Page 69 of Mr. Dangerous

"And you're not going to explain it to me? Despite promising you would if I gave you the time to talktonight?"

He gestured at a street sign ahead. "Take a right. We can go talk atthepark."

The park was empty, and there was a "No Trespassing After Dusk" sign hanging up alongside the swings. "This feel safe. This feels like agoodidea."

"There's a walking trail," he said, pointing to the parking spaces by the tenniscourts.

A few minutes later, we were out of the car. The evening air felt cool, although the earth beneath our feet still held the heat of the summer day, and it was scented with the greenery around us. Rob led me under the spreading branches of a long, gravel trail, the moonlight shifting through the ceiling of leaves above them like akaleidoscope.

He hesitated, then reached out and took my hand. I let him, cursing myself at the same time as my fingers wrapped around his. Rob's hand felt big and warm and comforting. I wished things were different, and I felt the ache I'd carried all day after his words openwider.

"I have a tough time talking about my feelings," he said. "About myfamily."

There was a pause between us. We walked under the trees, hearing the peepers sing in the background. Rob swung our hands slightlybetweenus.

"That's it?" I asked, wondering where the punchline was. "I have a tough time talking about my feelings, too, Rob. That's not thatspecial."

"I just. I mean, I don't want you to think I'm a horrible humanbeing."

"I don't think that," I said. "You didn't bring me into the woods to murder me, did you? I always get a little nervous when men want to take a nature walk after dark. But as long as you didn't bring me into the woods to murder me, I don't think you're a horrible humanbeing."

He gazed back at me, amusement sparking in his vivid eyes and chasing away some of his sadness. "You are such anoddgirl."

"That's why you like me," I said, with a lightness Ididn'tfeel.

"Ido."

"You never answered myquestion."

"The only thing I want to do is kiss you," he said, and as irritated as I was with him, part of me wanted to kiss him while Icould.

He leaned forward, his lips touching mine gently. I began to twine my arms around his neck before I flashed back to the stairs."Don't fall in love with me,"he'd said with that same easy, teasing tone heusednow.

My hands flattened on his shoulders, and I pushed him away, turning my face to one side to breakcontact.

"Okay," he said, standing still as I staggered a few steps past him down the trail, my feet unsteady beneath me. The rough gravel trail seemed to tilt for a second, as if pulling myself away from Rob's arms mademesick.

"I guess I deserved that," hewenton.

I rubbed my forehead, trying to clear my head. "I guessyoudid."

"I don't want you to think I'm a horrible person," he said, "But historically? The men in my family are horriblepeople."

"So?"

He made a small sound that might have been laughter, but didn't sound quite right. "So I don't know how to be a normal guy in a normal relationship? My father left a woman to die. Mymother..."

"What happened to your mother?" I asked, when the pause went onuncomfortablylong.

"It's hard to know," he said. "Anyway, she's dead now. And my grandfather? Not a prize. I don't want you to fall in love with me, Naomi. Because I don't want to letyoudown."

There was a long pause again. He stood there, the look on his face expectant, and I wanted toslaphim.

"That's it? You're nervous like anyone is at the start of a relationship and you think that's so special because you're RobDelaney?"

"I don't know that I'd sayrelationship..."

"Rob, shut up." I couldn't take it anymore. I certainly couldn't let him keep talking when he was going to dig himself a new,deeperhole.

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