Yeah right. The question is, why aren’t you being honest about him? “Really? Because I can see a lot of things that need to be addressed. Like, why do you cringe every time he touches you?”
The trembling gets worse. “I don’t like being touched,” she blurts out.
“It doesn’t seem like you mind it very much right now.” I reach over and set my other hand on hers, stopping her from treating my wounds. “Matter of fact, it doesn’t seem like you mind it very much at all when I do it, but you cringe back every time that boyfriend of yours so much as touches your arm. Care to explain that?”
She licks her lips and pulls back. “Um.”
“Then there’s the fact that I almost kissed you the other day, and you didn’t pull away from me. You aren’t the type ofwoman to kiss two guys.” Did she ever kiss Canyon? My gut says all of this was a sham.
“You don’t know what type of person I am.” Fiona stands up and moves away from the couch.
“I know exactly who you are.”
She shakes her head wildly. “No. No, you don’t. No one does.”
It’s tempting to ask her to explain what she means, but we need to move past this silliness before we can get anywhere. “I see who you are every day. I see your kind heart. I see your patience with all those kids. I see you, Fiona Shaw.”
She backs away, bumping into one of the armchairs. “Why are we even talking about this? I’m dating Canyon.”
“No, you aren’t.” I stand up.
“Yes…Yes, I am.”
“Oh really.” I take a step towards her. “Then why didn’t Canyon go after you today?”
Her eyes widen, and she takes a step back, almost stumbling as she skirts around the chair. “He probably didn’t see me.”
“Canyon saw you.”
“He did?” she squeaks.
“Oh yeah.”
“I…um told you before that he knows I can take care of myself.”
“You did when you melted into my arms.”
Her mouth falls open.
“Can you explain that to me?”
She shakes her head as I take a step forward.
“But the part that I really can’t understand is, why he told me what direction you were heading in and then went back into the bakery to let me take care of you?”
A sigh like she just made speaks volumes. “Canyon thinks I like you.”
It seems Canyon isn’t a dumb man, even though I still hate the sight of him a little bit. “Canyon’s a smart man.”
“He thinks that I’m afraid to tell you I like you, so I’m using him as a shield.”
If Fiona didn’t look about ready to jump out of her skin, I would laugh. “Your shield has a few holes in it.” Though that was almost literally true.
Her gaze drops to the floor. “I know.”
“Why don’t I tell you a few things first? Then you can decide if you’re brave enough to answer my questions without lying.”
“I haven’t—”
