Page 29 of The Cinderella Arrangement

“That’s not true,” he said with an edge in his voice.

"There weren't any reporters on that airplane."

“Okay, fine. I’ll admit that the lines can become a little blurred for me.”

“Well, me too.” My cheeks flamed again, and I felt frustrated with how little control I had over my body. “What do we do about it?”

"It has to stop."

"You do know I'm broke, right? There's no way I could sue you, even if I wanted to."

“I almost believe it when you say that.”

Even with his sad smile, I couldn’t get over how handsome he looked. I longed to run my fingers through his thick dark hair and kiss that vein that jumped in his throat. I put my makeup down and faced him.

“Isn’t it exhausting to constantly be on guard?”

“Jessica, I’ve been hurt so many times by people I thought I trusted. Almost everyone in my life has sold a story about me to the press.”

"I would never do that."

"Well, you legally can't."

I walked closer to him. "You've done a huge favor for me. I'd never do anything to harm you."

He looked like he wanted to believe me, but he couldn't.I couldn’t hold it against him even though it stung. I didn’t know what it was like to be him.

“Can I ask you something personal?” Without waiting for a response, I asked it anyways: “Are you lonely?”

He opened his mouth and closed it. He didn’t have to answer; I saw the truth in his eyes.

“Yes,” he said. “I suppose I’ve always been.”

Me too.

I wanted to reach forward and touch him, but Luke backed from the doorway and shut the door.

* * *

“Can we use the Tube?”

He looked at me with suppressed annoyance. “We’ll be mobbed if we use the Tube.”

“No, we won’t!”

We were already being followed by a silent, creepy group of paparazzi. I held Luke’s hand andwalked down the streets of London. The sky looked like a thick gray blanket that dropped icy sheets of rain on our heads. Luke did his best to keep us dry with his umbrella. The rain didn’t dampen my spirits.

“Oh, come on. Let’s just use it once.” I was dying to experience the city like a real Londoner.

Luke sighed in resignation. “Well, fine.”

Wedescended the steps into the Piccadilly tube station. Luke shook change out of his pocket and dumped it into the ticket machine. I took one of the two pieces of paper itspat out, and then walked through the barrier to the trains. Lukeglancedat the tube map before pulling me to the right toward the Bakerloo line.

A slew of tourists and people commuting to work crowded the brick-lined underground. Luke smiled to himself as he bounced on his soles.

“What is it?”

He shook his head, still smiling. “Nothing, this just brings back memories.”

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