Stone rubs his chin, humor sparkling in his eyes. “This cabinet looks like a great hiding spot for a first-timer. It’s small, dark. Things could happen.”
He wiggles his brows, and heat immediately blooms on my cheeks.
Stone leans one shoulder against the cabinet and knocks on the steel surface. “So you’re just going to go in, be where you’re supposed to be?”
I shrug. “I guess?”
“You’ll do this for a sister who didn’t congratulate you on a new job, and who would have let you suffer in the kitchen—the same kitchen I pulled you out of so you could come shoot? I’m just saying.”
A jolt of electricity shoots down my arms as I recall target practice. It’s the one thing I actually enjoy about these extended get-togethers—besides seeing myextendedfamily—aunts and Nu-Nu. “Did you see the look on her face when I almost hit the bull’s-eye?”
He beams, and it rocks me. Stone is so beautiful. I may have tried not to notice before, but it’s impossible to ignore now, when the fear and anticipation of being caught fills every moment.
“I saw the look Brittany gave you. I don’t think anyone else did.” He shakes his head and his mood shifts, darkens. “You don’t deserve that.”
“Hey.” I step closer. “Are you okay?”
He pushes off the cabinet. “I don’t know. No, Idoknow. I had a memory. Nothing concrete, but it left a bitter taste in my mouth.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“No. But you don’t need to cater to them like this. This isn’t the CocoChanelI know.”
I bust a gut at his nickname.
The lines around his eyes soften. “The Coco I know dives headfirst into a project and isn’t afraid to take risks. But I get it—this is your family, and for family, sometimes we bite our tongues.”
Sparks of worry and hope flare inside me. “Do you remember yours?”
“Not a thing.” He laughs bitterly. “But I know you’re not supposed to let anyone treat you like you’reless than. You let them, and it makes me angry.”
He takes a step forward and his shadow falls across me. A knot clogs my throat as he leans in and whispers, his breath tickling the curves and planes of my ear, “Do you know what I want to do?”
My breath hitches at the sound of his sultry voice. “No.”
“I want to hide somewhere else. Somewhere no one’s ever discovered you.” He pulls back. “Now, where could that be?”
I think for a moment and then snap my fingers. “I’ve got it.”
Stone takes my hand, and tingles walk up and down my spine. “Great. Take me there.”
“You’re not allowed to touchanything,” I say in a mock-stern voice.
Stone stops in the doorway.
Stares.
Looks at me.
Blinks.
His voice brims with awe. “Do you even know what you’re asking? That’s like demanding a kid who’s all alone in a candy shop not eat everything in sight.” He rests his hands on his hips and sighs. “No way will I be able to do that. This—all of this—must be touched.” His gaze flicks to me. “Did that sound inappropriate? Becausethat’swhat I was going for.”
I giggle and tug him by the sleeve into the room. “Just get in here so I can close the door.” From the woods, I hear Brittany whooping and shouting. “She’s caught another one.”
“Poor bastard,” Stone says with a playfulness in his eyes that makes my lungs spasm.
I softly shut the door and turn around, pressing my back to it and taking in the room I haven’t fully stood inside of in years.
