“Stop lying.” His words came out harsher than he meant.
Her expression turned to ice. “I’m not lying.”
He leaned even closer into her space. “Being untruthful breaks the bond ofConfessions. You don’t kiss someone likethatand then vanish.”
“I thought we agreed it didn’t happen?” she reminded him.
She had him there.
“For the next few minutes, it happened. Then it can go back to not happening.”
“I needed air,” she repeated.
“Sticking with that?”
She tossed her hands up, a splash of coffee sloshing over the side of her mug. “You’re impossible.”
“Mm-hmm.” He handed her a napkin.
“You kissed me, not the other way around.”
“I did kiss you. What you forget is you kissed me back. Then you disappeared,” he pointed out.
“You stepped back. Last night.” Hurt filled her eyes. “Maybe we should both step back this time.”
She landed a direct blow by agreeing with him. A perfect way out. No risk of failure for either of them. Except. A way out was the last thing he wanted. He could split his time between work and Lucy. Hell, having her on his team sounded pretty great right about now. They’d had a connection from the moment he helped her at the gas station. Pursuing her might not be the best idea, but he couldn’t help being drawn to her. Until that kiss, he figured they’d just enjoy whatever they had until it burned out. It always burned out.
Even the couple of times he’d felt like things might progress into something, the spark always faded.
This time was different.
“What if I said I want to see where this takes us?” He rose from his chair, scooted it back with his foot, and crouched in front of her. He took her hands in his. They trembled, but she didn’t move away. He pressed his forehead gently against hers so their breaths mingled.
“Not for pretend?” she asked.
Risk everything and hope it didn’t end with him alone—he was going to do this. “Nothing I’m feeling right now is pretend.”
He was a bastard because she deserved more than him. But he didn’t care. “You’re scared. I’m giving you time to get to know me, see that you’re into me as much as I’m into you. Today that involves a pretend couple’s therapy session. When you’re ready, it involves a whole hell of a lot more.” He ran the back of his knuckles along the apple of her cheek.
“You stepped back.” Her fingers lay limp against his.
“Won’t happen again.” He traced a thumb across her jaw and then rested his lips against her forehead.
Then he let her go.
Chapter Thirteen
Lucy’s existence was already complicated. Now William was into her? What did that even mean? The best course of action would be to pretend his declaration never happened and move ahead. To couple’s counseling.
William’s palm grazed the back of her shirt when they walked through to the therapy room—apparently also used for spin classes, given the bikes along the mirrored wall, and yoga, given the mats laid out in a semi-circle. The room had the same rustic feel as the rest of the lodge, but huge amounts of mountain sunshine speared through the high windows.
“Hello!” A woman dressed in black khakis and a polo shirt withTwin Lakesembroidered across the pocket emerged from the small equipment closet.
Lucy jolted.
Rebecca.
Her massage therapist.
