I guess not.

I don’t answer and walk away, choosing to start dinner as a distraction. When I walk in, my eyes immediately go to the island and I swear I can feel his hands all over my body right now. Walking toward it, I step on something small akin to the size of a pebble. I look down and see a button. In my frazzled state, I forgot to sweep up the buttons that scattered all over the place. Even though my feelings are slightly hurt by Alex’s comments, my body still responds to the thought of his body on mine. I would wear a buttoned down shirt every day if he promised to rip it open. I’ve never been with a guy that made me feel so wanted and desired where he couldn’t wait another second to properly take off my clothes. His need and hunger pushing him over the edge so that he has to have me right then. I’ve never felt sexier in my life and it’s addictive. Even though I know it’s wrong, my body craves to feel like that again. Maybe feel more.

I’ve got to clean this up before Cal comes downstairs. There’s no way I’ll be able to come up with a convincing lie as to why there are little buttons all over the place. Grabbing the broom and dustpan from the closet, I make quick work of making sure they’re all up. As I’m dumping them into the trash, Alex walks into the kitchen.

“I hope you know that I was just kidding. I don’t know why you stay since it’s obvious that you’re unhappy, but I know that’s not the reason.”

It helps that he has apologized, but the words still ring in my ear. It’s my weakness, the one thing that bothers me for people to assume. “I know, it’s okay,” I reply, trying to disguise the hurt, but I know he still sees it. He’s said it himself; I’m not good at lying to him.

“It’s not okay that I’ve upset you or hurt your feelings. Will you look at me, please,” he says in the most tender voice. Bringing my eyes up to his I see the remorse all over his face. “I’m not judging you. I know you’re hiding something from me, and for now, that’s fine. I just hate seeing you like this. It’s so rare that you let the real Elizabeth out, and you seem to only do it around me. You have no idea how that makes me feel. It makes me feel like the luckiest bastard alive knowing that you trust me on some level to shed this shell and let me see you. All it does is make me want to see it more, to show the world. That’s why I questioned you back there. You deserve to be happy. And that asshole up there?” he says, pointing toward the stairs. “He doesn’t make you happy.”

“Dinner should be ready by now,” Cal says as he dashes into the kitchen, effectively ending my moment with Alex. How does he do that? He makes me completely defenseless with words alone. They form a shield deflecting all of the lies, stories, and phoniness I put out to the world.

Stuttering, I respond, “Um, I’m just about to heat it up.” I don’t cook. The housekeeper prepares all of our meals each week and I “cook” them by heating them up. It’s another thing Cal won’t let me do. I actually really enjoy cooking and baking. I’m not the greatest, but I told Cal that I would get better the more I practiced. After my first cooked meal, he told me not to worry about it anymore.

“What have you been doing in here while I was showering?” I’m a deer in headlights, especially given his suspicious tone. What do I say? Mona called, I suspect you’re cheating, and Alex just told me how wonderful I am and you’re a prick for not noticing. Yeah, right.

“She was in the bathroom for a bit, sir. She’s not feeling all that great.” Looking at Alex, I try to express my thanks for bailing me out again.

“Well, if you’re sick, maybe you should sleep in one of the spare bedrooms. I can’t afford to get sick.” It’s kind of sad that I’m thrilled with the idea. The less time I have to spend around him, the better.

“I think that’s probably a good idea. By the way, your phone was ringing.” My eyes are focused on the task at hand, afraid to meet his eyes.

“Did you see who it was?”

“No, I just heard it vibrating before I went to the bathroom.”

“Okay, I’ll go check.” Cal leaves the kitchen to retrieve his phone.

“Whatever is keeping you here,” Alex whispers, “I can help you with.”

No, he can’t.

THE RICH SMELL of coffee wafts through my nose, rousing me from my sleep. Blinking my eyes open, I’m met with the best morning wake up I’ve had in a very long time. Alex is perched on the edge of the bed, coffee in hand with a brilliant smile on his face.

“Wake up, sweetheart. We’ve got plans today.” There’s a little gleam in his eye that looks so much like a little boy on Christmas. It warms my heart. Stretching my arms above my head, I arch my back as I shake off the sleep. When I look back up at Alex, his darkened gaze is focused on my chest that’s thrust up in the air, my hard nipples poking through the thin fabric of my nighty. Clearing his throat, he says, “So, how’d you sleep?”

“Great, actually. I haven’t slept that well in ages.” I slept in one of the guest rooms per Cal’s request since I’m “sick,” but I didn’t mind. I hate having to pretend that I enjoy being cuddled up at his side at night. I don’t sleep well since I’m constantly fighting the urge to recoil from him. Last night I slept like the dead and I feel refreshed, like a whole new woman. Sitting up against the headboard, I reach for the coffee Alex has in his hand.

“Good. Cal left about thirty minutes ago. He told me to tell you that he’d call you later and let you know if he’d have a late night or not.” Yeah, late night with Mona is the first thing that runs through my mind. “But we have plans. So get up and get ready so we can have some fun.”

Fun.

I smile at the idea since that’s something that I haven’t had in a long time. Fun isn’t exactly in Cal’s repertoire. “What are we doing?” I ask as I bring the coffee up to my lips and look at him over the rim of the mug.

“That’s for me to know and you to find out.” He hops off the bed and taps my nose with the tip of his finger, making me squish my face up at him. “Just wear something comfortable that you don’t mind getting ruined.” As he’s about to walk out of the room, he turns back around and says, “And wear tennis shoes.” Then he’s gone.

My mind immediate recalls the last time he ruined a piece of clothing. A blush creeps up my face and I clench my thighs together to ease the ache the memory brings. Suddenly, going out doesn’t sound as appealing as staying in. Knowing these thoughts can never be acted on again, I stand up and get ready.

“I like this casual look on you,” Alex says as he drives us to wherever we’re going.

“You’ve seen me in jeans and a T-shirt before.” I tuck a few loose strands of hair that have fallen out of my ponytail behind my ear self consciously.

“I know, but I like it,” he says softly as he places his hand on top of mine while it rests on my leg. I blush at his compliment and turn my attention toward the window, not really sure what to say. We’re quiet the rest of the drive, the only sound coming from the radio and him whistling softly along with the music. Soon, we’re pulling up to a building and when I look at the sign, my heart drops.

“Paintball? You can’t be serious.” I look at him with a flat expression letting him know that I’m not that excited about this. Actually, I’m terrified.

A mischievous grin spreads slowly across his face. “Come on, it’ll be fun. I promise.” He exits the car and comes around my side to help me out. I sit there even though he’s waiting, contemplating if I’m going to do this or not. “Let’s go, sweetheart. The next round is going to start soon.”

I shake my head at him several times. “No way. I’m not going to run around while people try to shoot hard balls full of paint at me.”