Page 156 of Hide and Keep

I hold his eyes, wondering how they can be so different from mine. Not just in color but in the way they view the world.

“Every time I’m around you, I lament the fact I didn’t make your mother abort you.”

“Oh.” I clutch my irreparably fissured heart. “Me, too, Father. Me, too.”

“Finally, we agree on something. Maybe there’s hope for us yet.”

A scoff leaves me involuntarily. “I wouldn’t count on it.”

“I don’t.”

The deliberate hostility crumbles my resolve, forcing me to look away.

“Is that all?”

“No. Due to your disappearing act, Mr. Larson is requesting more time getting to know you.”

Mallory had the chance to get to know me. He chose to talk about himself. And feel me up.

“So, we’ll be hosting the Larsons for dinner.”

“Here? At the manor?”

“Yes. To make things moreintimate.”

I exhale for so long it feels like my lungs have deflated entirely.

“When?”

“Wednesday.”

Hearing everything I need to, I push myself up from the chair and dash for the door, my insides in knots.

“And, Never?” my father calls to my back. “Wear red. It’s his favorite color.”

I leave the office on autopilot, somehow making it down to the gym, nothing registering along the way. If my father called off Crue for a few hours during last night’s gala, he’ll probably give my bodyguard the night off on Wednesday. I will be well and truly on my own, just like I always have been, just like I always will be.

Someone grabs my shoulder, making me jump.

“You ignoring me or something?” Crue asks.

“Always.”

His frown gets to me. His presence gets to me. Why does he have to be stuck to me now but won’t during Wednesday’s “intimate” dinner? That’s when I’ll need him.

Will I need him?

I’ll want him.

I always want him.

“Shouldn’t you be used to it by now?” I mutter.

Without answering, he asks, “What did your dad want?”

How did he know I was talking to him? Did I pass him on the way down here? Did he follow me?

“To know why I left the gala early.”

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