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“I couldn’t wait.” He wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me to him. Kisses my hair. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too.” Even though it’s only been hours. But I can’t get enough of him. If only I didn’t have to deal with Alec, but I need a little distance to keep my secrets. For now. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah.” He pulls out a chair and takes a seat, tugs me down with him. “It’s just I can’t stop thinking…Ro went through so much. And Alec’s still out there, living his best life, making out that he’s the good guy.”
“And you’re worried.”
“Yeah, I’m fucking worried,” he whispers, the brim of his cap shielding us from the other patrons, to a degree. “He’s threatened Summer. Marty thinks you’re a story. She asked me about you again today. The media wants to know who you are.”
My stomach turns. If anyone works out that I’m Alec Hawthorne’s sister…it would be the scoop of the century with the way things are unfolding. Luckily, I’ve been invisible for a long time so it won’t be easy to figure out who I am. Still if one of these journalists decided to dig deep enough they’d find something they could use. An article that connects us to each other or even to our parents. Time is ticking away. How long until I can no longer pretend that who I am won’t burst this happy little bubble Rogue and I have locked ourselves away in?
“Alec hasn’t made any more threats, has he?” I ask.
“Not that we know of.” He expels a lungful of air as he sits back. His shoulders drop as he turns my hand over in his and massages my palms with his thumbs. “I just got so worked up…I needed to see you. Touch you.”
I practically climb onto his lap so I can kiss him. His stubble abrades my palms as I try to tell him all the things I can’t say with my lips pressed to his. “I’m here. With you. I’m not going anywhere.”
“You better not.” He smiles an inch from my lips. “I will always find you.”
“I know.” I sigh, but it’s contentment that I feel, not worry. As long as Rogue wants me he’ll find me. If he ever stops…that’s when my world will implode.
“Now that’s PDA,” a quiet Dizzy says.
My face flames as I recollect where we are. Rogue has this ability to make me blind to everything else. Everyone else. I have to be more careful.
“Another round?” Ben asks.
“Yeah, I could use a coffee.” Rogue puts me on my feet as he stands. “My treat.”
“I’ll help you carry them.” Dizzy preens as she follows after my boyfriend. She glances back over her shoulder, eyes lit up, and mouths, “Double date.”
“Everything okay between you two?” I ask Ben.
“Yeah. I should have warned her that I asked you out, I suppose. It just didn’t seem important. We’re not like that…are we?”
“You know I adore you,” I say as I watch Rogue order us new drinks. “But—”
“You’re in love with Rogue Maddox,” he says. “Only a fool would think he could change that.”
“And you’re not a fool.” He’s a genuinely nice guy. What happened or didn’t happen between us doesn’t matter. At the end of the day he never hesitates to be there for me. “Which is why you’re one of my best friends.”
“So Dizzy?” He bumps me with his shoulder. “What do you think?”
“I like her.” She’ll take some getting used to, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try to get to know her.
He grins like a goofball. “I like her too.”
“Are you going to ask her to be your girlfriend?” I tease. Not everyone moves as fast as Rogue and I did.
He rubs the tip of his nose as his expression grows more serious. “I’m not sure yet. We’ve only just started seeing each other. It’s not a grand Hollywood love like with you and Rogue.”
“I wish you wouldn’t say that. It makes it sound fake.” What I feel…what I share with Rogue is the most real thing I’ve ever felt.
“Does he know how you feel about him?”
“It’s not the right time.” I push my glasses up and hope Ben won’t catch the worry in my voice. It doesn’t feel right to tell Rogue that I love him when I’m hiding so much from him. “I want to.”
“It’s a big step,” Ben says.
