He’d gone stiff beneath me, and not in a good way. His body was ramrod straight and I swear he stopped breathing for a moment. When I searched his expression, there was no emotion there. That iron mask was back in place and telling me absolutely nothing of what he was thinking.
“Are you okay?”
He cleared his throat and started lifting me up. “Yeah, but we should get going. I have to get the bike back and I’ve taken up so much of your time. Sofia probably needs her maid of honor back, especially this close to the wedding,” he said, hurriedly disposing of the condom and zipping himself up.
I staggered to my feet and watched him in shock. What the hell? He was trying really hard not to look at me, and a sinking sensation started in my gut as he began to pack up our picnic.
Pressing my lips together I went about fixing my dress and putting my underwear and shorts back on. I used the band on my wrist to hurriedly braid my hair and by the time that was done, he still hadn’t looked at me or said a single thing.
The last straw happened when he walked right by me without looking at me.
“So that’s it?” I asked, turning to face him, my hands on my hips.
“What’s it?” he asked, his tone suggesting he was preoccupied as he made a show of strapping down the tub he’d brought with our supplies.
“We’re just going to have sex, and anytime you feel the littlest bit uncomfortable you’re going to shut down?”
“I’m not shutting down, Chiara, I just realized we have a lot to do.”
“Stop it,” I hissed, heat spreading across my cheeks. “Stop lying. I deserve the truth, Flynn.”
“Look, there’s nothing going on. I want to head back, so we’re going back.”
I shook my head, my chest heavy with emotion. What the hell?
“What did I do?”
He shook his head. “You didn’t do anything.”
“Okay, so I said something. What?”
“Nothing.”
I thought back to the last thing I said before he went Ice-Man on me and shook my head. “Is this because I made a stupid joke about a possibility ofafterthe island?”
“There is no after the island for us,” Flyn snapped, turning to face me.
I took a slow step back at the anger on his face.
“Noted.”
“No, Chiara, you don’t understand.”
“No, I get it,” I said, feeling my own defenses rise. “It’s not a surprise, really. You were honest in the beginning, that you wanted me…for however long this ruse lasts.See? I remember.”
Flynn sighed and shook his head. “I just don’t want anyone to get hurt.”
“And by that, you mean me.”
“I mean… yes, you.”
“Because you don’t have feelings for me, but you think I’ll develop feelings for you?”
He didn’t answer right away. “I think… you’re not much of a one-night-stand type of girl. It’s reasonable to think that you might let yourself get carried away with wanting more.”
A twisted smile curved my lips, and I scoffed derisively. “Sure, okay.”
“I’m sorry, it’s just… you wanted me to be honest.”
