenty minutes late and hopped out of the car. Rounding the front of the Beetle, she sprinted her skinny jean-clad legs up his yard, to his front door where she rang the doorbell.
