“I know,” he repeats. “I didn’t mean to frighten you. I just needed to learn as much about you as I could, to convince you to like me.”
“Well, I did like you.” I squirm, but I can’t stop the nervous laugh in my throat. “How much of that personality was fake?”
“None of it.” His hands shift in his lap, clenching and unclenching. “I really felt like I could be myself around you.”
Crap. He sounds so sincere.
“You really enjoy all that stuff? Movies, video games, and Brendan Fraser inThe Mummy?”
“I’d be a fool not to enjoy Brendan Fraser.” He smiles. Adorable.
“You weren’t lying about any of it?”
“Everything I told you was true. All of my past, my interests. All of that was real. It was just the little things. Your favorite foods. The way you take your coffee. The type of candy you likeat the movies.” He stops talking, seeming to realize what he’s admitting. “I thought it would make you like me.”
Crap. I actually believe him. He’s a stalker, but he’s been honest about it. I don’t think he’d lie to me now. Would he? Am I being an idiot? Colin barely remembered that I hated olives on pizza.
“And you really didn’t know?” I clarify. “That Loch was offering to sign a contract with Penpoint?”
“I didn’t know.” Ant says. “Sacha didn’t understand the situation either. He never would have agreed. The Bigfoot is completely furious about the whole thing.“
I snort half a laugh. “That much has become obvious. You are all just blaming the Lake Monster?”
“Yes,” he grumbles. “You asked me to stay away, Piper. I’ve been attempting that, to the best of my abilities.”
I pause. I don’t know if I’ve had a man actually listen to me before. “You know you’re famous? I’ve admired your work for a long time.”
“Really?”
“I never knew what you looked like. No one on the internet does. What’s that about?”
He shakes his head. “People seem to respond more positively before they know what I look like.”
“But parties, conferences, speaking engagements, corporate announcements…Magnes and Sacha are photographed all the time.”
“Those events are loud and crowded. Full of noise and smells and bright lights. I can barely handle going to a bar. That’s why I bought Moonshine and the Artemis.”
“You own the movie theater too?” I groan. “Of course you do. You seem to have a hand in everything cool in this city.”
“Only part of the theater.” He shrugs. “And a couple other establishments. I wanted there to be places that people like me could go and…feel like they belong.”
“You should have just told me all of that. That really would have made me like you,” I admit. Sweet. He is sweet and kind and using his money to make sure there are good, inclusive activities in the community.
“It’s not all my doing. Cryptech wouldn’t be where it is today without Sacha and Ness taking the lead in public spaces. I wouldn’t be anything without them. I owe them so much.”
I smile softly at that.
Crap. I can’t let him do this to me—win me over with a couple quiet words.
“I’m sorry I called you a freak that day that we were fighting,” I say quickly. “I feel really bad about it.”
“It’s okay.” His wings flutter before he speaks again. “I wonder if you could forgive me too? For all of the stupid things I did.”
“It would be nice if I could, especially if we are going to live in the same city, and work in the same field,” I admit. “It’d be better if I weren’t worrying all the time. I was looking forward to meeting Pontius Pleasant, who's supposed to be the most talented programmer in the city. It would have been an incredible opportunity to work with you.”
“You could still work with me,” he suggests.
“I don’t know.” I shake my head.
