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And this was Shane Owens. The man who could have anything or hire anyone. He was the wealthiest person she knew, but he didn’t live like it.
A faint smile crossed her features. Her thumbnail dug into the cuticle of her other thumb, and she lifted a shoulder. “Well, how could I turn down a request like that?”
When she peeked at him, she was surprised to find the relief so clearly written all over his face.
She had thought he was going to tell her something more. Tell her thatthingthat her intuition keeps nudging her about. She studied his face for a moment longer. “Okay, I can’t take it anymore,” she said.
Shane froze.
“I can tell something is up. I have no idea what you’re hiding, but I can’t shake the feeling that you’re keeping something from me. I can’t just sit back and let that happen. Something’s not right.”
Was she seeing things? Or did he pale visibly? She’d hit the nail on the head, then. He didn’t want her to know something. Great, why did Brielle have to be right?”
She shoved away from her seat at the table and shot out of her chair. “Thanks for dinner. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Eloise turned toward the door as she snatched her purse from where it hung on the chair.
“Where are you going?”
“Home.”
“Eloise—”
She spun around to face him. “I care about you. Can’t you see that? I have gone along with this whole keeping our relationship a secret, but I haven’t seen any benefit to it.”
“I told you—”
“Yes, I’m fully aware ofwhyyou want to keep it secret. I just don’t see the value in it anymore. People had to have noticed by now. It’s not like I haven’t been caught coming and going from your office—”
“I love you,” he blurted.
She couldn’t move. It was as if her limbs had been turned to stone. There was no way she’d heard him correctly.
Shane moved around the table swiftly until he reached her. He took her hands into his. “I love you, and I don’t want to mess this up. I need to be sure I go about this right, and right now the safest way to do that is to keep things secret… for the time being.” His voice pleaded with her, begging her to accept his explanation.
That swirling uncertainty she’d felt all night lessened but only somewhat. Was this what love felt like? What if her nerves were just her body’s way of saying she felt the same way as Shane?
Her blood turned hot and cold all at once.
Shane stepped toward her and she held up a hand, but the look of pain on his face was almost too much for her to bear. “Just—give me a minute.” Her eyes flitted from him to the floor and back. “This is… a lot. Can I think about it?”
He nodded as he stepped away from her. “Of course,” he whispered. “Take as long as you need.”
Eloise closed the distance between them, pecked him on the cheek, then left the house like her tail was on fire.
* * *
“How was dinner?”Brielle muttered as Eloise entered the kitchen. She probably shouldn’t have told her sister about it, but keeping that secret from Brielle had been weighing on her more than she wanted to admit. Thankfully, Brielle didn’t seem fazed by it. In fact, she seemed to have come to the conclusion that Eloise was dating Shane rather than Marc. And it appeared she found out on her own.
“Terrible.” Eloise dropped her purse on the kitchen table, then pulled out a chair and collapsed into it.
Brielle gave Eloise a funny look as she pulled a cup out of the cupboard. “Really? Didn’t he invite you over for dinner at his place?”
“Yeah.”
Her sister laughed. “Sorry to break it to you, but if that makes your night terrible, maybe you should break up. That’s what I did.”
Eloise gave Brielle a dark look. She wasn’t in the mood for any of Brielle’s flippant comments regarding her relationship.
Brielle filled her glass with some water and then took a seat at the table. She heaved a sigh. “Fine, what was so terrible about tonight?”
