Instead, he saved me from drowning in my ocean of humiliation with a fucking joke.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “Fuck, I’m so sorry. I just—all of this has really messed with my head. I heard someone say something about a church and the diner, and I was scared you were one of them. You must think I’m a crazy person. I’m sorry.”
Okay, it is now Shut Up Time, Nova, I hissed internally to get myself to stop blabbering on and on.
Wes sighed. “I do not think you are a crazy person. However, as you have seen, I may not be the best judge of that,” he teased. “As a crazy person myself.”
“Recovering crazy person?” I offered.
“In the most important way, yes,” he said. He put his hands in his pockets. “Five years.”
“Congrats,” I said with a wobbly smile, rocking on my feet. “Okay, I’ll go home now, and if you never want to speak to me again, I understand. Have a nice meeting with your kind of cultish non-cult.”
Wes smiled. “Take a breath, please.” He chuckled, reaching for my waist to stop me from turning. “Let’s go talk.”
My skin tingled from the contact. I halted. “But what about your meeting? Aren’t those important?”
“Yes. I’ll pick up an extra one this week.” He shook his head, reaching for my clammy hand. “Come on, Nancy Drew.”
I glared at him, forcing my trembling legs to finally start moving again.
“I don’t blame you, Nova. Believe it or not, I’ve had similar paranoias aboutyou.”
“Me?” I balked. “An angel who has never done one morally questionable thing in her entire life?”
Wes threw me a dry look. “Yes,you. A little temptress perfectly designed to ensnare me.”
My mouth fell open. I was grateful when he steered us into the shade. The weight of his words was slow to penetrate my shame haze. He thought the cult was usingmeto ensnarehim?
“I’m not perfect,” I mumbled.
“Clearly.”
“Hey!” Damn him, I had to smile. But I soon cringed again at the painfully recent memory. “That was the most humiliating moment of my entire life.”
“It definitely looked like it.”
I tried to pull my hand from his out of spite, but he tightened his grip.
“Kind of turned me on.”
“You’re sick.”
“Thank you,baby,” he said, thumbing my hat. He walked a few more paces before speaking again. “Okay, if we’re being honest, itreallyturned me on.”
“Urgh!” I huffed, looking away from him and his stupidly beautiful face.
“Would it help the embarrassment if I punished you for it?”
At the sudden throb between my legs, I had my answer. “No.”
“I’d have to punish you for that lie too.”
Wes took a deep breath, as if to refocus. We walked for a couple blocks in silence before reaching a townhouse—a classic three-story red brick with black cornices.
He glanced at me one more time before he led me up the stoop. His jaw ticked as he let go of me to twist keys into the locks.
Why was he nervous? Was his place messy? Or?—
