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“Can we talk for a minute?” he asked.
I made a wide gesture with my arms. “Go ahead.”
“In private,” he said softly.
“Nothing you’ve done in the past two days has been private,” I bit out. “Why start now?”
“There are reasons for that, Faith,” he said. “If you’ll just give me—”
“Give you what, Adam?” I said, dimly aware that the background noise had subsided. People were always drawn to a bloodbath. “Another chance to lie to me?”
His face was stony as he stepped toward me.
I stepped back. “No!”
I knew I was making a scene, but honestly, I didn’t care. This emotion had been simmering all day, and now that he’d shown his face, it boiled over.
“Faith... baby...”
“Don’t you dare baby me!” I felt more than saw Hope and Tobias move in our direction, but I stopped them with a murderous look before turning all my fury back on Adam. “What is it you really want from me? Applause for whatever you’ve done to—let me guess—keep me safe?”
His jaw tensed, and his gaze flickered behind me toward Mateo. “Stop.”
Maybe quit making things worse.
I couldn’t. I was in my Nanny Rae’s house, with my people, and it gave me a boost I probably shouldn’t embrace.
“I know the arrest was staged,” I hissed, even as his feet carried him closer. He looked ready to pounce, but I held him back with a hand on his chest. “I’m not stupid, Adam, and neither are you. This isn’t your first rodeo. You know how to be discreet and stay under the radar, but instead, you go speeding through the middle of town like—”
“Keep your voice down,” he growled.
Mateo cursed behind me, and the sound of wagons circling grew as ears drew nearer.
“Why?” I asked. “Will you be outed?”
“You don’t understand! You have to trust—”
I lifted my hand from his chest and replaced it with one finger. “Trust.” I nodded sarcastically. “You’re right, I haven’t trusted you enough, and that’s on me. But understand? No, I don’t,” I said. “And why is that?” I tilted my head. “Because you don’t trust me.”
He closed his eyes as if in pain. “It’s not like that.”
“Isn’t it?” I said. “Isn’t it exactly like that? You’re still playing a role in my life instead of really being in it. You want to be my bodyguard with benefits instead of my man.”
That struck a nerve, and I watched a switch flip in his eyes. I knew it was unfair, especially in front of an audience, but I was so angry. So hurt. So fucking tired of feeling like a victim.
“Bodyguard with benefits?” he hissed, walking me backward. “I love you, damn it. You are maddening and infuriating, and you piss me off royally most of the time, but—”
“Love isn’t about deception and protection, Adam,” I choked out. “It’s about being real.”
“Hey, kids,” came a voice behind me that drew Adam’s murderous glare. “Let’s take this show down a notch, shall we?”
CJ’s hand landed on my shoulder, and I flinched, but he didn’t seem to notice. He laughed slowly as he rounded to our sides, alcohol making his eyelids heavy.
“None of your business, CJ,” Adam growled.
“Just saying,” CJ continued with another chuckle. He moved the ever-present candy around in his mouth and started to chew it. “You’re stirring up the voodoo spirits out here with all this.”
His hand moved up to the back of my neck, and I broke out in a sweat. I didn’t like to be touched, and yet I couldn’t seem to get away. I slid my hand in my pocket and squeezed the ball within an inch of its life.
