Page 32 of Always Knew It Was You

“Hey,” she says. “I dropped by to talk, but Mrs. Peach said you went on a date. She told me that would be back soon, so I decided to wait.”

“Oh. Uh, yeah,” I say. And that’s when I notice a black Mercedes parked in the driveway, the one I missed because I was too busy brooding. The bodyguards are probably choosing to wait there, to give the girls privacy. I know Emma is starting to chafe under their constant regard, and she’s complained to me a few times about just how invasive having bodyguards is.

But Declan won’t budge on her having them, until the Pearl case is entirely resolved. Possibly even after.

Emma glances behind me to the other end of the road where Micah’s rental Porsche was sitting. I wonder if she saw him drive off.

“Was that Micah who dropped you off?”

Shit. She saw him.

“Uh, yeah,” I say, trying to act casual as I attempt to step past her. Emma gives me space so I can enter the empty living room. “Where are Mrs. Peach and Kayla?” Kayla is the six-year-old girl she’s babysitting, one of the neighbor’s kids.

“In the bedroom. Mrs. Peach is reading her a bedtime story.” I hear the door shut behind me as I head to the kitchen. Emma follows. “Amelia was helping too, although I’m pretty sure she just wanted a chance to tell someone about the diary again.”

“Amelia’s here too?” Declan’s daughter is a precocious almost fourteen-year-old, who is always a hoot, with her endless curiosity and conspiracy theories.

“Yup,” Emma answers. “We were having a girl’s day and decided to drop by.”

“Cool.”

Emma clears her throat, before she says, “So Micah was the one you went on a date with?”

“Well, I wouldn’t call it a date.”

“What would you call it then?”

I open the fridge. While the food at the restaurant was good, and the wine was even better, their portion sizes left much to be desired. I’m still hungry hours later, but luckily, Mrs. Peach always has leftovers.

I visually scroll through the items as I mull over how to answer Emma’s question.

“We just went to a restaurant to talk. He has a problem that he needs my help to solve.”

“Right.” Emma doesn’t sound like she believes a word I’m saying, and when I straighten with a Tupperware of mashed potatoes and greens, she has an eyebrow raised and a half smile on her face. “You went on to a restaurant with Micah Landing, in that dress, and all you did was talk?”

I shrug, but I can already feel the heat spreading across my face. Damn my pale coloring. I can lie and mask my expression excellently, make my features convincingly bland, but then a random blush will give the whole thing away.

Emma’s expression loses all its humor, and she sighs. “Look, babe, I know Micah looks like a dream boat–”

“Don’t let your fiancé hear you say that.” Declan is famously jealous.

Emma rolls her eyes at my wry comment and continues, “Micah is objectively good-looking, but he’s not really… relationship material.”

I raise an eyebrow. “What on earth gave you the impression that I wanted a relationship with him?”

“I know you don’t date. I also know you have your own set of attachment issues, but I’m worried that dealing with Micah will worsen your view of men and completely shatter whatever shred of romantic inclinations you may have. I mean he’s a nice guy, but he’s also…”

“A spoiled, irreverent womanizer?” I volunteer when she lets the sentence hang.

“Well… yeah.”

I snort, placing the Tupperware on the kitchen counter and retrieve a bottle of water, cracking it open. “Yeah, I already figured out the kind of man Micah is. Don’t worry. There’s no risk of me getting my heart broken by that guy.” At most, Micah irritates and arouses me, but he doesn’t trigger me on a deeply emotional level that would suggest an intimate connection. We’re fuck buddies. And that’s how it’s going to remain.

For now.... The threat lingers in my mind longer than it should.

“We’re just hooking up while he’s in town.” I decide to be honest with Emma. “And then when he’s gone, I’ll forget all about him. You know me, Emma. When have I ever been hung up on a guy?”

Emma still looked doubtful. “I don’t know. It’s just… I’ve heard about Micah.”

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