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And she was afraid it was something she’d done or said. Or not done or said. Noticing that she was hurting those she cared about was not her strong suit.
After almost an hour of walking along the shore in tennis shoes that were a bit damp and covered with sand, she made her way back up the beach. But she wasn’t ready to go home. While some of the tension had eased away, she had no answers for herself.
Was part of her problem the fact that she hadn’t told Bo about Michael? Was she being duplicitous?
Could a woman have a male friend and be in a relationship at the same time?
Was that her problem? Two men in her life?
Not that Michael was a man in her life. He was just a person in her life.
She cared about him. That was a no-brainer. He was genuinely fond of her, too, even knowing her shortcomings.
He liked her for who she was, not her looks or her fame. Lord knew he’d never seen her at her best. She didn’t fuss with her hair or makeup in Santa Raquel. Truth be known, she treated the town like she was going camping.
Bo would think something was wrong with her. He was used to waiting for her to do herself up before going out with him. But then, Bo wanted her as a man wanted a woman.
Michael was a friend. He wasn’t interested in her sexually.
Pulling her sweater down as close to the waistband of her jeans as it would go, she thought back to the scene in his office that morning.
Being interrupted.
Feeling guilty.
Like she and Michael had been having illicit sex.
She didn’t have sexual feelings for Michael. That was something she’d actually thought about. Something for which she was truly grateful. Her feelings for Michael were far too important to her to risk something as fleeting as sexual attraction.
Maybe that was it. Maybe it had been his story about Susan. Kacey had found it pretty unbelievable that the woman wouldn’t feel a sexual pull to a man as sexy as Michael Valentine.
And yet, here she was, being just like Susan.
Was that the problem? Was that why she was so bothered? How could she find fault with Susan when she was no different? For that matter, how could she so vehemently tell Michael that there was no way Susan could be normal and not be attracted to him if she wasn’t? Had she lied to Michael? Lost credibility with him?
That didn’t explain her feelings when he’d called, “Come in,” to the woman at his door.
Why had she gone after Susan so harshly? Defended his sexual allure so vehemently? How could she, if she didn’t feel it?
Her heart thumping, she turned from the parking lot and walked along the beach again. Dusk had fallen. It would be dark soon. She had to stay in sight of the parking lot or Lacey would kill her.
She was not sexually attracted to Michael.
She couldn’t be.
It would ruin everything.
* * *
MICHAEL’S PLANS FOR a quiet evening of hot dogs and video games with his brother, followed by a leisurely call with Kacey, were blown to hell by a phone call.
A client had been hacked. A big client. Customers’ personal information was vulnerable. An identity theft nightmare and millions in insurance liability were looming on the immediate horizon. He had to get to work. Immediately.
One screen wasn’t going to do it. His home server wasn’t going to do it. Just his fingers on the keyboards and his eyes on the screens weren’t enough. Making a couple of quick calls, he had some of his key analysts on their way to meet him at the office.
And then there was Willie. The kid had had a great week and was finally starting to relax a little. He wasn’t meeting his gaze directly, but Michael was pretty convinced that the kid was close. He’d gone from staring at his chest to glancing at his chin.
“You want to come along?” he asked. “You’re
