The fucker didn’t need the sweatpants.
I lift my camera, pointing it at him.
Click.
I move slightly right and tilt just so.
Click.
Tara Greene. I close my eyes, and see her tablet. Pretty sure she’s stockpiling state secrets on that thing.”
His expression shifts. “Yeah. I’m pretty sure she’s only worried about our secrets.”
At the tone of his voice, my stomach pitches. “What?”
“She asked me about you today. During my interview.”
The blood drains from my face. “She asked you aboutme?”
“About us.”
The word hangs in the air between us, the topic best avoided, yet completely unavoidable.
“What did you tell her?”
“Professional colleagues. Barrett family history. The same bullshit I've been saying for eleven years.” He runs a hand through his already mussed hair. “What did you tell her?”
“The same. Architecture. Preservation. My romance is with buildings.” I laugh, the sound brittle to my own ears. “She didn't believe me.”
“She didn't believe me either.”
The fear wells inside me. The silence stretches between us, held together by eleven years of secrets and the very real possibility that they're about to surface.
“She found a photo.” He keeps his voice low, even though there's no one to hear us. “Old social media pic. Some holiday party. We're in the background.”
My heart stutters. “Which party?”
“I don't know. It was grainy. But we were looking at each other and standing close—too close.”
“Shit.” I close my eyes. “Shit, shit, shit.”
“It might be nothing. She might be fishing.”
“She's not fishing.” I open my eyes and meet his gaze. “She's hunting.”
I don’t know what he sees as his gaze travels my face, but something in his expression softens.
“She asked me why I've been single for eleven years,” I continue, the words spilling out now. “She said people who pour love into buildings are trying not to pour it into people.”
Christ. Even repeating it makes my chest pinch.
“She asked me the same thing,” he says quietly. “Said you touch your mouth when you think about kissing someone.”
I freeze.
Our eyes lock.
I jerk my hand away from where I've been unconsciously worrying my bottom lip.
