Either way, my name comes off his lips with distaste.
Looking up, I straighten my posture, annoyance raging through me at this whole situation and how he is handling it all. “Hello,Mr. Harris.”
I let the same tone of distaste flow out of me with his new name.
A corner of his mouth curls, and a flash of satisfaction gleams in his eyes. An unwanted heat pools in my core at the sight.
Another nudge from Samuel’s hand tells me he can hear how my words sound.
Good. That means this man—who I don’t even know what to call him—can hear it, too.
As I stare right into his eyes, I don’t falter in my stance. “It was nice to have met you, Mr. Harris. But I think I need to be going now.” I bow, giving him a scrunched-up, forced smile.
Out of the corner of my eye, Lianne is speed-walking closer to me.
She takes my hand and drags me away. Samuel is saying something to him before he is off talking to someone else in the room.
I keep my eyes on “Kameron” the whole way until Lianne pulls me through the patio doors, and the glass quakes with how hard they close behind me.
“Eden,” she whisper-yells at me.
“Who the hell is he?” I pace the patio. “Samuel just introduced him as ‘Stephen Harris,’ but he told me his name is Kameron Grant. I don’t even know which one is real,” I whisper. “He acted as if he had never even seen me, Lianne.” I throw my hands up.
“Eden,” she says louder.
I look at her and see her eyes are filled with concern.
“What?”
I walk toward her.
“What if he tells Samuel? What if he says I take you out there? Out of Everton, without his permission?” she says, her eyes filling with tears.
“Lianne, he won’t tell him. And if he does. I’ll take the blame, okay?”
Lianne stumbles back. “You don’t get it, Eden. If he finds out, he will...”
“He won’t do anything. I won’t let him. It’s Samuel, he can be mean, but he—”
“You don’t get it, Eden! He isn’t the Samuel you know. To everyone else around here, he—”
The door slams behind me, causing Lianne and I to jump, clenching our chests.
“Ladies.” Kameron stands there with his hands in his pocket.
“Stephen,” I say flatly, and even I can hear the bite in it.
“Eden? Elliott? Which one would you like me to call you, gorgeous?” He smiles while staying in hisplace.
“Eden. I am Eden here,” I say in a low, stern voice as my eyes dart around the empty patio.
He looks to Lianne. “And are you still Lianne? Or?”
She nods.
“Interesting. Looks like onlyweare using fake names, huh?” He averts his eyes back to me.
We stare at each other, neither of us wanting to be the first to look away.
