Page 90 of Playing Pretend

“I deserve to be punished, Piper. But those aren’t Stacey’s shoes. They’re Olivia’s”

His cousin?I pause in the middle of his driveway. “Stacey’s not here?”

“No, and she never will be. Your brother is meddling.”

Relief floods me, followed closely by anger.

I’m going to kill Rett.

“Yeah, my thoughts exactly.” Rome gives a half-hearted grin, reading my mind perfectly. “I haven’t seen him all week, let alone spoken to him about Stacey. I promise I’m not going there again, especially since you’ve made it clear you don’t like her. You can trust me on that, even though you might not want to trust me on much else.”

I wince, taking another backward step toward my car. “I trust you.”

“No, you don’t, but that’s okay. I get it.”

I pause, confused by the man who stands before me. He’s not Rome Cavanaugh, the overtly confident, unshakable property tycoon. He’s someone else. Someone cautious and exposed. Fragile and pained. “I do trust you. What makes you think I don’t?”

“Because you thought my actions at the resort were heartless and sterile. That wasn’t the case. They were calculated and entirely intentional.”

“I know.” I wince, stopping near the start of his drive. “You had a plan to protect me from Julian.”

“It was more than that.” He pauses, too, leaving a foot of space between us.

He’s close enough to touch. To hold. But after the proximity we recently shared, the distance seems cavernous.

“You wanted to prove I wasn’t cold,” I add.

“You’ve never been cold. Not once in your entire life. All you’ve ever needed is the right guy to prove that.” He raises his chin, as if preparing to say something harsh. “My mistake was thinking that guy was me.”

I blink.

Confused.

Stricken.

“I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember, Piper.” He holds me under the cage of those intense eyes. “I can’t think of a time when I haven’t.”

“I’ve always loved you, too. That’s part of being best friends.”

He smiles, the curve of lips etched in sadness. “The way I felt, and will continue to feel, is far more than friendship, and I think you know that.”

I stop breathing.

I didn’t know.

Icouldn’thave known.

“At the resort, you used my lack of dating experience against me,” he continues. “And you’re right—I haven’t had a successful relationship. But that’s only because I’ve never wanted one unless it was with you.”

I’m tripping.

I must have had a car accident on the way here. In reality, I’m lying in a ditch somewhere. Unconscious. Barely clinging to life. I need to wake up and get medical assistance.

“It’s okay.” His smile fades. “You don’t have to respond. I know I’m a prick for laying this at your feet when all you want to do is forget.”

I’m probably hemorrhaging. Bleeding out.

I certainly feel lightheaded.

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