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Or his ex. “I don’t want to be your dirty secret forever.”
He brushed an errant strand of hair out of my face. “First of all, you’re not a dirty secret. And I promise it won’t be forever. Just a little longer.”
As much as I liked him, I deserved more than this.
“Give me some time.”
I nodded shortly because I should give him that, even if everything about this situation hurt.
“Felicia will only be here for a few days. Then everything will go back to normal.”
Except I wasn’t so sure it would. I didn’t want to ask the questions running through my head.What if she stays? What if she wants to be more involved? What if he realizes it makes more sense to be with Felicia?Now that my heart, and not my brain, was running the show, I was spiraling.
“I’m sorry about my brother. He shouldn’t be talking about you like that. He just found out about us, and he doesn’t understand the depth of my feelings for you.”
I wasn’t sure I did either. At some point, action spoke louder than words. I couldn’t respond because if I did, I was afraid I’d tell him I couldn’t do this with him anymore, and I needed space to make sure that was the right thing to do.
“I’ll talk to him.”
I nodded again, wondering if I was making a huge mistake. Should I have given him a deadline or drawn a line in the sand? But he’d said he was falling in love with me. That his feelings went deep. He’d said all the right things, but it felt hollow.
“Now, what’s this I heard about you bringing cupcakes?” Sam asked, his smile falling short.
I tried to focus on his question. “It was Maggie’s idea.”
I’d thought it would be nice to stop in and see him. I hadn’t expected I’d walk into that conversation.
Maggie ran out with the box of cupcakes. “You better get one before Uncle Mac eats all of ’em.”
Sam’s brow furrowed as he opened the box. “There’s only three left?”
“I’m a hungry guy.” Mac followed more slowly, licking icing off his fingers.
Sam’s face screwed up. “Unbelievable. They weren’t for you.”
My stomach twisted. I couldn’t pretend like everything was normal when it wasn’t. I couldn’t even imagine what Mac thought of me. Would he tell his parents?
“Let’s go around back,” Sam offered.
Mac grunted. “I’m going back to work.”
I didn’t relax until he was gone. I followed Sam through the house to the backyard, wondering how soon I could escape and sift through everything that just happened.
Sam sat at the picnic table, handing a cupcake to me. “Thanks for bringing me dessert. That was sweet of you.”
“Daddy,” Maggie giggled. “I wanted cupcakes.”
“And here I thought you wanted to bring me something sweet.” Sam drawled the words out slowly.
He was talking about the cupcakes, but his gaze was on me, the heat slowly melting the ice around my heart. He was into me. This was different from Jace. He wasn’t using me. This was real. I was in an adult relationship. And it wasn’t the time to tell Maggie about us. Not yet.
“Did you stop by any shops today with your mosaics?” Sam asked.
“I tried what you said.”
“Did it help?” he asked.
I nodded. “There was a newer shop a little off the beaten path. She wanted holiday-themed items, and she gave me the contract she uses for other sellers.”
