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Finally, she shuddered, then sighed.
“You okay?” he asked, knowing the question was a dumb one, but asking it anyway.
“Yes. Fine. Sorry. You just startled me.”
“You seemed pretty upset in there.”
“Hm.”
“Anything I can help with?”
“No ... I...” She looked like she might say something else, then, “No. Thank you.”
He nodded. “Because I’d be more than happy to help you out. If you needed it.”
She shook her head, then tilted it to stare at the ceiling. “I’m okay. That kid on the news, Michael Harrison, just remindedme of someone I used to know.” She lowered her gaze to meet his. Her green eyes had shuttered and gave nothing away. “Seeing him brought back a lot of bad memories.”
“The kid did?”
“Yeah.”
He waited, but she bit her lip and looked away. “Okay,” he said after several seconds of silence. “I’ll leave you alone then.” He turned to go, hurt she wouldn’t confide in him and frustrated because he’d done nothing but try to reach her, to show his interest. To let her know she could trust him. That he cared. At times, he thought she felt the same, but he honestly didn’t know. Maybe she just wasn’t into him. And while the thought made him sad, it was what it was. He’d move on. And yet he found himself unable to leave. He turned back, catching her gaze.
CHAPTER
TWO
Raina didn’t look away from Vince. She wanted to tell him. Wanted to spill every last detail to the man who was looking at her with the very expressive dark brown eyes. Eyes that held hope she’d confide in him and let him help, but that wasn’t the way she did things.
Because the last time someone wanted to help her, that someone had died. And once Vince found out exactly how much baggage she had in her past, he’d move on. So, she bit her lip.
Vince started to say something, but footsteps heading their way snapped his mouth shut.
“Hey,” Grace said from the door. “Everything okay in here?”
Raina forced a smile. “Everything is good. We were just chatting. Are we ready for the s’mores yet?”
Grace pursed her lips, obviously not buying the explanation. “Yes, ma’am. The firepit is lit and everything is on the table outside.”
“Then I’m first,” she said with a relieved sigh that Grace allowed the change of subject. She nodded to Vince, then gave her friend a wink before stepping around her and heading for the french doors that led to the patio.
Their footsteps fell in behind her. She made it to the patio with the smile still on her face, but she couldn’t help wondering how long she could maintain it. She’d give it thirty more minutes, and if the man she’d called while in the kitchen hadn’t called her back, she’d have to try again.
Because if the man who called himself Kevin Anderson—a man she’d sworn she could defend herself against, if he ever dared come near her again—was still out there, she needed to find him and put her past to rest for good.
One way or another.
She settled into the chair Vince had pulled out for her, his kindness cramping her heart and making her wish for things she couldn’t have. She’d shut him out and he was still being nice. Still making the effort to let her know he was interested and there for her without being weird or creepy while doing it. And that said more about his character than anything else.
The truth was, she liked him. A lot. And she’d give almost anything to let him lead them into a relationship. But ...
Raina gripped her hands together. There was a huge “but” hanging over her head. She pictured the young teen who looked way too much like the man who’d almost killed her. A man who would go after that child if he thought the boy was his. And the person who might be able to help warn the child’s family that they could be in danger wasn’t answering his phone.
The whole situation had stirred up feelings and emotions she’d buried for so many years, and now she was on overload, unsure which emotion to deal with first.
“You okay?” Vince asked.
She jerked and cleared her throat. “I’m okay. For the moment.”
