AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He simply held her gaze and didn’t say a word. He didn’t want to make up some story and lie to her.
She scrunched up her lips and shook her head. “I didn’t expect it would go this way.”
“I didn’t expect you to invite me in or say that you wanted to get to know me better. Not now, anyway.”
She heard what he didn’t say. “But you saw a day when we did have a conversation like this?”
“I hoped.”
“I don’t want to wait for whatever it is you’re waiting for. It already feels like we’ve been missing out on whatever this could be.”
He leaned forward and hung his head. “I don’tknow if I deserve this. Your faith in me that I’m not exactly what everyone tells you I am.”
She waited for his anxious gaze to meet hers. “I’d like to decide who you are for myself.”
His massive shoulders went lax. “I should have known you’d say that. You see people with an open heart.”
“Everyone is the same, but different. We all love and laugh and hurt and make mistakes. We are all capable of good and bad. We learn. We grow. We get stuck in bad habits.”
“I want to be something good in your life, even if we can’t have the kind of thing you might have with someone else right now.”
“Well, we’re off to a good start. You’re definitely the most open man I’ve ever talked to. And at the same time, the most guarded.”
“I’ll try not to be that way around you.”
Someone knocked on her door.
Lyric frowned. “Busy night around here.”
He stared at the door over his shoulder and whispered, “Are you expecting someone?”
“No. It’s probably one of my sisters.”
He turned to her, his whole body tense and on alert. “They can’t see me here. It’s too dangerous for you to be connected to me.”
She went along. “The only place big enough for you to hide is the bathroom.”
He moved quickly, ducking behind the door but not closing it.
She went to the front door and opened it, expecting Aria or Melody but getting the second surprise of the night.
“I got your message.” Rick smiled at her and tooka step forward, but she stood her ground, blocking his entrance, the cold chill up her spine not all from the biting temps outside.
“What are you doing here?”
He put his hands on the doorframe and leaned in, a cocky grin on his face. “You posted that song, and I knew you wanted me to come over.”
Stunned, she didn’t know what to say.
He looked past her. “Were you just having dinner?” His gaze dropped to hers. “Why two glasses of wine? Is someone here?”
She thought fast. “My sister came up before she closed the bar. It’s late. You shouldn’t be here. How did you even know where I lived?”
“I asked the waitress where you went after you closed the kitchen. She told me you have a place up here. Then I saw the video and realized this is where you post them all from.” He shivered in his inadequate coat. “It’s really fucking cold out here.”
Her T-shirt and flannel pajama pants weren’t keeping her warm at all. “I didn’t post the song as an invitation. It’s late. I’ve had a long day. And I don’t think it’s appropriate for you to just show up like this. Again.”
“You didn’t answer my call.”
