Page 44 of Lock
Kaleb gasps, clutching his chest. “You get mean when you’re scared.”
And just like that, the anger and annoyance leave my body. “I’m sorry. That was mean.”
My mind clears. I know I locked the door. Finding the necklace where it hides under my shirt, I fiddle with it.
Is he here?
“I locked the front door is what I should have said.” The words are offered as an apology. Kaleb hasn’t done anything wrong.
The man in front of me frowns. “It was unlocked. I’ll check the house.”
“Kaleb . . .” I’m unsure of what to say. How am I supposed to reassure him that there’s no danger when I don’t know who my mystery man is?
“It’s okay. It’ll give me something to do while you finish getting ready.” He gestures to the clothes I have on the bed.
“Why do I have to be the buffer between you and Sam again?”
“Because you love me like a brother.” He smiles, leaving me alone in my bedroom.
My mind drifts to the last time my man was here.
“Did she tell you?” he calls from the spare room, but I don’t answer.
Opening the drawer, I stare down at the now useless condoms.
“I didn’t realize that you were seeing someone,” Kaleb states, peering over my shoulder.
His closeness scares the shit out of me. I swear the man was a ninja in a past life.
Embarrassed, I slam the drawer shut and lean my hip against it. If you can’t see it, it’s not there, right?
Wrong.
“Careful,” he chides.
Kaleb leans around me to tug the drawer open.
Not happening.
“She told me.” I try to distract him.
It doesn’t work.
We stare it out, but it’s useless. I take the smallest step I can, but it’s enough for Kaleb to crack the drawer open.
Humiliation consumes me.
Why can’t I have a normal love life? My fingers find the necklace again.
“Do I need to take care of someone?” Kaleb asks.
I quickly shake my head.It’s not like that.I answer in my head.
When I don’t answer aloud, he captures my chin. “Do you need help, Shelby?”
Pain shoots through my lip when I chew a little too hard. “No,” I whisper. Desperate for him to understand, I add, “It’s complicated.”
Kaleb holds my gaze. I don’t look away, not even when I feel his fingers pulling the necklace from my shirt.
