“Lily, look at me,” he begs, but I can’t. Letting someone in, especially Theo, is too much.
So I shake my head, denying his request, but I should have known he wouldn’t be one to give up.
Calloused fingers trace the line of my neck, over my jaw, and end at my chin. With my eyes closed, all my other senses are heightened, and I feel him shift, leaning his whole body closer until his lips are next to my ear.
“Look at me, hopeless.” It’s the anguish in his voice that has me finally giving in.
Prying my eyes open, I look at him, taking my time because I know once I do, the jig will be up, and he’ll see me. The real me.
When my gaze finally meets his, I realize I’ve made a grave mistake. Even though I had felt him move closer, I hadn’t realized just how close. Our faces are inches apart, and I can see every emotion swirling in the darkness of his irises. Sadness. Fear. Desire. It’s all there, and it’s terrifying.
Theo smiles, but it does nothing to calm my racing heart.
“What?” I ask with a lot more bravado than I feel. In reality, all I feel is pain, and it’s started to create cracks in my foundation.
Theo leans closer, and I hold my breath. I should pull away, but I can’t. His eyes hold me in place.
“You deserved better.”
Three words whispered against my lips. That’s all they are, yet to me, they are more.
Neither of us breathes as we watch each other, our eyes bouncing and waiting for the other to move.
Kiss him.
The plea inside my head is so demanding that I almost do it. I nearly close the gap, just to find out what his lips would feel like against mine, but then a throat clears and reality snaps into place.
Cursing, I jump back, placing space between us, and turn to the newcomer. My cheeks are as hot as the summer sun by the time I find MJ standing on the sidewalk at the bottom of my steps.
“Uh—sorry to interrupt,” she says, eyes flashing from me to Theo. Her lips pull back into an ear-splitting grin when they land back on me, and she bounces her brows. Holding her hand to one side of her mouth, she whispers, “What was that?”
Even when she’s whispering, though, there’s nothing quiet about MJ, and it becomes evident that Theo heard her when he snorts. I pointedly ignore him, keeping my attention on MJ.
“It’s not what you think,” I start to deny, but an arm falls over my shoulder, the weight of it pure torture.
Theo pulls me into his side, the vibrations of his voice pulsing into my side when he says, “Actually, it’sexactlywhat you’re thinking.”
He says it with such confidence that it’s impossible to argue, and then I remember that I’m not supposed to be.
A sudden thought strikes me, and I wiggle under Theo’s arm.
How long had MJ been standing there? Did he know she was there? Had that all been for show?
Theo’s arm tightens, holding me still against him and pulling me out of my thoughts. It’s hard to think when the smell of sandalwood and smoke fries my brain.
“Oh,” MJ says, her eyes still bouncing between us, but there’s a little wrinkle between her brows now as if she’s trying to figure out what’s really going on. “Well, I was just coming to invite Lily to our house for a cookout, but if you’re busy—”
“I’m not,” I practically shout, standing so that Theo’s arm falls off my shoulder, but even though I’m no longer pressed up against him, his scent still clings to me. I look down at him for only a brief second, but it’s long enough to see his eyes narrow and his lips tilt up as he stares at the goosebumps running along my leg.
When did those get there?
MJ turns to look at Theo, and my stomach drops. There’s mischief in her eyes, and I’ve come to learn that that means nothing good for me.
“Actually,” she says with a socialite smile her mother would be proud of. “There will be plenty of food. Why don’t you come too, Theo?”
My teeth grind together as I glare at her, trying to communicate my dislike for her at that moment, but MJ ignores me.
It’s a shame I’m going to have to kill her. We were really starting to be friends.
