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It’sa little after nine at night when I hear a bike in the distance. I tell myself it can’t possibly be him—not this early. By the time he walks in the door, I’ve got a smile on my face I can’t quite hide.
He raises a brow. “I’m not used to seeing anyone here. I’m definitely not used to having someone happy to see me.”
“Maybe you should take a captive when I leave.” I pull the blanket around me and settle farther into the couch. “Make a girl go all day with no human interaction and she’s happy to see anyone.”
He pushes my legs out of his way and plops down beside me. “I was joking about you being evil, but the way you keep suggesting I hold someone captive is worrying.”
I hand him the remote. “Fine. Don’t take a captive. But you should know that based on the books I’ve read, it always leads to a ton of really kinky sex, followed by the development of a relationship based on deep, mutual respect.”
He casts me a sideways glance and starts changing channels. “Do me a favor,” he growls. “On a night when I’m not getting laid, try to avoid phrases like ‘really kinky sex’ and discussing your love of captivity porn, huh?”
There’s a sharp pluck of desire in my stomach at the thought of Beck...needy. Though I doubt he’s all that needy. Women have always been amply available to him, and he isn’t one to turn down an offer.
He flips through channels, dismissing anything that might potentially have a plot. A hospital corridor flashes by on the screen as he presses the remote again, and I hit his arm. “Go back.”
He frowns but complies. “Grey’s Anatomy? This is like a million years old.”
I curl up, sliding my toes under his thigh. “I never lived anywhere long enough to watch it consistently when I was younger. Growing up in foster care will do that.”
“Maybe if you weren’t talking about captives all the time, someone would have adopted you.”
I choke out a surprised laugh. People have always tiptoed around my past. They tell me I’mbravewhen there’s nothing fucking brave about enduring something because you’ve got no choice. Beck is the only one who’s ever acted as if I’m not too fragile to tease. It feels like a sort of respect.
“I almost got adopted.” I grin. “That’s the best I’ve got. Ialmostgot adopted.”
He doesn’t smile back. “What happened?”
I wish I hadn’t brought it up, and I’m not sure why I did. “There was this woman, Mimi, who lived near my foster family when I was little. I used to go to her house after school. She said she was trying, but then she moved.”
He turns to face me, his eyes hard and unhappy. “She said she was trying and then she justmoved?Did she tell you why?”
I’d spent almost every afternoon and weekend with her for nineteen months, and then one day she didn’t answer the door. I sat outside until it was dark that afternoon, waiting for her.Fucking pathetic.“She sent me a card later, apologizing. She said she was too old to adopt a kid.”
“That’s...Jesus, that’s shitty.”
I shrug. It hurt at the time, but it’s in the past. “She had good intentions—she pushed for all this academic testing and got me a scholarship at a private school. It could have been worse.”
Beck looks weighed down by my story. His shoulders slump and he leans forward, elbows pressed to his knees. Being with me is a laugh a minute.
“It wasn’t a big deal,” I tell him. “And it was ages ago. I’d almost forgotten about it.”
He frowns, his eyes flat.Beck and his fucking bullshit detector.
At least this is a lie he isn’t holding against me.
5
BECK
Iget told at least once a day that I’m living the dream, owning a successful bar. Maybe I’m living someone’s dream. Not mine, though.
When my mother would bring me here as a kid and say,“One day, all this will be yours,”it felt like a threat—the hours were long, the staffing issues were constant and she was stuck indoors all day, all night. I had much more exciting plans—Caleb and I were going to become professional surfers or Navy SEALs, something that would allow me to be outdoors and moving around. Neither of us wound up with what we wanted, but Caleb owns a company worth millions and just texted pics of the mansion he and Lucie are renting for the weekend, so I only feel sorry for one of us.
Laura, the day manager, greets me at the door with twisting hands. “Fresher Foods called. Their truck broke down outside Salinas.”
On the fucking Fourth of July.
