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As Drew walked Mia to her car, he made sure to stay close enough for their arms to brush every few steps. He figured it was progress when she didn’t step away. The woman was a puzzle. At times, he didn’t think she wanted to be happy. Then he’d manage to coax a smile out of her and things went great for a few minutes, until something happened as if reminding her she needed to return to miserable. And she’d withdraw, starting the cycle over again.
He tried not to push, but the curiosity was killing him. He wanted to know why? Why did she shy away from pleasure? Why did she feel so convinced she had to be depressed? He guarded his words, measuring everything before he spoke, hoping he didn’t trigger another decline because, wel
l, he liked it when she slipped up and smiled for him.
"So," he said, keeping his hands in his pockets so they wouldn’t stray and do something to upset her. "Think you’ll get hungry again in the next week or so?"
Eyes glittering, she asked, "Are you trying to ask me out on another non-date?"
He feigned appalled shock. "Of course not. That was the furthest thing from my mind. How could you even suggest such an idea?"
Amusement tickled the corner of her mouth. She paused at her Nissan, unlocking it before turning to face him. "Can I ask you something?"
He inched closer until she had to tip her head up to meet his gaze. God, he liked looking down on her. "You can ask me anything."
Looking uncertain at first, she daintily cleared her throat. "Why are you even bothering? You know this can’t go anywhere."
Pulling back, he blinked in surprise. "Actually, I don’t know that. Why can’t it go anywhere?"
Letting out a small sigh, she said, "Think about it, Drew. You’ve lied to me from the very first moment we met."
His mouth fell open. "I have not. Since the moment I confessed everything at the studio, I haven’t lied once. And you know why I had to lie when we first met. My sister was counting on me. She’s still counting on me, in fact. She so rarely asks anything of me. When she begged me to find out what her husband was up to, there was no way I could say no."
"She … she asked you to do that?"
He shifted uneasily. How had the tables turned to make him the bad guy? She was the one with the cheating roommate. She was the one protecting her precious Piper. He was just trying to be a good brother.
"Yes," he said, unable to entirely erase the defensive note from his voice. "She asked me to help her. And I did. I still will."
Mia shook her head, looking confused. "Why can’t she just approach her husband about it?"
Drew gave a half-hearted shrug. "I’m not exactly sure. I keep asking her the same question, and she always has a different answer. I think she’s scared. She doesn’t want him to know she’s suspicious in case she ends up being wrong. But … I don’t think she wants to hear the truth from him even if she was certain. That would make it too real for her."
Mia nodded. "Okay, I can understand that. If I heard bad news from someone who wasn’t directly involved, then I could still doubt its legitimacy because it didn’t come straight from the source. It’s a defense mechanism. She’s guarding herself, and I can’t fault her for that either. I’d probably do the same thing."
She would, would she? Drew tipped his head and eyed her curiously. "You wouldn’t ask your husband about it if you thought he was two-timing?"
"No," she answered. "I don’t believe I would, now that I’ve thought it through."
"Hmm," he murmured. "That’s strange. I’d confront my wife. I don’t think I could marry someone unless I could talk about anything with her."
"Even if it’s something you knew would hurt her?" she asked. At his sharp look, she lifted her hands in surrender. "Sorry. I was just playing devil’s advocate."
"No," he told her. "You’re fine. That was actually a good question because I don’t know what I’d do now that you put it that way."
No way could he hurt the woman he loved by telling her she looked fat in a certain outfit, so why would he needlessly hurt her with adultery questions … except, thinking your spouse was cheating was a far cry from telling her she looked chubby.
"I don’t know what I’d do," he said, shaking his head. "All I know is that Mandy asked me to help her. And that’s what I’m going to do."
"So, you still plan on using me to get information."
He frowned. "Of course not. I already told you I wouldn’t. I just … I’ll find some other way."
"Are you going to ask your brother-in-law about it then?"
He paused. "I don’t know." Probably not. If Mandy refused to confront him, then she had a reason for it and he’d negate her reasons if he talked to Jeff.
"But I swear I won’t go through you."
