Page 126 of Smoke and Fire
“Why do you ask?” I asked in a failed attempt at nonchalance. There wasn’t enough time in the day for games like this.
Instead of answering, he asked, “Do you like romance books?”
My hands twitched, ready to grabLove is a Terrible Nightmareand fling it under the counter. Too late. He’d already seen the bright, turquoise cover.
“No,” I drawled, then scoffed. “C’mon. Romance books?”
“Liar.”
He said it softly, but without judgment. If anything, I detected amusement in his eyes, somewhere beneath the layers of stress and concentration.
“Fine.” I sighed. “I’ve read exactly 1.85 romance novels and I’ve been absolutely obsessed with them so far. In general? No.”
“Same.”
“You’ve read 1.85 romance novels?”
This time, he almostsmiled. “No, but in general I don’t like them.”
His quick agreement startled me, but I kept going because my name mustbe cleared. I hooked a thumb toward the book.
“But this author is . . . really good. Likereallygood. Lizbeth sort of cornered me into reading her and . . . look, I’m not a romance junkie, all right? I deal with reality. I just . . . Rodrigo is an idiot and it took him too long to come around! Rashaad is at least more self aware but so stubborn.” I held up a hand. “Please, don’t get me started on Rashaad because there are not enough hours in the day.”
He held up both hands, palms in the air.
“No judgment. Just wondered.”
Too late, I realized I’d escalated faster than I needed to. A tell, for sure. Why it mattered what this guy thought, I had no idea. My shoulders relaxed back. The general tension in the air faded.
“Right. Sorry. Why are you asking?”
He tapped his teeth together and studied me, as if attempting to decide whether I would be worthy of a great secret. For half a breath, I thought I’d be found wanting. He’d spin on his heels, march back to the table, then disappear out of my life. And while I wasn’t honest about myself with everything, I at least knew that I didn’t want him to leave.
Not yet.
There was something to be said for looking at someone who was easy on the eyes, but that wasn’t the reason I wanted him to stay. Plenty of attractive people came and went and I never remembered them. But they never had the same mixture of terror and hope as this guy. I had to know his demons.
The words he said next caught me by surprise.
“I need help.”
I blinked.
Wait,Inner Me me said.What?
“Help?”
He nodded with a bleak sigh. A balloon had deflated inside him, and everything that once held him up had disappeared. The one phrase that would removemy reservations about Mr. No Words was the quietly utteredI need help.
I swallowed, trapped now.
“Help with what?”
“Something that I think you’d be perfect for, if you like people, money, and can work independently.”
Color me intrigued. Not only had he just given me a sentence with more than ten words, but his mention ofwork independentlyclued me right in.
“What is it?”
