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He leaned down a bit, which made her have the crazy notion that he was going to kiss her. How odd. Why did she think that? He slowly brushed back a strand of her hair that had come loose from her bun. “Can you check and see where they want us to rinse out our brushes?”
“Sure.” Riley rushed out of the room. Thank goodness. Maybe she could get herself together before having to go back in there. What was wrong with her? Why couldn’t she get her breathing under control?
And was Shadow actually flirting with her, or was she blowing his actions out of proportion?
Chapter 8
Jalen stared at the blank canvas that was set up at the front of the room. What exactly was he going to show the class? Why had he said it would be okay for him to lead a class on painting, anyway? He really didn’t know what he was doing. And he’d acted so cocky in front of Riley that now he was sure to embarrass himself.
Riley came back in the room. Her face was still flushed, probably from his comment to her about how much she cared about people. He hadn’t meant to fluster her, but her blush made him like her even more.
“They said if we need water to use the restroom sink down the hall. All the cups are already full, though, so we only have to do that when we’re done.”
Jalen nodded and turned back to the canvas. “Okay. Thanks.”
“Still not sure what you’re going to paint?” She absentmindedly picked up a paintbrush from one of the stations.
“Nope.”
“Winging it?”
He couldn’t help but grin. “Yep.”
Since no one had come in yet, he took a few steps closer to Riley. He wasn’t sure what she was talking about with his security guard, but he had to admit a surge of jealousy had come over him, and he wasn’t quite over it yet. Which was a bit silly. Riley could talk to anyone she wanted to. But it made him a bit possessive.
The urge to ask Riley out rose in him. Would that be okay? He wasn’t sure if she was interested in him. He debated for a moment, then figured he should just go for it. “So, are you doing anything this evening?”
“No. Do you need me to do something? I can run some errands.”
Well, that didn’t work. She’d totally misunderstood. He debated letting it go, but something inside him couldn’t let him do it. “I was thinking we could go out to dinner.”
Her eyes widened and she stilled. “Like, a date?” Her cheeks deepened in color. “Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t know why I assumed that.”
He took a step closer to her. “Exactly like a date.” Wow. He was not normally like this at all. Maybe it was his mask. It was making him feel more confident or something.
She met his gaze, a questioning look in her eye. “You want to go on a date? With me?” Her voice rose to a high squeak.
He smiled. “Yes.” Something flashed across her face, and for a brief second he wondered if he was making her feel awkward. Technically, Jalen hired her, not him, so it wasn’t like her boss was asking her out, right? But now he was second guessing his decision. He quickly tacked on, “If that’s okay. Tell me if I’m overstepping or making you uncomfortable.”
She fiddled with the paintbrush in her hand. After stalling for a moment, she finally said, “I’m not uncomfortable.”
“Then you’ll go to dinner with me?”
She swallowed, and her gaze intensified. “You, as Shadow?” she asked quietly. “Or you…as you?” He barely heard the last part with the loud buzzing in his ears.
Jalen’s heart lodged itself into his throat, and he took a step back from her. She wanted him to unmask? Before he even thought about it, he knew what the answer had to be. He couldn’t do it. Not only was unmasking out of the question because he couldn’t let the world know who he was, but he also couldn’t stand to see the look of disappointment that would surely come if she saw he was just Jalen, Shadow’s unimportant manager.
And then he thought of the sunburn. If anyone saw him with his masked-shaped burn, his secret would be revealed to everyone. He grabbed onto that thought, because that meant he wasn’t being cowardly. He absolutely couldn’t go out without his mask. For some reason, that made him feel better.
She waited for his answer, her fingers twisting the bristles of the paintbrush. He had to say something. Nerves shot through him like zaps of electricity. “Me, as Shadow. Is that all right?”
A look of disappointment colored her features for an instant, but it melted into a smile so fast, he wasn’t sure he’d seen it in the first place. “Of course.”
Before he could say anything else, a pair of women entered the room and took seats in the front row. He recognized them from the schooner. The taller one smiled at him. “I’m excited for this. I’ve always wanted to learn how to paint.”
He cleared his throat and pointed to the canvas. “Hopefully I can teach you something. But I have to admit, I’m a much better singer than painter.”
“I’m sure you’re just being humble,” the other woman said.
