Page 145 of Secret Obsession
My breath catches.
Miles holds his hand out. His hair is combed and neat, although a curl still falls down his forehead. His eyes are guarded and unsure—like I’m feral. And trapped.
Both things may be true.
“Wild girl.” He reads my mind. “Will you come with me?”
I resist the urge to snap at him, and instead, I say nothing at all. All the emotions I don’t want to feel come bubbling up in my chest, and it takes a mountain of effort to shove them back down. My seemingly infinite distrust of him, and probably men in general. My desire to just throw myself into his arms because another part of me thinks he’d catch me. My terror at feeling the pain and humiliation his brother put me through again.
It’s all overwhelming, but I don’t have a hint of a coping mechanism besides pretending none of those feelings exist.
So, will I go with him? My choices are limited.
I have a sneaking suspicion Violet and Aspen won’t come back until whatever allotted time with Miles expires. Which means, if I refuse, he could just slam the door and leave me in here.
Then you’d go through the front, you dummy.
My other choice is to go with it.
To stop thinking about my choices, and where they could lead, and just do it for once.
Violet told me not to think—so that’s what I do. I shove away the dark thoughts that tell me Miles will leave me high and dry just like his brother, that I should protect my heart ten times harder from him, and take his hand.
And I swear, the relief on his face makes my eyes burn.
His fingers curl around mine, and he shifts out of the way. He helps me from the car. Once standing, I straighten slowly. I clear my throat before I can talk. My words jam in my throat.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
“Asking you on a date.”
I tilt my head. “A date?”
“I should’ve done it sooner, but there was too much in the way.” He shakes his head. He’s still holding my hand. “That’s a bullshit excuse. The real reason is, I don’t think I could’ve stomached it if you refused.”
“You don’t think I’m going to refuse now?”
He lifts his shoulder. His gaze, though, sears into mine. With it, he’s pulling me apart to examine my soul, and I shudder at the rawness of it.
I find myself wanting to give him what he wants.
I agree without prompting, “No, I’m not going to refuse you now.”
His smile is earth-shattering.
“Good. Let’s go.” He tugs me back the way he came.
“Wait.” I duck back into the car and rummage through my purse, finding his phone. “You probably want this back.”
He grins and pockets it. “Okay. Let’s go for real.”
“Wait,” I repeat, trying to slow him down. “Gowhere?”
“On our date.”
“You mean right now?”
He grins. “Yeah, I didn’t mean three weeks from now, wild girl. Right now, before you lose your nerve.”
