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“Ahh,” I said, bobbing my head. “That tracks, oddly enough.” Tucking my hair behind an ear, I made to sidestep him. “Well, there’s a bear claw calling my name. Do you want me to grab you one or—”
Jameson set a broad, warm palm on my shoulder, halting my brief glimpse at freedom and a festival treat covered in confectioners’ sugar. I’d known these conversations were coming—known, and yet, was still entirely unprepared and unsure of how to redirect him or explain the mess that was my life. Hell, I’d barely been willing to think about or acknowledge the shitshow I’d left behind, kinda hoping the momentary sanctuary of Mistyvale could last forever.
“Look. If you’re in some sort of trouble, we have resources.” Jameson slid his hand down the line of my arm to where my cardigan was rolled at the elbow, and I became acutely aware of how freaking good his skin felt on mine, nearly missing what he said next. “Contacts. We could help.”
“Trouble?”
Thumb absentmindedly stroking my forearm where he still held onto me, Jameson said, “You spelled it from the moment you stepped into Grizzly Grind.”
“You know, I think you’re the first person to ever say that to me.” Aside from my brother and Brexley, there likely had been no one that used the wordstroubleandNoelin the same sentence. Even then. Alex was always into mischief, and my existing and most likely being a little narc, had earned the jab more than once. Brexley just needed to bitch about being dragged out of her comfort zone, even though I was fairly convinced that deep down, she liked that I brought her with me.
I was a good girl. Always had been. Good grades, good student-teacher conferences—save for the semi-annual note I talked too much—good athletic performances. The principal and I had always been on a first-name basis, but it was because I thoroughly enjoyed running things, volunteered for everything, and wasn’t remotely conflicted about reporting things that concerned me.
Never had it beenaccusatory. When my gaze fell to his gentle grip on my arm, he seemed to notice what he was doing, pulling away and stuffing his hand in his pocket. Clearing his throat, his features shifted to frustration, although I wasn’t sure if it was directed at me or himself.
“The faster you learn that I’m rarely wrong, the faster we’ll get this over with. Name. Spit it out.”
“Elizabeth.”
“Bullshit,” Jameson sneered, furrowing his brows.
Guilt washed through me, but I still managed to gasp, feigning innocence. “Excuse me?”
“You know, I hollered for you last week when you were walking out of the Grind. You didn’t respond. I let it go, brushed it off. But, just now—three feet from you—I said your name so many times the attendant thought I’d lost my mind. Nothing. Not a freaking blink, not a flinch.”
“Did it ever occur to you that perhaps it’s because you insist on utilizing that abhorrent nickname,Lizzy? Who wants to sound like a freaking lizard? They’re cute back home, but certainly not something I’d like a moniker from.” I crossed my arms, refusing to shift my weight, to grant my desperate need to either sink my teeth into him or put several steps between us. Come to think of it, I knew a lot of amazing Lizzys and now felt like a judgmental jerk. Alas, I’d dug my grave and now had to lie in it. “For the last time, Mr. Rhodes, it’s Elizabeth.”
“Come on, Red. Get real.”
“You get real,” I retorted weakly, my resolve wavering at the concern in his eyes, voice giving way to the precarious edge of tears I was tiptoeing down. Lying to this family was a mistake. Maybe I’d known it, but the illusion of freedom and a true fresh start had been way too tempting.
Jameson crossed those built arms over his chest, the movement stretching the fabric way too tightly over his pecs. Andfuck me. He had glorious tendons and veins in his forearms, his long black sleeves pushed back to reveal a few solid inches of ink and muscle. I wanted to fill the lines of his gorgeous tattoos with watercolors. The man made me stupid. I should have been grasping at strategies, should have focused on the very real conspiracy he’d so elegantly presented in his gruff grunts and growls. Why did he have to care? Why did I fuckingwanthim to?
“Look. I would have fallen for Kate. Maybe Nikki. But you are, sure as shit, not anElizabeth.”
I blinked. Nobody else had ever questioned it, but before this whole freaking psycho-ex, fleeing to Mistyvale fiasco, I’d never identified well with my middle name. Deciding it meant nothing that he’d come to the same conclusion, I said, “Look,Terry, I don’t know what you hit your head on in the engine room today, but you’re obviously confused. I’ll call Rhyett for you. He can take you home.”
“First of all, nobody istakingmeanywhere. Second, Terry? Bradshaw?”
I had no idea who that was, so I snickered, shaking my head. “Bollea.”
“Hulk Hogan?Seriously? I get it, I’m tall. I’m notthattall.”
Wrinkling my nose, I said, “Dammit, I thought I’d have you with that one. Were you into wrestling in high school or something?”
“Wereyou?” he retorted.Touché, Rhodes. Touché.
“What are you? Six-three?”
“Six-four. You know what?Doesn’t matter. Your relentless deflections are just confirming what I’m asking.”
“Which is?”
Jameson was suddenly right up in my space, concern etched in his features. My breath hitched, heart pounded. Palms did their best impression of a water slide. Lady bits ached. Dammit, he smelledso good.
“You’re not who you say you are. I will find out what you’re hiding, so you might as well tell me what’s going on. There is nothing on this planet I value above my family. Nothing. The closest second is thisdamntown and itsdamnpeople and theirdamnwell-being. And if you’re in some kind of trouble—”
“You’ll make me walk the plank?” I balked, staggering to put a step between us. Between attraction and irritation, attraction was undoubtedly winning. And while the foundation of this fake fresh start was crumbling beneath me—my pathetic attempts at deflection not shaking him off for a second—I didn’t have the slightest clue what I could tell him at this point. I’d been lying to all of them about who I was and why I was here for weeks.
