Page 30 of Baited

Her breath stalled. She kept her gaze on the porch’s wooden planks, waiting for him to say more. Part of her wanted to hear what he had to say, the other part dreaded it.

“You can’t keep doing this, Riley. You need to confide in someone.”

She lifted her head to face him. “I’m not discussing this with you—I can’t.” Her tone lacked venom, and her voice broke on the last part. If she talked about Hanna, she would fall apart. Especially with Ethan.

He held up his hand. “Fine, I won’t push. But I want you to know that if you need help with anything or even just an ear to listen, I’d be more than willing.”

She chortled. “You’d be more than willing to sleep with me is what you mean.”

He lifted a shoulder. “Yeah, that’d be nice.” His eyes sparked at her. “But that’s not what I’m talking about. If that’s all I wanted, I would have obliged last night.”

Now what could she say to that? It was true. He easily could have made love to her all night and she wouldn’t have complained one bit. A dull hum started behind her eyes. She pressed her fingers to her forehead.

“Look, I know that, Ethan. You’re a decent guy, all right? But I have a pounding headache.” Hesitation hardened the protective wall around her. As kind as he was, she couldn’t let this go any further. She was here for one purpose and one purpose only. That in no way included Ethan.

He nodded, concern etched the lines on his face. “All right. I’ll see you around.” He turned from her and froze.

She followed his line of vision to Michael, her upstairs neighbor. He stood on the sidewalk, watering the flower bed. She hadn’t noticed him when they’d come outside, all of her attention had been on Ethan.

“How well do you know him?” He nodded at Michael.

Michael’s tall, gangly form moseyed around the flower bed, spraying what looked like freshly planted flowers.

“Michael? Well enough. He a quiet neighbor.”

Ethan’s eyes narrowed on Michael. His jaw set in a firm line.

“Why?”

He shook his head and the tension left his face. “Just curious. I’ve only chatted with him a couple of times since moving in.”

She shrugged. “He owns one of the dentist offices in town and mostly keeps to himself. Thanks again, Ethan. I’ll see you later.” She hadn’t meant to sound dismissive, but the nausea built in her belly and she badly needed to anchor it with food and Advil.

“Be careful,” he called, as he descended the stairs, his voice hard. He needed to chill out. Michael was in his midforties andRiley had known him for years, though not as well as she knew most people in town. He was friendly, did a nice job maintaining their shared property and that was as far as her interest went with him. Michael smiled warmly and waved as he made his way toward the flower bed beneath her porch. Ethan skirted across the lawn and waved to Michael.

The entrance to Michael’s unit was a flight of stairs at the side of the house. The white and yellow two-story character home was cheerful and bright, and if it weren’t for Michael’s diligent watering, it wouldn’t be half as nice.

“Morning, Michael.”

He stepped closer, angling the spray at the flowers. His wire-rimmed glasses slid down the long, slim bridge of his nose. With his middle finger, his pushed them up.

“Morning Riley.” Michael’s gaze drifted over her.

Her cheeks burned. She had nothing to be embarrassed about. But Michael’s pinched features told her what he was thinking about Ethan spending the night. Her spine stiffened. Even if it had been a romantic incident, it was none of Michael’s business.

“The garden looks lovely by the way.”

His dark brown eyes shifted away from Ethan and down to her. “You came home late.” His tone lacked accusation, and was more of an observation but nonetheless her hackles rose. His long finger pushed his glasses up again.

Irritation bubbled inside her. She opened her mouth to speak, but a soft smile touched his lips, stopping her. His eyes flitted to Ethan’s form as he reached his yard and then back to her face. “Do you like the lilies I planted? I remembered you saying those are your favorite.”

Her brow furrowed. Had she? She couldn’t remember ever mentioning that to him. She shook her head. She must be getting forgetful.

“They’re beautiful, thank you.” She turned to find Ethan hovering outside his front door. She gave him an exaggerated wave. He wiggled his fingers at her, his stubborn smile visible from here. A laugh threatened to bubble from her throat. He was incorrigible “I’ll see you later, Michael.”

She turned and walked inside. The hot eyes of both men on her burned through her skin. One more than the other.

CHAPTER 9

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