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He lifted her chin until she looked him in the eyes. “You’re beautiful, with or without glasses. But it’s easier to see your lovely green eyes without them. Call me selfish, but I like to look at them.”
She blushed again. “Hey, how did we get back to talking about me? I was asking you questions.”
“Oh, right. Go ahead.”
“Does your mother know what you do for a living?”
He paused, trying to figure out how to answer her. His adopted mother knew he was Shadow’s manager. She didn’t know he was Shadow, also. He slowly shook his head. “No.”
A sadness entered her eyes. “Do you ever want to brag about your success to someone? Like, I would be so frustrated not being able to tell people I was actually a really successful singer. Do you ever feel like that?”
He chuckled and cupped her cheek. She was the only person who had ever thought about how it might feel to hide your success from the world around you. As Shadow’s manager, he often got treated like he wasn’t an important person. Sometimes it did make him frustrated. But not enough to reveal who he was. “Yes, I do sometimes feel like that. But it passes. There are many advantages to my anonymity. It’s much better than having bragging rights.”
She thought about that for a moment, then slowly nodded. “I can understand that. Have you ever wanted to tell anyone who you are?”
His heart thumped in his chest. He did. Just last night. He lightly ran his thumb over her lips. “Yes.”
She closed her eyes at his touch. “What would happen if the world found out who you are?” she asked quietly.
“My career would be ruined.”
Her eyes flew open, and she pulled back in shock. “Really? Why?”
Conflict arose in him. He wanted to tell her. It would be simpler if he could tell her he would never be accepted because of his ugly scars. But he hesitated, still uncertain of how she would react. She would know right away who he was if he revealed that. He picked up her hand and put it to his lips, gently kissing her fingers. “That’s not a yes or no question.”
She blinked, then her features softened. “Do you know for sure that your career would be ruined?”
He didn’t want to be cynical, but he had his whole life as proof that people didn’t react well to his scars. Pretty people went far. People like him were cast aside. He sighed and put his hands on either side of her on the table. “Yes.”
She reached out and put her hand on his jawline, a heavy look in her eyes. “I think I’m done asking questions.”
Had he ruined the mood? He didn’t want to leave such depression between them. “Then it’s my turn.”
She nodded.
“Have you always wanted to be a novelist?”
A look crossed her face, and she shook her head. “No.”
This surprised him. He’d figured that writing was her passion, and she’d wanted it all her life. “Is being an author your dream?”
She paused for what he thought was a long time before answering. “No,” she said quietly.
No? Had he just assumed she wanted to be an author? How had he gotten that so wrong? Maybe that explained why she didn’t ever want to talk about her books. Maybe she wasn’t that into writing anymore. “Interesting,” he said. “I like a good mystery. Let me try to unravel the mystery that is you.”
He smiled, trying to be playful, but Riley stiffened. “You don’t have to.”
He stared at her, observing the shift in her mood. Maybe he wasn’t the only one with secrets. The thought unnerved him, but he couldn’t be too upset. He was hiding who he was, which was a pretty big thing to hide from her. Could he really ask her to give up all her secrets if he wasn’t willing to do the same?
A woman entered the laundry room, followed by Evan. Jalen stepped back from Riley, self-conscious of how close he’d been with her. Riley patted her hair and smoothed it back into her bun.
“Oh, hello,” the woman said. She plopped down a basket of laundry on a washing machine. Then took off her oversized purse and set it down next to her basket. “You’re Shadow Walker.”
He nodded. “Yes.”
Riley squinted at the woman and hopped down from the table. “I’d better check on our laundry.”
The woman smiled and pointed at Riley. “Is this your girlfriend?”
